Current events are matters of the present, but they certainly are borne out of a past event and inevitably affect the future.

Current Affairs and the Nature of Time

Current affairs are issues of the moment, but they are certainly borne out by historical developments which ultimately impact the future.

The idea is that time is eternal, does not travel forward or backward, instead, it is assumed to be ever-present. According to many people, life runs like a river or like a sailing ship on a body of water. The current state is like an entity coming from the past into the future, with us human beings located for that reason as it pushes into the future or forward. The nature of the ’block universe’ hypothesis suggests that the past, current, and future are linked together and co-exist, and already exist. As daily events pass by, they do not just happen and vanish but lives merely in different time zones.

The History and Future of Logistics and Supply Chain Management

This project will consider the history of logistics and supply chain management that is its evolution and future (Fawcett, Stanley E., and Gregory M. Magnan). The history part will capture the events that built business logistics as it is practiced today. The present section will explain the condition of business logistics. How business logistics is related to supply chain management. The future part will consider the events that are likely to happen.

The Origins of Logistics and Supply Chain Management

In the 1950s, logistics was considered as a military term. It constituted conditions such as maintenance and transportation of military tools and equipment. There were few authors who wrote about trading various costs, for example, the value for shipping and that for inventory. They encouraged firms on the importance and benefits of transporting goods to the right place and at the right time. During this time the companies which could do these activities were so fragmented about logistics. The new firms had a hierarchical order in their management whereby the core leader was the president. Below him, there were a marketing, finance and production managers. Each manager had a task to perform: marketing manager handled the distribution channels, revenue, field inventories and distribution channels. Finance manager handles cost of capital and stock while the production manager felt supply alternatives, raw materials warehousing, purchasing, and transportation of input and output. This fragmentation in management created conflicts among those individuals responsible for logistics activities with the result that costs and customer service were sub-optimized.

The Emergence of Physical Distribution and Logistics

The study of physical distribution and logistics began in 1960. At this time logistic costs were very high. It was considered that at firm’s level they could go high up to thirty-two percent of the sales (LaLonde and Zinsser). Physical distribution had to be given time to emerge as it represented almost seventy percent of logistic costs as it was considered as part of the marketing mix of the essential elements. Although physical distribution is associated with transportation of outbound goods from a firm, it includes both inbound and outbound movement. (Heskett et al.) Describes logistics regarding both physical distribution and supply distribution. They all come in agreement that logistics takes place through the process of supply chain management, from the producer to the final consumer.

Logistics and Supply Chain Management in the Present

To conclude the past, it is clear that physical distribution and logistics were to build to have responsibility on the product flow, from the point of bringing raw materials to the firm up to the point of transporting it back to the consumers. Though the scope was broad, the management team was poor regarding coordination of the logistic activities. Restrictions concerning boundary-spanning were set but failed to be implemented. The total cost function provided management activities to inventory and transportation control as they were in cost conflict. All the actions in association with product cost and flow were taken as part of logistics. Logistics and physical distribution received little attention concerning issues of product flow. It made logistics develop independently within the business.

The present state shows how a lot of effort and focus is put towards supply chain management. First, supply chain management is concerned with finding out opportunities for product flow procedure between the channel members. Lowering costs through decision making is not a new strategy as it was put into practice in the 1950s by operation researchers. Now logistics is studied as a subject of supply chain management. Its scope is concerned with management activities which were not the case in the past. Purchasing and production are now considered within the supply chain management. It makes it account for up to eighty percent of sales cost for many firms. Very many areas in different businesses are embracing supply chain management; this situation is at risk of becoming broad enough up to the extent of losing its identity. Although supply chain management is promoting coordination and collaboration, it is taking place to a limited degree. The most likely place for supply chain management to occur is between firms and their first-hand suppliers. Currently, SCM is practiced as logistics.

The Future of Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Having an excellent understanding of the past and viewing the present creates a picture in mind of what will happen in the future concerning logistics and supply chain management. Due to increased globalization, there is a continued and growing interest in logistics and SCM. An important change will be in the way goods will be consumed, which will need better management when it comes to supplying chain process. The strategy will also change as SCM will be viewed as a panel for competition. Collaboration and coordination will remain the fundamental ways of achieving benefits of supply chain management. In the future, there are several methods both formal and informal of sharing the benefits of channel cooperation equitably among its members (Heskett et al.). Price adjustments will fall into the category of the formal ways. Under the informal mechanism, funds will not be distributed directly to the channel members. Instead, incentives will be offered directly to encourage cooperation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, supply chain management and logistics will continue to grow as firms are pursuing and expanding their international operations. Many companies are increasing year by year extending their geographical positions throughout the globe. Collaboration among members of the supply chain falls at the hands of the management team, and this will offer the key to its future success. Channel collaboration entails various features. One is about management of a supply channel of related but separate firms. Second, it represents an unknown opportunity since the channel members work on different tasks. Third, the building of trust will remain to be the primary key towards achieving benefits and profits from the collaboration. Forth, the benefits may bring the channel members together thereby creating the need for sharing the benefits. Redistribution of the benefits will require qualified personnel to measure the metrics and identify potential benefits. At this moment information sharing among the members will be considered essential for building trust amongst themselves. Also, the sharing methods are supposed to be devised in a manner which they enhance equity and transparency not favoring any individual.

Work cited

Fawcett, Stanley E. and Gregory M. Magnan (2002), “The Rhetoric and Reality of Supply Chain Integration,” International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, v. 32, n. 5, p. 339-361. 

Heskett, J. L.; N. A. Glaskowsky, Jr., and R. M. Ivie (1973), Business Logistics, 2. ed. (New York: The Ronald Press), p.14-21. 

LaLonde, Bernard J. and Leslie M. Dawson (1969), “Pioneers in Distribution,” Transportation and Distribution Management (June), p. 58-60.