Contemporary Logistics, From Pre-Manufacturing To Acceptable Delivery

As a business analyzes its costs of operations, logistics typically appears as the second largest element, following the cost of purchased goods and service. Most companies have been pursuing improvement in this critical element of cost for half a century or more, often with very credible results. Many organizations continue the pursuit of logistics excellence with the aid of trusted partners or external constituents, including those companies interested in assuming the responsibility for some or all of the process steps. The purpose of this paper will be to briefly explore this contemporary approach to a fairly standard and stable business practice, that of packaging, loading, storing and transferring goods across an extended supply chain.