In this article, we'll cover:
- What is logistics?
- Main components
- Functions of logistics
- Why logistics is important
- The difference between logistics and supply chain management
- The key ingredient
If you’ve ever wondered how products go from mere materials to merchandise on the shelves, you’ve come to the right place. It’s time to talk about the logistics industry. Since the outbreak of the Pandemic in 2020, eCommerce industries have experienced skyrocketing demand.
COVID has made precision logistics more important than ever before and logistics management that bit more complicated. But with the help of automation, it is possible to execute complex logistical operations that end in reliable order fulfilment and satisfied customers.
Today the Internet of Things (IoT) and advanced Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software are streamlining challenging logistical operations with real-time data and information flows.
In this article, we’ll be discussing the ins and outs of logistical processes to glean a better understanding of what it really takes to satisfy our soaring consumer demands.
What is logistics?
In its most basic form, logistics refers to the planning and execution of a complex operation. This can include both long and short term logistics operations. Logistics management is part of the supply chain. It involves planning, implementing, and overseeing the effective storage of goods and their transportation from the point of origin until the final destination (the point of consumption).
In other words, logistics manages forward and reverse merchandise flows.
Logistics managers have to move products from their point of origin to their point of sale under optimum conditions. That means managing inventory, equipment, locations, distributors and costs.It has a knock-on effect at different levels of the economy. Good logistics has the power to minimise costs, increase profits and drive international imports and exports. Logistics is a precision process that relies on targeted planning and resource management for its success.
Main components
Logistics comprises five essential components. Logistics companies are responsible for executing each one of these components to the highest degree of accuracy. Here are the five key components of any logistician’s job.
1. Demand planning
To guarantee customer order fulfilment, demand planning is an essential logistics function. By ordering merchandise in the correct quantities and at the right price and mobilising suitable transport, customer demand is met and profits protected.
2. Storage and materials
Because demand is unpredictable, it’s important to have surplus goods on standby until consumers demand them. Warehouses are responsible for the storage, care, retrieval, packaging, and unitisation of merchandise. Warehouse management systems (WMS) optimise storage capacities, equipment (forklifts, for example), retrieval speeds, and warehousing processes.
3. Inventory management
Inventory management controls the flow of goods in and out of a warehouse. It dictates how much stock to hold and where to locate it using targeted data to predict consumer demand.
4. Transportation management
Logistics involves mobilising different modes of transport to move merchandise from one stage of the supply chain to the next. Merchandise might need to travel via road vehicles, freight trains, shipping, or even air travel for long-distance supply chains.
Consolidation is the process by which shipping companies or carriers combine multiple smaller shipments in one. This speeds up deliveries and keeps costs low.
5. Control
Logistics is a complex operational procedure that requires a lot of precise information to be effective. Forecasting demand, transportation times, and inventory are crucial to keeping the operations to a tight timescale.
Functions of logistics
The five components of logistics help with the execution of key logistical functions. But on top of planning, storing and transporting, logistics encompasses numerous other very important operations.
These include everything from network design to order processing and procurement to sustainability targets.
Design
Management professionals design precision logistics networks covering different locations that make up the supply chain. They optimise routes between manufacturers, warehouses, transportation service providers and final retailers to ensure an efficient service.
Orders
Logistics management also involves processing customer orders. And a lot of them, at that. Orders have to be received, sorted, filed, recorded, and then fulfilled promptly. Keeping this process reliable and efficient is an essential logistical function.
Procurement
For products to reach the shelves, someone has to deal with the raw materials. Logistics management involves obtaining high-quality raw materials from external suppliers and negotiating the best price for the manufacturer.
Reverse logistics
Reverse logistics plans and executes the reuse or proper disposal of products and materials. In short, this process works backwards to ensure excess or used merchandise is dealt with sustainably. Some companies even have sustainability targets for which it is the responsibility of logisticians to execute.
Why logistics is important
It doesn’t matter how fantastic your product is if it’s not reaching your customer where and when they need it. That is why logistics is so essential for business success. Meeting customer demand is the central pillar of the supply chain and logistics’ overarching function.
But that’s not all. By digging a little deeper, we will realise that logistics is important for the everyday functioning of so many core business processes.
Efficiency
Logistics teams use real-time data to optimise supply chain efficiency. By tracking the movement of merchandise, roadblocks can be identified to prevent further disruptions.
Supply chain
Without logistics, supply chains would descend into chaos. Logistics ensures that merchandise arrives in the right place at the right time and streamlines every step along the way.
Delivery
In today’s fast-paced marketplace, delivery time expectations are becoming shorter. Logistics is essential to maintaining distribution networks and the timely and safe transportation of goods to meet customer demand.
Quality
Good logistics will put in place reliable strategies that improve customer service. That could mean speeding up delivery times or reducing costs by building relationships with supplies.
The difference between logistics and supply chain management
Logistics and supply chain management are closely related processes. But they are not entirely alike. They each make up a separate part of the commercial process.
Picture supply chain management as the broader canvas. It encompasses an extensive network of functionaries that execute the movement of merchandise from production to consumer. That means everyone from vendors to warehouses and transportation services.
Picture logistics as a process painted within the supply chain canvas. It can be carried out in house by a single company or by outsourcing to third-party logistics providers. It is concerned with optimising every process along the supply chain to lower prices, improve services, and boost profits.
The key ingredient
Logistics is a complex process, but it boils down to one thing—customer experience at the end of the day. Precision logistics have the power to be cost-effective, improve quality, and speed up delivery fulfilment. With strategic, data-led planning, logistics professionals have the capacity to drive sales and boost commercial profits.
Learn how RingCentral can help improve the customer experience for your business.
Originally published Apr 15, 2021, updated May 15, 2021
Sunny Dhami
Author
Sunny Dhami is the Senior Director, EMEA Product Marketing & GTM for RingCentral, the leader in cloud communication solutions and is responsible for driving and delivering the messaging strategy, GTM and positioning across the EMEA business and strategic partners. Sunny has a passion to create differentiation and value for the customer and to share this through messaging and positioning, during his time at RingCentral he has successfully led major product launches across EMEA and APAC.
Sunny has extensive Marketing experience across SaaS, Telecommunications and Technology sectors within companies such as Vodafone, Reed Elsevier, Calor Gas and SapientNitro. Dhami is a student of Marketing having earned his BA in Business Management and following this up with an MA in Advertising and Marketing.
In his spare time Sunny enjoys learning about tech, playing sports and travelling.
FAQs
How do I delete call history on RingCentral? ›
- In the left navigation bar, click. Phone. .
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- Hover over the call record you'd like to delete and do one of the following: Click. Delete. at the far right, then click. Delete. in the popup window to confirm. Click. Delete.
- Tap the Calls tab, then tap or long-press a contact, number, or a non-user extension (limited extensions, and groups such as Call queue, Shared lines, Announcement-only, and Message-only).
- Tap the 3 Dots icon on the snack bar.
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What is a call queue? As you may have gathered, a call queue is a function in a business phone system that funnels inbound calls. It's when you call up a company, usually to speak to a customer service rep, and get put automatically in a queue, waiting to speak to someone who can handle your request.
What is integrated calling on RingCentral? ›Integrated Calling: Toggle on to allow RingCentral calls to display in your phone's call history.
How do I Delete my full call history? ›- Open your device's Phone app .
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Launch the Phone app. If the recent tab is not opened immediately, click on "Recent" at the bottom of the screen. Click on the number you want to check its recent call history. From the dropdown options on the number, tap History.
How do I permanently Delete call history on iPhone? ›- Open the Phone app, then tap Recents to view a list of recent calls.
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However, you can visit Settings, then Call recording, and change the option of when to delete call recordings. Tap on Delete recordings. Then make your choice between Never, After 7 days, After 14 days, or After 30 days. I hope this answers your question!
What not to do in a queue? ›Do not skip the line. Call it whatever you want — line jumping, queue jumping, butting or skipping the line — the fact is, nobody likes it.
What is a queue code? ›A queue in C is basically a linear data structure to store and manipulate the data elements. It follows the order of First In First Out (FIFO). In queues, the first element entered into the array is the first element to be removed from the array.
How do you jump a phone queue? ›
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Only Administrators can enable this feature. Administrators should log in to their RingCentral Online account and set it up for individual users. Once this is enabled, all calls are recorded automatically and can be listened to from the Online account.
What phone system does RingCentral use? ›RingCentral features a virtual PBX that has all the benefits of a traditional PBX system—auto-attendant, advanced call routing, virtual extensions, etc. —without the expensive landlines and limitations of hardware such as physical boxes, trunks, and switches.
What does IVR mean in RingCentral? ›INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE MEANING
Interactive voice response or IVR is an automated business phone system feature that interacts with callers and gathers information by giving them choices via a menu. It then performs actions based on the answers of the caller through the telephone keypad or their voice response.
Keeping Your Data Secure
So, can police recover deleted pictures, texts, and files from a phone? The answer is yes—by using special tools, they can find data that hasn't been overwritten yet. However, by using encryption methods, you can ensure your data is kept private, even after deletion.
- Enter the phone number.
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Call Records can be obtained by no officer with rank less than that of a Police Superintendent. Call Records can be obtained from telecom companies vide a Court order/direction only.
How to stop deleting the call history which are automatically deleted? ›For this you first go to phone settings and see, there may be options for keeping logs for a week, month, autodelete or self setting. If you see these, go for the one of your choice. If not, your phone by default will delete the history after 5 days. These options vary in different versions of phone.
Does Google save call history? ›Your call and text history is a detailed list of every call and text you've made and received across all your Google Fi devices. You can see your history only on the Google Fi website, not in the app.
How far back does call history go on iPhone? ›
Do you know how long your phone will keep this information? If you stop using iCloud, the last backup of your call information and other data is stored for 180 days, and then it is deleted. Keep reading to see how to view old call history on your iPhone.
Does iPhone have recently deleted calls? ›Preview and recover call history
Select Call History > Select the Only list deleted > Select the call logs you want to restore > Click To iPhone to get deleted call history back to your iPhone's app directly, or To PC to download them on computer.
By default, iPhone keeps a record of your call log history of up to 100 entries and is restricted to that limit only. There's no other way to extend iPhone call log history to any other specified limit.
What is worst case of queue? ›Worst case
The operation of adding an element to the rear of the queue is known as enqueue, and the operation of removing an element from the front is known as dequeue.
: the act of going ahead of other people waiting in a line for something instead of waiting one's turn.
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Is queue used in the US? ›Such a group of people is known as a queue (British usage) or line (American usage), and the people are said to be waiting or standing in a queue or in line, respectively. (In the New York City area, the phrase on line is often used in place of in line.)
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How do I Delete RingCentral chats? ›- Open the conversation that contains the message you wish to edit from the Message tab.
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- Accessing your voicemail.
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