Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 4th Edition

Creating the logistics vision

Making service happen is the ultimate challenge. Whilst it is by no means easy to

develop strategies for service that will lead to improved competitive performance,

the hardest task is to put that strategy into action. How do we develop an organisa-

tion that is capable of delivering high-quality service on a consistent, ongoing basis?

These days most companies are familiar with the idea of ‘mission statements’

as an articulation of the vision of the business. The mission statement seeks to

define the purpose of the business, its boundaries and its aspirations. It is now by

no means uncommon for organisations to have such statements for the business as

a whole and for key constituent components. What some companies have found is

that there can be significant benefits to defining the logistics vision of the firm.

The purpose of the logistics vision statement is to give a clear indication of

the basis on which the business intends to build a position of advantage through

closer customer relationships. Such statements are never easy to construct. There

is always the danger that they will descend into vague ‘motherhood’ statements

that give everyone a warm feeling but provide no guidelines for action.

Ideally the logistics vision should be built around the simple issue of ‘How do

we intend to use logistics and supply chain management to create value for our

customers?’ To operationalise this idea will necessitate a detailed understanding

of how customer value is (or could be) created and delivered in the markets in

which the business competes. Value chain analysis will be a fundamental element

in this investigation, as will the definition of the core competencies and capabili-

ties of the organisation. Asking the questions ‘What activities do we excel in?’ and

‘What is it that differentiates us from our competitors?’ is the starting point for cre-

ating the logistics vision statement.

The four elements of logistics-derived customer value highlighted later in this

chapter are ‘Better, Faster, Cheaper, Closer’ and the criterion for a good logistics

vision statement is that it should provide the roadmap for how these four goals are

to be achieved.

The problems with conventional organisations

Amongst experienced observers and commentators of the logistics management

process there is general agreement that the major barrier to the implementation

of the logistics concept is organisational. In other words, a major impediment to

change in this crucial managerial area is the entrenched and rigid organisational

structure that most established companies are burdened with.

There is a great danger that those companies that do not recognise the need

for organisational change, or that lack the will to make it happen, will never achieve

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Traditional organisations have grown heavy with layer upon layer of

management and bureaucracy.