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Logistics

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11.1 Logistics
In both vertical and horizontal marketing systems, systematised information contributes to the efficient flow of goods and services from the point-of-origin to the point-of-consumption. This process of regulation begins with customer service and extends to the procurement, handling, and processing of resources aimed at delivering customer satisfaction. All ways in which resources are procured, handled, and processed fall within a set of activities known as logistics.
Logistics
is a process of systematising information to facilitate the efficient and cost-effective flows of goods and services to produce customer satisfaction. Each member in the supply chain must be involved in logistics activities. Logistics flows may …show more content…

Not Really, Just Cutting-Edge Logistical Practice
Retailer and wholesaler sales reps having offices next to their supplier’s factory floor? Wearing badges allowing them to roam wherever they want, attend production-status meetings, or log onto sales forecasts? Independently record-ing sales orders for which their customers are billed? Welcome to the brave new world of logistics, where channel members treat their suppliers and distributors almost like their employees.

The behaviours described above are due to JIT II, the new version of just-in-time inventory control. While the original JIT tended to cultivate hostility by putting extreme pressure on suppliers, JIT II is designed to create harmony and efficiencies on both sides of the channel. Based on the decision to share previ-ously guarded information such as up-to-the-minute sales forecasts, JIT II must rely heavily on trust since the companies involved could face serious conflicts of interest. In spite of the advances, however, traditional manufacturer–distributor mistrust and hard-nosed negotiations over price, quantity discounts, or shipping terms still linger. Customers and suppliers both worry about releasing too much confidential data or technology. Manufacturers, in particular, expose themselves to risk by revealing their costs. Such suppliers may suddenly find themselves at the mercy of customers trying to squeeze their margins. But some success stories are already in

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