International logistics and time
Electronic and Electrical Engineer, Msc. Intertantional Business Management. Introduction International logistics are a set of techniques and facilities to manage the flow of materials and information, are a process where the fundamental objective is to satisfy the needs of goods and services to a customer, market or firm. International trade agreements, operational sense associated with efficiency, cultural nuance, transportation and technology effectiveness are indispensable components that need to be carried out in the real world.
Logistics combines all the activities, coordinating resources nd demand to ensurea reat leve’ of service at the Iowest Swipe to page posslble cost and del To begin with, in the was inflicted by the to protect themselve supplies were provid org edS he the German army uldnt do anything he services and at the right place in the most optimal and economical manner (2007,http:// www. bestlogisticsguide. com/logistics-history. html – access on 25, 10,2010), it was at this moment when many military logistics technics start to appear and were established.
It can be said that logistics are a science or even art that every day is being developed by past and future experiences, intuition and skills. Moreover, when ground transportation like trucking and railroads were developed in the U.
This rapid response, minimum variance and inventory decrease the prices, saving money, time and product lifetime. Therefore, corporate operators took all these interconnected events (forecast, manufacture, transport, distribution, customer sale) well connected and synchronized as a supply chain that reduces time and extra inventory that means less capital. The ‘just in time’ manufacturing in automobile companies to ensure that components for assembly arrive exactly in time allowed the company to produce more, reduce storage space and cut inventory reflecting savings immediately.
This help many medium-size companies to realize the importance of specialize in segments of the international logistics process. UPS, is a great example of international logistics related with time, this domestic package delivery company, find his way to get into the world market in an exceptional way. This company used two essential sources that were developed and start to be efficient in the 19905 until the present day.
With the introduction of the internet, packages and products reduce the inventory to the minimum, customers start to buy all kind of products using the world Wide web, then Price of each product was reduced and delivery time were even faster; as a consequence of the increase each product was reduced and delivery time were even faster; s a consequence of the increase In sales, new technologies like package recognition codes, virtual storage accounts, automatic package selection process, were developed dropping dellvery times to a point never seen before.
Transportation, like private UPS planes made the ‘One day delivery’ possible, then technology, communication and transport match perfectly, for costumers and business. In fact, some companies became so eficient in their logistic departments that they start to offer their services to other companies, training the staff, or helping them in the whole process.
Now is really common to find specialized departments to ake care of specific parts of the process and these can be located in any part of the World thanks to the communication services. A supply chain is ‘the integration of key business processes from end user to through original supplier that provides products, services, and information that add value for customers and other stakeholders’. Douglas,2004, p46) Every day supplying chains are growing and firms are trying to find new markets to work with; therefore, is important to consider the cultural impact related with time, for some corporations the ‘just In time’ expression is not too important comparlng to ig firms that ‘sometimes the difference of a few hours makes all the difference in the world, companies like Amazon or eBay Offer specific services related with time and they need to delivery their products at time, or else other companies may be affected, especially those companies where product products at time, or else other companies may be affected, especially those companies where product lifetime is really short. The fact is that if any person in the company makes a mistake in any part of the supply chain all the others Will suffer consequences. When seem from this perspective, minimum variance is needed o ensure that everything is under control, specialization is consequence of this and time Will be reduced, at that point effectiveness increase the firm value and the consumers Will feel safe. On the other hand, security is crucial to protect consumer privacy like data base, and credit card numbers as well as in transportation to protect people and their belongings, the passport is the core of international logistics.
Logistic functions can be listed below, but it not necessarily means that certain firm Will use all of them is just a list given by the Britain encyclopedia in 1993: Customer service; demand forecasting; documentation flow; andling returns; inter-plant movements; inventory management (inbound, plant, and outbound); parts/service support; materials handling; order processing; purchasing; salvage scrap disposal; traffic management; and warehouse and distribution center management. As it can be seen now international logistics deals with goods transactions, relating tuvo or more nations, in earlier times it was used to describe military applications but nowadays it involves commercial purposes as well, is a necessary procedure that improves productivity and profitability and is needed in order to maximize the value of a company. Logistics is much broader profitability and is needed in orderto maximize the value of a company. Logistics is much broader. International Logistlcs not only about delivering things to a specific destination, all this must be done in a competitive market environment.
Companies are always ready to take other companies clients ‘the overall goal of logistics is to achieve a targeted leve’ of customer service at the Iowest possible cost’ (Douglas, 2004, p7), to achieve this goal we need to take control of cur resources and each section of the operational process, companies need to be effective and efficient. In fact, the company can add extra value to the product with solid logistics coordlnation. Globalization, infrastructure, geography, government, public and private companies, economies of scale all of this Will affect international logistics in the future, and all of these are destined to change to satisñy the customer needs as well as to be much more efficient.
Time is money, and to get a greater income is necessary to improve infrastructure, to Split the work in sections to different parts of the world where processes are more effective, the distribution can be affected by government aws depending if they are public or private; a company that produce more while supplying foreign markets is predestined to became an economy of scale there are many risk involved but globalization for Small companies is making this goal a reality they can access easier to new markets in a shorter period of time using different resources available like promoting their products by internet web pages. A new revolution resources available like promoting heir products by internet web pages.
A new revolutionary movement is starting to change strong logistlc processes, the globalization is re distributing the market o new countries, and poor countries are starting to produce goods with the same quality than well developed countries, at the beginning of the 1930s the U. S. used to cover all the Television production, specific kind of materials were only founded in North America and therefore, companies possess all the market and production. Promptly, these start to chance and ocean containers start to send all kind of materials to different parts of the world; as well as roads made easy to find new resources all around the world, It was better for most of the companies to produce their goods like televisions in other countries like Latin America or
Asia; lastly, this countries made thei own companies and start to produce new and better products, including new technologies, in less Price, becoming finally companies with economy of scale, competition now is everything for a company and without logistics it wouldn’t be possible to survive in a competitive market where every second counts. Even when logistics seems to be under control and cooperation, is hard to find more than two companies working together, it is a risk to be associated with more than two companies and provide key information, after some time the other company can simply ake you out of the business and negotiate directly with the firm, that’s why this information is protected thus, no one else can Still their suppliers. Organizations v why this information is protected thus, no one else can Still their suppliers. Organizations value ‘autonomy, each time the companies are looking for freedom to make their own choices, vvlthout needing permission from others.
This organizational behavior is not realistic; companies Will always need for both parts, customers and suppliers, this is fundamental for companies like eBay or Amazon that need from other companies to extend heir senu’ice portfolio. Companies see autonomy as a profitable opportunity, it reduces variance and inventory and consequently time. Furthermore, companies are always trying to find new ways to save time and money improving their performance and reducing waste in their production process. The ‘push’ transportation and ‘pul» production systems like Kanban system are designed to tell the producer What to produce, when to produce it and how much to produce, schedule systems promote improvements and make the companies much more efficient.
Logistics had been changing since the 1950s and structures re necessary to explain the profitability of a company, specific logistics are developed for every part of the process, starting from demand forecasting until sales a good example of this on automobile production as mentioned befare the ‘just in time’ OIT) concept has a lot to Offer associated with Kanban system for Toyota company, it ensures the company operations system. All this 6 basic rules are showed below: 1. Do not send defective products to the subsequent process 2. The subsequent process comes to withdraw only what is needed 3. Produce only the exact q process 2. The subsequent process comes to withdraw only What is . produce only the exact quantity withdrawn by the subsequent 4. Equalize production 5. Kanban is a means to fine tuning 6. Stabilize and rationalize the process Oapan management Association , Six rules for the Kanban, pp. 8) In addition, this kind of organizational behaviors Will affect the harmonization with other companies, norms and global standards are a huge concern in the future and need to be discussed. Another concern refers to the shortage of qualified personnel, every day companies are growing and specific kind of abilities are needed to satisfiy the demand, global recruitment resources Will became a problem in the future, qualified labor standards are increasing and overlapping boundaries. A central factor Will be the investment in further education of workforces and long term retaining for the current ones, saving time and money with a minimum variance.
Finally, the only think that Will change international logistics perspective WII be the changes in customer demands, it is always expected that priorities Will change after 10 or 20 years, and it is a duty for every company to be prepared for this changes or the present variations with the globalization process and changes in echnology, transport and communications. In conclusion, international logistics affect every part of the process it is involved in specific parts of the development but it also controls the progression until the goods arrive to the destiny; logistlcs related with time and is the most important fact that arrive to the destiny; logistics is related with time and is the most important fact that defines the Price, quality, and life cycle.
Rapid response can be reached only when there is a controlled logistic procedure, with minimum inventory, and consistent delivery times. Culture is going to affect this process for this reason pecialization is essential as well as international standards and training to control every part of the ‘supply chain’. Effectiveness and efficiency, plus Speed in the information flow are needed in a competitive market environment; Slow and unorganized companies may rapidly notice that they have last all their clients. Bibliography Long Douglas (2004) International Logistics: Global freight transportation and operations management. Pg 1-57. Second edition, USA.
Wood, Barone, Murphy, Wardlow (2002) International Logistics: Future Issues in international logistics and international logistics or the firm, 2nd editjon pp, 5-10, 429-433. The Japan management Association (1996). JUST-IN-TIME AT TOYOTA. ‘Management begins at the workspace’ . Six rules for the kanban. pg. 87-93. (http://books. google. com. ec/books) Encyclopedia Brltannica (1993) Encyclopedla Britannica, Vol 28 pp. 878-882. Chicago, USA. Comprehensive Logistics, http://vmw. quiminet. com/ar6/ar _vcdAAsszgtzgt-que-es-la-logistica-integraI. htm – access on 27/10/2010. Logistics History Shows the Benefit and Importance of Logistics, http://www. bestlogisticsguide. com/logistics-history. html access on 25/10/2010
