After the transition of Russia to the rails of a market economy, the country began a rapid development of business. However, to date, there are problems in the field of business cooperation regarding the movement and delivery of raw materials, finance, information and finished products. The organization of all these processes relates to the work of the enterprise’s logistics departments and individual logistics companies. Such events, despite their apparent ease, are quite complex and time-consuming. That is why work in logistics requires not only experience in this field, but also a significant amount of knowledge.
Definition of a concept
What does the term “logistics” mean? It means managing the flow of information, finance and goods. In this regard, work in logistics is to find the most rational way of moving a product in a chain, the initial link of which is the manufacturer, and the final link is the recipient or consumer. The complexity of this process lies in the need for strict control. It should be kept from the moment of receipt of the application and information on forthcoming movements to the release of finished products, their storage in the warehouse and delivery.
What is the job (logistics)? A specialist who has to solve such problems should build the process in such a way that the company receives the maximum profit, while at the same time incurring minimal costs. But at the same time you will need to save money wisely. After all, the buyer is determined to receive goods of the highest quality, which has a reasonable price for him. In addition, all product transfers should be carried out within the deadlines that envisage compliance with the required level of quality of service.
Subject, goals and objectives
So, we examined the concept of logistics. The tasks and functions of logistics, as well as its subject and goals, directly follow from the definition given above. Let's start with the subject of this science. He in logistics is the management carried out over the flows of resources of an individual enterprise, as well as control over the state of raw materials, materials and goods. It follows the purpose of this discipline. It consists in increasing the efficiency of the organization, which is possible when finding ways of the most profitable movement of funds, finance and goods.
All work performed in logistics is designed to solve the following tasks:
- manage the movement of goods;
- exercise control over the organized flows of information, finance, services and finished products;
- to predict the enterprise resource requirements;
- to plan the movement of material assets.
The functions of logistics are an enlarged group of operations for the delivery of goods, the implementation of which is necessary to achieve the goals. Their list includes:
- work on the formation of economic relations necessary to address the issue of supply of goods or the provision of services, as well as their development, rationalization and adjustment;
- determination of directions and volumes of flows of material assets;
- calculation of forecast estimates of the need for transportation;
- placement, development and organization of a warehouse enterprise;
- determination of the optimal route for the movement of goods through places of storage;
- inventory management of circulation resources ;
- carrying out transportation and related operations along the route of the cargo;
- carrying out operations such as marking and packaging, loading and preliminary preparation for it;
- management of operations for the acceptance and storage of cargo, as well as for the organization of its movement in small batches.
All of the above logistic functions are characterized by two main features. They are concluded in that:
- the whole range of work is subordinated to the achievement of a single goal;
- carriers of all these functions are entities - participants in the logistics process.
When can an assessment of the effectiveness of the work done be given? The functions of the logistics service at the enterprise are evaluated only at the stage of achieving the final goal.
Creation of a department managing the movement of goods
The role of logistics in the work of a modern industrial enterprise is quite large. That is why the leadership of any company should take care of creating a department that will systematize the processes of moving goods. Such a unit, located in the structure of the enterprise, should introduce logistics management into the daily life of the enterprise . The service should be directly subordinate to the head of the company.
Enterprises with such a department unite all the functions, without which it is impossible to efficiently fulfill orders, into a centrally controlled powerful mechanism, with which tasks of any degree of complexity are solved at a professional level and with great responsibility. But it should be borne in mind that work in the logistics department should not be a substitute for the activities of the respective structural units. Organizationally, all the links in the management of the company should be built in such a way as to interact with the service dealing with the movement of material values. This, in turn, will optimize activities and ensure the sustainability of the enterprise.
Department Tasks
The duties of logistics service specialists do not include the obligation to eliminate failures, as well as to resolve conflicts and emerging problems. Their function is to coordinate and analyze the implementation of large blocks of tasks. Management in logistics is the coordination of operations aimed at achieving the main goal of the enterprise.
The department coordinating the ways of moving goods should closely interact with all functional departments of the company, optimizing their activities and creating companies with a certain systemic stability.
Areas of influence
The logistics department, being a separate structure in the enterprise, influences the solution of the following issues:
- interaction with customs services, tax inspectorates and other state bodies;
- processing incoming information about orders, existing customers, delivery points, as well as its rethinking in order to optimize the movement of goods;
- raw materials, as one of the tasks facing the logistician is the timely and uninterrupted supply of products to customers, which requires control over its release;
- procurement (it is under the control of the logistics department, as it affects the sales process).
Despite the wide range of tasks assigned to the department, work in logistics does not mean a physical substitution of the corresponding functional units of the company. After all, as a rule, the volume and quantity of orders can be such that they simply will not allow the specialist, who is called upon to coordinate the flows of material assets, to cover in detail and quality all aspects of the delivery process. That is why it is so important to understand that the logistics strategy is to manage orders, and other relevant departments of the enterprise should coordinate these processes.
Examples of using
How relevant is this specialty? Logistics is an indispensable link that is necessary at any stage of entrepreneurial activity. An example of this is the organization of food production:
- At the first stage, business planning takes place. At the same time, logistics allows you to correctly calculate the benefits of placing production in a selected place. Only a specialist in this area will be able to answer the question of whether the activity will be rational from the point of view of costs for the delivery of raw materials, as well as in connection with the distance from their points of location. It should be borne in mind that the tasks that the entrepreneur poses for the logistician must be solved in the shortest possible time.
- After the opening of production and the start of production of finished products, it will be necessary to organize its marketing. Planning in logistics is a very important process. Especially when it comes to perishable products, such as bread, milk, sausages. Indeed, in this case, the speed and smoothness of the sales process will ultimately contribute to the absence of enterprise losses. In addition, at the stage when relations with customers are just being formed, the delivery of goods at the desired time becomes very important.
- Sales management. At this stage, the logistics department closely interacts with other structural units of the enterprise. He works most closely with marketing. Management in logistics is the organization of well-coordinated activities of all company structures, which will ensure complete and accurate implementation of tasks.
Versatility
Work in logistics requires a large number of operations. This is the multifaceted nature of this activity, which is necessary for the following:
- conclusion and control of the implementation of contracts with buyers and suppliers;
- organization of transportation (sometimes the delivery of the required materials);
- control inventory of the enterprise;
- resolving issues arising with customs authorities;
- analysis of existing market needs;
- development and conclusion of contracts with customers, which take into account legal and legal aspects.
Relationship with the marketing service
The work of a specialist in the movement of goods, as well as those involved in its marketing, is especially closely related at the stage of sale of manufactured products. At the same time, the ultimate goal of the activity of the departments of logistics and marketing is to increase sales volumes while organizing the highest quality implementation process. The following general tasks are solved:
- organization and construction of a network that distributes the shipment of goods depending on their demand, as well as minimizing costs;
- the choice of packaging and containers for the goods, so that they attract the customer and ensure the integrity of the cargo;
- development of a pricing policy that will allow you to change the value of the goods both in the direction of its decrease, and in the direction of increase.
Product Movement Management
What exactly does an employee who specializes in logistics do?
He, being in the organizational service of the enterprise, does the following:
- develops optimal routes that allow delivery of goods at the most complete load of vehicles, as soon as possible and while maintaining the necessary quality of goods;
- Carries out the necessary calculations aimed at reducing transportation costs, which can be done using one vehicle delivering several lots of goods in one direction at once;
- is responsible for the safety of the goods during their transportation, which is ensured by the safety of the route, quick loading and unloading of products, as well as the calculation of humidity and temperature conditions of transportation;
- effectively interacts with other structural divisions of the company, which allows you to increase profits, reduce costs and increase profitability.
Logistics Services Tasks
The infrastructure of a large enterprise sometimes consists of a whole complex of individual objects located at a considerable distance from each other. In this regard, the logistics department is a variety of services that control certain areas of the company. For example, their work may relate to the transportation of goods and the storage of tangible assets. At the same time, the task of such services is to organize the normal functioning of all the chains connecting the objects of the enterprise and ensure their competent interaction.
So, the transport logistician works on route planning, and also establishes the order of movement of goods. He prepares all the necessary documents that accompany the goods, and exercises subsequent control over all stages of the movement of material values. In addition, such a specialist deals with the issues of insurance of transported goods and prepares customs documents.
Equally important is the work in warehouse logistics. It represents the organization of activities of all terminals and complexes responsible for the storage of products and materials. The duties of such a logistician include questions of determining the order of not only placement, but also storage of products. In addition, he must form a clear scheme that allows timely processing of commodity and material values. An experienced warehouse logistics manager is able to select storage equipment and organize the efficient use of available floor space.
Career
Logistics managers, as a rule, begin their activities with the position of assistant. This is an assistant preparing the necessary documentation, as well as processing various information for each stage of the movement of material values.
At this stage of work, a person can determine the area of activity in which his further career as a logistician will develop. However, in order to rise to the highest professional level, you will need a diploma confirming receipt of higher education. What should it be? There are universities that provide specialized education, but, in addition, economists and customs specialists can apply for a logistics position.
The most demanded by employers are logisticians who have received international certificates and completed advanced training courses. At the same time, a good manager should have excellent analytical and organizational skills. When working with foreign partners, you will also need a knowledge of a foreign language.
Only a responsible person can become a manager working in logistics, because responsibilities will be laid on his shoulders to ensure the continuous operation of the entire company. In addition, such a specialist should have good communication skills and easily establish contacts with people. In his work, he will need such quality as stress resistance. After all, such a specialist is under constant pressure from carriers, suppliers and management.