Logistics is
generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation.
In a general business sense, logistics is the management of the flow of things
between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the
requirements of customers or corporations. The resources managed in logistics
may include tangible goods such as materials, equipment, and supplies, as well
as food and other consumable items. The logistics of physical items usually
involves the integration of information flow, materials handling, production, packaging, inventory, transportation, warehousing,
and often security.
In military
science, logistics is concerned with maintaining army supply lines while
disrupting those of the enemy, since an armed force without resources and
transportation is defenseless. Military logistics was already practiced in
the ancient world and as the modern military has a significant need
for logistics solutions, advanced implementations have been developed. In
military logistics, logistics officers manage how and when to move resources to
the places they are needed.
Logistics
management is the part of supply chain management and supply
chain engineering that plans, implements, and controls the
efficient, effective forward, and reverse flow and storage of goods, services,
and related information between the point of origin and point of
consumption to meet customer's requirements. The complexity of logistics
can be modeled, analyzed, visualized, and optimized by dedicated simulation
software. The minimization of the use of resources is a common motivation in
all logistics fields. A professional working in the field of logistics
management is called a logistician.
