Logistics Definition

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Definition of Logistics

One way to describe the logistics definition is by defining it as the management of business operations. Logistics is an optimization process of the location, movement and storage of resources from the point of origin, through various economic activities, to the final consumer.

The Bnet Business Dictionary defines logistics as:

The management of the movement, storage, and processing of materials and information in the supply chain. Logistics encompasses the acquisition of raw materials and components, manufacturing or processing, and the distribution of finished products to the end user. Each organization focuses on a different aspect of logistics, depending on its area of interest. For example, one might apply logistics to find a way of linking physical distribution management with earlier events in the supply chain, another to plan its acquisition and storage, while a third might use logistics as a support operation.

Logistics is actually one small part of the supply chain, specifically the acquisition, storage, transportation and delivery of goods along the supply chain.

In simple terms the reason for logistics is for having the right item in the right quantity at the right time at the right place for the right price in the right condition to the right customer.

The logistics definition from Wikipedia is as follows:

Logistics is the management of the flow of goods, information and other resources, including energy and people, between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet the requirements of consumers (frequently, and originally, military organizations). Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material-handling, and packaging, and occasionally security. Logistics is a channel of the supply chain which adds the value of time and place utility.

The definition of logistics, much like that of many terms associated with the supply chain, has changed leaps and bounds in the last few decades as the field has evolved with the internationalization of companies’ operations and consequently globalization. Besides logistics definition, please check out the rest of the definitions in the supply chain to get a better understanding.