Summary
LOGISTICS: THE ESSENTIALS
An Overview of the Essential Concepts, Principles and Techniques in Logistics
By Yuma Heymans
,HOW TO READ
All concepts discussed in this overview are somehow interelated with eachother. It is up
to the reader to find these interconnections. However, there is a logical order in the
appearance of the concepts. Examples are regularly provided applied to industry and
health care and illustrations are also included.
,OVERVIEW OF CONCEPTS
Theory of Logistics
- LOGISTICS
- SYSTEM
- EFFIECIENCY & EFFECTIVITY
- FLOW
- OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
- ORGANIZATIONAL AND MANAGERIAL PERSPECTIVE
- PLANNING VERSUS DOING
Organizational structure
- JOB SHOP
- PARALELLIZATION
- SEGMENTATION
- FOCUSED FACTORY
- INTEGRATION
- REQUISITE VARIETY & SOCIAL TECHNIQUE
- FUNCTIONAL (WAY AND PROCESS (SOCIAL TECHNICAL) ORIENTED WAY OF ORGANIZING
Process Improvement Concepts and Ideologies
- THEORY OF CONSTRAINTS (TOC)
- BOTTLENECKS & CONSTRAINTS
- LEAN
- TYPES OF WASTE
- SIX SIGMA
- LEAN SIX SIGMA
Production Control Improvement Tools
- JUST-IN-TIME (JIT) & KANBAN
- MRP
- ADVANCED ACCESS
- PUSH SYSTEM
- PULL SYSTEM
- PLANNING
- STANDARDIZATION
- SIMULATION
Process
- INPUT > THROUGHPUT > OUTPUT
- LOGISTICS: INDUSTRY VS. HEALTH CARE
,Theory of Logistics
LOGISTICS
Logistics is a systematic approach to organize and manage the flow of products or services of a social
system. It is an approach to operationally focus on the flow, in order to achieve the objectives of
time, cost and quality.
e.g. Improving the through-put of a car factory by applying logistical managerial
approaches
e.g. Using a standardization procedure to make the emergency intake in hospitals more
efficient
e.g. Reducing waiting times at a clinic by improving the registration processes through
ICT innovations
Logistics focuses mainly on the hard side
1. Structures: way work (process) is organized (division of labor)
2. Systems: meant are support systems, like planning and control systems
Internal Organizing & managing flow in order to be and stay efficient and effective
External Various stakeholders with, often opposing, expectations and needs
SYSTEM
System
Physical and abstract things that make up the whole assembly, their relationships and what
the system does.
OR
Defined from a different perspective, systems are human conceptualizations.
OR
It is an assembly of organized components which are all interrelated which eachother.
How a system is viewed or analysed depends on the perspective of the observer. A mechanic
looks at a car in a very different way then a customer.
Resolution is the amount of detail the observer takes into account.
, Observing a system; it is important to select the system boundaries. This assigns each aspect
or thing to be a component of the system.
Objectivity is regarded the social product (consensus) of the open interaction of a wide
variety of individual subjectivities – Consensual Subjectivity.
Systems Thinking
Something to be explained is seen as part of a larger whole, a system, and is explained as its
role in the system.
System Complexity
Number of parts & connections – “number” based on insight into the system (tourist vs.
engineer) but also function of the stability and specificity of the parts and relations.
System behavior
Various characteristics, properties or attributes of each component change as inputs change
and as it is affected by changes in other components.
Input-throughput-output (object of control).
Interdependencies in a system
Are the mutual causalities that every system consists of.
EFFIECIENCY & EFFECTIVITY
Effectiveness
Doing the right things.
Efficiency
Doing things right;
Low input and high output = efficient
High input and low output = inefficient
Controllability