The supply chain and its management have become crucial in modern business, not just because the distances travelled by most goods are far greater in a global economy but because it has been realised that the supply chain in many ways is business. Regardless of what is designed, produced, quarried or manufactured, until the moment it reaches the end user the essential business transaction has not taken place.
Global logistics is already a multimodal business, incorporating shipping, aviation, road and rail freight. In the future more emphasis will be needed at a governmental, corporate and local level to offer greater integration of these modes. This will include greater infrastructural investments across modes and greater collaboration and partnership between transport suppliers. Logistics will also increasingly be affected by:
Today consumers are increasingly aware of the distances products travel and companies are increasingly concerned about the cost and efficiency of that travel. Logistics management will therefore continue to grow in importance within every organisation and area.
The professional body for those involved in logistics or supply chain management is the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.