Logistics management businesses in Zambia

Logistics management is the supply chain management that plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective, transportation and storage of goods. These services and the related information systems that enable this movement between the point of origin and the point of consumption meeting the customer's requirements are supplied by businesses listed in these categories. It includes the distribution and merchandising of goods, the import and export of goods, the procurement, storage and warehousing of goods.

Logistics management activities usually include inbound and outbound transportation management, fleet management, warehousing, materials handling, order fulfilment, logistics network design, inventory control, supply/demand planning and management of third-party logistics services providers.

The logistics management process starts with raw material accumulation to the final stage of delivering goods to the destination. By focusing on customer needs and industry standards, logistics management facilitates process strategy, planning and implementation.

Here on Infobwana, we have profiled a selection of companies that provide professional logistics management services in Zambia.

Importance of logistics management

Logistics management is a core part of a supply chain for any organisation, managing and overseeing the distribution network to ensure that inventory management is under control.

Reduced to the fundamentals, logistics management is the movement of resources and products to the customer. This ultimately provides the best service to customers who are ever demanding faster and more efficient services.

Logistics management also creates visibility within a company’s supply chains, provides data on real-time movements and therefore advises on and implements change that directly affects the organisation as a whole.

Poor logistics management can result in damaged or delayed shipments, which can then lead to dissatisfied customers, returns and scrapped products. The consequences of these problems include higher costs and customer relation problems. To avoid this, effective logistics management includes careful planning, proper software system selection, proper vetting and selection of outsourced vendors, and adequate resources to handle the processes.

The distribution network of logistics management

The various links and points of distribution in a logistics management network include the following:

• Factories that manufacture products
• Warehouses that store products
• Distribution centres to receive and return items for clients
• Transport to deliver product
• Retail locations, from small to larger stores to sell product

These are the major hubs for the logistics of a product, though there can be vendors and intermediaries operating between these points.