PROСКЛАД 20А. Newsletter Issue 19, June Issue topic: Logistics: Back to the Future

Transcription

1 Skhodnenskaya str., bld 1, B Chernaya Gryaz, Solnechnogorskiy district, Moscow region Tel./fax: Newsletter Issue 19, June 2012 Issue topic: Logistics: Back to the Future

2 From the Editor Dear readers and dear friends! Welcome back to our monthly newsletter. The June 2012 issue will take you on an interesting trip to the origin of logistics and mark out the key landmarks of its development viewed by us through its role in peoples life in ancient times and today. Looking back at the origin of logistics, we can easily track that in ancient time its role was to provide life support system, that is, supply food and water and maintain agriculture and small business. It s a paradox that wars and revolutions were strong drivers of logistics growth as a science discipline. World War II caused a tremendous growth of logistics. Its goal was to maintain survival of nations and a military victory. In today s context of relative political and economic stability and floated consumer markets, logistics is aimed at supporting companies in their competition battle. What will be its role tomorrow? Have a nice trip to history! Maria Kutalova Marketing Expert

3 Back to the Earliest Beginnings It s no secret that almost each area of science or business has the most interesting origin; and logistics is no exception. Reportedly, the term logistics originates from the Greek word Λογιστική which means the art of counting. The word was introduced to the Russian language in early 19th century by a French military expert Antoine-Henri Jomini. Quite a few know that logistics as a science discipline can be traced back to ancient times which is revealed by archeological evidence. For example, an archeological expedition to Syria in 1928 found the ruins of Ugarit, one of the largest ancient port cities on the eastern Mediterranean (Ugarit is a Syrian polity existing from 23 to 12 century B.C.) The polity was strategically located and had a well-developed science and arts. This is attested by multiple tablets found in the Ugarit ruins. The modern transcript of the clay tablets showed the existence of logistics science of products and goods movement both inside the city and among the states by land and by sea. Excavated Ugarit ruins, Syria A clay tablet from Ugarit

4 Back to the Earliest Beginnings Another interesting fact revealed by historic research refers to the existence of logistics experts in Byzantium at the time of Emperor Leon VI in B.C. At the time, Byzantium was well-known for its strong army and advance military science. It owes its victories to the rules and principle of logistics. Logistics is continuously growing and will grow regardless of historical events or epochs.

5 Back to the Earliest Beginnings Speaking about the history of logistics it is worth mentioning that as early as in the Inca Empire the quipucamayoc officials (officials in charge of the quipu, accounts clerks of the Inca Empire) kept the account of the consumables for the Inca Royal Court. They took into account the departure point, the delivered product, the term of delivery and the distance. Incas used to deliver letters from Cuzco to Lima in three days to the distance of 130 leagues (1 league 5.55 km). At that period the role of logistics just like in ancient times was to provide for the main daily needs of the people delivery of food stuff. Writing system in the form of knotted string records Quipu

6 Military Logistics Moving on to the next stage of development of logistics, which is the middle of the nineteenth - early twentieth centuries, it may be noted that this stage was marked by the emergence of logistics as a military science. It was during World War II that logistics enjoyed rapid development, when its functions were outsourced to specialized companies engaged in the storage, delivery and distribution of live ammunition and military uniforms. Steady supply of arms and military ammunition was organized due to close collaboration of the military-industrial complex, transport system and supply bases. It was at this time that the technology of container and parcel shipment appeared.

7 Logistics in the Post-war Years In the post-war years, when peace was restored after the terrible upheaval of World War II, logistics retained its position and continued to develop. In Russia of that period logistics was called Rhochrematics - the science of studying the processes of the movement of materials from the primary source to final consumer, whose goal was to reduce the time of the material flow and the total cost of movement, storage, packaging and distribution of both raw materials and finished products. At that time academic institutions began to conduct the first research into the operational transport planning; moreover, an inter-industry system "Rhythm" was developed and successfully introduced. The system aimed at reducing the large reserves of raw materials and fuel in consumers.

8 Survival in a Competitive Environment The current stage of development of the modern market in a globalized world is characterized primarily by increased competition, due to objective factors in world development: a breakthrough in technology, production growth, innovation, and much more. As a result, today's global market, especially the European and North American parts, represent a market of over-production of goods and services. In the fierce competition, companies are forced to look for ways to "survive" by making changes to organizational structures, financial arrangements, the supply chain, putting the increasingly stringent demands on suppliers of goods and services. Logistics is becoming an indispensable "tool", which helps to develop effective solutions to reduce costs along the entire chain of the commodities and material flow. Today, global practice of business development and entrepreneurship confirms that logistics will largely determine the competitive sustainability of a state as well as of a particular region, and that of the organization. The task of logistics remains unchanged since ancient times: to ensure the delivery of the right product at the right place and at the right time, but obviously its role is changing. The world continues to evolve. Then what will be the role of logistics in the future? SalesTeam20a@20a.ru; Тel: ;

9 Follow-up Dear readers, we hope that you may be willing to continue discussion of the theme addressed today and share your own views. You are most welcome to give your feedback at See you in July! Maria Kutalova Marketing Expert *While working on the issue, the following information sources were used: