1. What is Logistics?

People buy products not simply for their obvious tangible qualities but for other, intangible reasons as well. Packaging, price, service, reliability — these are just some of the factors which influence the customer's choice. Logistics is about ensuring that all those qualities are delivered: the right product, to the right customer, in the right place and at the right time. If you assume that the role of marketing is to stimulate demand, it becomes the role of logistics to satisfy it. The organisational implications of this are immense. Logistics is therefore not a functional activity but a framework; not an operational function but a planning mechanism; it is a way of thinking. In this text we will explore the meaning of logistics and analyse how we can apply its precepts in practice.