Flexible Logistics Systems

Several organisations are expanding beyond their national bor­ders as a strategy to improve competitiveness and their ability to of­fer diverse products to an expanded market. Many companies have become very proficient at supplying products throughout the world. The task requires not only the ability to recognize opportunities, but also an information system to co-ordinate the supply of goods

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and materials to places where they are needed throughout the world.

Logistics is supply, distribution and replacement of materials, goods and personnel. It is a problem for all organisations, both public and private. For instance, there were tremendous logistics challenges of moving the US military — army, navy, and air force — to carry out the military operations called «Desert Storm», prob­lems which were even more complex when other nations belonging to the United Nations assisted with the operations. Large logistical problems are faced by relief agencies which are trying to give public assistance to people during emergencies.

In a small warehouse, improvements can be obtained from better information systems, productivity improvements, inventory (инвентаризация) savings, reductions in returns (возврат, обо­рот, прибыль), space saving (10-30 per cent), and extra customer service profit. That is, for a warehouse of 80,000 sq. ft, 50 staff, and $100 million sales per annum, and inventory of $40 million, it is possible to save over $2 million per annum from improved meth­ods. The costs of such improvements can be retrieved after just three months.

The logistics aspects of the distribution chain (цепочка) in any organisation relate to the use of information to manage more effec­tively the functions of transportation, storage, warehousing, and freight forwarding (пересылка груза). The information system has to co-ordinate a distribution network which consists of transporta­tion services between suppliers to factories, factories to storage fa­cilities, ports and warehouses, storage services in the warehouses, transportation services between the warehouses and buyers and linkages between countries. As a result of implementing an efficient information system and computer network, McDonald's restau­rants are able to receive food products from various suppliers, re­package them to meet McDonald's specifications, and then deliver them to their restaurants throughout the world, and still maintain consistent (соответствующие) standards.

Some companies perform logistics services themselves, but many are contracting these services to specialists who have infor­mation systems to offer a package of services — from simple stor­age and warehousing to a total package or complete service which might include consolidation (объединение) of cargo, transporta­tion, storage and inventory management. Companies within the lo­gistics sector distinguish themselves by the totality of the services they offer. Generally, smaller firms may have less sophisticated

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information systems and may only provide services such as ware­housing and transportation. Large firms have the resources and economies of larger scale to develop more sophisticated informa­tion and computer systems. However, developing a sophisticated and centralized information and mechanized warehouse may not necessary lead to a success.

Certain larger companies choose to rely on more flexible sys­tems, which allow for learning and adaptation.

В. Подберите к словам в колонке А синонимы или близкие по значению слова из колонки В.

А

681. complex

682. total

683. diverse

684. keep up

685. profit

686. very great, enormous

687. help

688. totality

В

a. tremendous

b. of different kind с sophisticated

d. assistance

e. maintain

f. returns

g. entirety h. complete

C. Найдите в тексте слова, означающие:

689. help given to those in need and trouble

690. skilled, expert

691. get back, return quickly

692. spread out over a large area

693. a problem, difficulty

694. serious situation, needing action as soon as possible

695. a/per year

696. a building for storing goods before distribution

697. easily changed, adaptable for new needs or conditions

D. Заполните пропуски словами:

management logistics distribution inventory storage returns transported warehouse

1. We know (1) ... to be a detailed list of goods, parts, equip­ment, etc. 2. Small profits and quick (2)... is the motto (девиз) for shops that rely on large sales and quick turnover. 3. In the same way, Toshiba might contract with a (3) ... firm so that television sets and other products could be picked up from the factory, taken

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to а (4) ... , perhaps repackaged, and then (5) ... to stores in other countries. 4. Many companies are interested in improving cus­tomer service through better inventory (6)... 5. As a rule, an unpro­ductive (7) ... chain results in a higher total inventory cost. 6. NAVAIR wants logistics data to be converted to digital form for storage in a «virtual» (8) ... facility — a single set of consolidated databases that could be accessed by sailors aboard ship, support en­gineers at shore and program managers.

Упражнение 1. А. Назовите 15—20 ключевых слов и словосочетаний на тему «Logistics».

В. Speak about:

Problems logistics deals with.