Introduction to logistics and transportation

Abstract

Logistics represents a collection of activities that ensures the availability of the right products in the right quantity to the right customers at the right time. Logistics activities serve as the link between production and consumption and essentially provide a bridge between production and market locations or suppliers separated by distance and time. This requires focus on products or physical goods, people and information about goods and people. Different values are added to a product at various stages of its life cycle. Production and manufacturing adds form value by converting the raw material or components into components or finished parts. Place value is provided through transportation by moving the product where it is needed. Time value is provided through storage and inventory control ensuring the availability of the product when needed. Finally, possession value is added to the product through marketing and sales. Place and time values are added by some of the key logistics functions which are discussed in detail in section 1.2. Example 1.1 demonstrates the value of time and place.