‘Logistics has gained strategic importance and is key for the development of today’s world, characterized by globalization. It provides operations and processes that evolve within the organizations, as well as better productivity through internal or operational logistics, and bigger efficiency for global systems through logistics business.’ (J.A. Felício, 2010)
The business dealings of a company can only be understood properly, when we map out its value-added activities and not just its functional structure. Therefore, we differentiate logistics business carried out by logistics operators, associated with supply chains and networks, and operational logistics, associated with stock management.
Organizations take on operational logistics because they need to combine multiple operations in an efficient and organized way, at the right time. A fundamental characteristic of logistics is that the processes and the information are combined simultaneously.
In general, logistics business has a lot to do with globalization, by developing a service that integrates various processes into systems, many of which constitute of regional, national and global networks. It is all about commercial transactions, including value-added services, developed by specialized logistics operators, in order to ensure the integrated flow of goods and the corresponding flow of information, from the origin to the final destination, for which a certain amount is charged, agreed upon in the contract.
Therefore, logistics is a concept that represents two perspectives of understanding:
One of them aims at the integration of internal processes with an operational purpose, carried out in an efficient way to place a product in the right spot and time (or into the logistics operation).
The other one links together processes, which derive from different organizations with the purpose of business that allows several organizations to collocate or provide goods (or cargo) to different locations, at the right time, and in the most economical and functional way. These integrated processes are carried out by a specialized operator (or logistics operator).
The logistics companies are the ones taking care of the planning, the implementation, and the control of the information and cargo flow. He is responsible for the integrated, modal or intermodal course of action, including handling, storage and transportation of these products, from one or several origins (clients or producers) to one or various destinations, and may also incorporate value added service.
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'The impact of hiring a freight forwarding company'
Paulo Ferreira is the CEO and founder of Multicargo. A businessman with more than 25 years of experience in the logistics and forwarding business. Widely accredited in the sector for his professionalism and extensive connections worldwide, having a vast international network of agents at his disposal with more than 300 offices in 170 countries, in all continents.
