Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 6th Edition

Organising for global logistics

As companies have extended their supply chains internationally, they have been forced to confront the issue of how to structure their global logistics organisation.

In their different ways these companies have moved towards the same conclusion: effectiveness in global logistics can only be achieved through a greater element of centralisation. This in many respects runs counter to much of the conventional wisdom, which tends to argue that decision-making responsibility should be devolved and decentralised at least to the strategic business unit level. This philosophy has manifested itself in many companies in the form of strong local management, often with autonomous decision making at the country level. Good though ...