Abstract
This paper traces the origin of the word logistics, outlines its conceptual evolution, and explains its meaning in contemporary usage. The background that led to the introduction of Logistics Management and Operations Research (OR) as undergraduate fields of study at the University of Stellenbosch is sketched. The concept of Logistics Management is described and its strategic, tactical and operational tiers, as well as the different activities that form part of the logistics supply chain process are identified. The role and necessity of OR in decision-making within each activity and in the coordination between the various activities are outlined. OR techniques most pertinent to the field of logistics are identified and the analytical competencies that a logistician should possess are indicated.
Highlights
Economic life in South Africa during the 1980s and 1990s was marked by rapid change
The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) definition of logistics management can be adjusted to read as follows for business logistics management: “Business logistics management is the process of planning, organising, executing and controlling the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services and related information between the place of origin and the place of consumption or application for the purpose of optimally meeting customer requirements in order to help maximise the welfare of the firm.” [22]
Apart from the prerequisite first year modules in Mathematics and Probability Theory, Statistics and Theory of Interest referred to above, and the utilisation of financial, mathematical and statistical analysis techniques included in the subjects of Logistics Management and Project Management, the above-mentioned investigation indicated that logisticians-in-training should become competetent in at least eight of the functional areas of Operations Research
Summary
Economic life in South Africa during the 1980s and 1990s was marked by rapid change. First, the economic deregulation of freight transport and the marketing of agricultural produce, the globalisation of business activities and liberalisation of international trade, and the lifting of trade sanctions against the country made transport decision-making more market-driven. The development of effective information technology, easy electronic communication, the ability to perform comprehensive and complicated numeric analyses through the use of information technology, and new holistic management approaches have made it possible to manage logistics channels and other complicated processes in a coordinated fashion, almost in real time. These trends convinced the University of Stellenbosch in 1991 to introduce Logistics Management as a field of study. An integrated logistics process with cross-functional coordination achieved through the application of Operations Research methodology should lead to better results than one lacking coordinated performance [1]
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