Logistics is a key factor in determining a company’s success, since it impacts on delivery times, inventory levels, sales levels, and customer satisfaction. As a definition, logistics encompasses the activities concerned with efficiently delivering raw materials, parts, semi-finished items, and finished products to designated places, at designated times, and in proper condition.
It may be undertaken by any member of a distribution channel, from producer to consumer. Logistics involves such functions as customer service, shipping, warehousing, inventory control, private trucking-fleet operations, packaging, receiving, materials handling, and plant, warehouse, and store location planning.
In recent years, due to the advances in technology and the growth of Internet transactions, logistics has been undergoing a rapid transformation. According to 2Flow (an Irish outsourced logistics solutions provider):
