Logistic Management

Definition Logistic Management:

Except from the definition given on Aula Global, I also found an interesting definition of ‘’Logistic Management’’ on Techopedia.com:

Logistics management is a supply chain management component that is used to meet customer demands through the planning, control and implementation of the effective movement and storage of related information, goods and services from origin to destination. Logistics management helps companies reduce expenses and enhance customer service. (Source: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/13984/logistics-management)

Comments: So, I think ‘meet customer demands’ is the key concept of Logistic Management. The better Logistic Management is, the better the customer demand can be met. So, in other words, the more efficient a company is in its Logistic Management the more costs can be reduced and the better customer service can be. I think companies can have a real competitive advantage when they excels on every stage of the supply chain, so from the first stage, the raw materials, to the last stage: the delivering of the product at its destination.

Examples: In class we discussed some examples of companies with a excellence Logistic Management, like Amazon and Walmart. I have another example of a company that has a real competitive advantage because of their excellence logistic: Bol.com. It is a Dutch webstore with more than 10.000.000 articles. In 2012 the company was taken over by Ahold and it is now part of the Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V., which is a supermarket concern. The idea of Bol.com is comparable of the one Amazon: Sell everything you can think of for a competitive price and deliver it very fast. If you place a order at Bol.com before 11.00 pm it is delivered to your house the next day.

I found an interesting article on the internet on Logistiek.nl (source: http://www.logistiek.nl/warehousing/nieuws/2016/2/eerst-paal-de-grond-in-voor-bol-com-101142851) about Bol.com. They were building (it is just finished, the article was from February 2016) its own fulfillment center in the Dutch city Waalwijk. For 10 years the company found shelter at the Logistic service provider Docdata, but now they want their own fulfillment center. They want to do it because, they want to anticipate on the expecting grow for the next years. Docdata is still going to be responsible for the daily charge in the fulfillment process.

I think this article clearly illustrates the power of having an excellent Logistic Managemant, because despite the fact that Bol.com already sell more than 10.000.000 articles and they are very profitable, it is still expected they grow much further in the future. The article mentions that by creating an even better Logistic Management and further innovation on the service like ‘’order it today, get it today’’, they are able to become an even better and bigger company in the future. I’am sure they maintain their market leader position in the Netherlands also in the next couple of years, and this is mainly due to the excellent Logistic Management of the company.

Walter Verdiesen