Is Logistics the same as Supply Chain Management?

Nowadays, consumers are getting more and more comfortable with the idea of doorstep delivery. Businesses, small or large, depend upon their logistics and supply chain management to keep the momentum going and deliver products to the end consumer timely and efficiently. The words logistics and SCM are often confused as the same. However, one should understand that logistics is only a small part of a much bigger operation, i.e., supply chain management.

Although both these words are different, their end goal is to deliver a product safely and timely to the consumer. This common goal often lets people think that the two words are synonymous with each other.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT: It is about managing collaborations between manufacturing companies, connecting them to suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, etc. Apart from these, SCM also looks over inventory, procurement of goods, testing, logistics, etc. there are several applications & softwares for businesses that make the supply chain management easier.

LOGISTICS: It is a part of the bigger picture (SCM). Logistics ensures the storage of ordered goods and their distribution to the end customer. It is a much more mechanical process than SCM, as its main aim is to find and create a process with minimum resistance to meet the customer’s expectation when delivering an ordered product.

Supply chain management is a relatively new concept and is designed to ensure maximum output. Managing orders, keeping a check on the inventory, tracking and connecting with manufacturers, allocating and controlling costs over logistics, maintaining third-party collaborations and negotiating for best prices, and managing the supply and demand, all these are some of the key roles and aspects of an SCM. It’s no doubt that both logistics and supply chain management are very much intertwined. While SCM controls a larger network, logistics also plays a vital role in ensuring that all the other processes done by the supply chain do not go to waste. The main objective of logistics is meeting the customer’s expectation by efficiently delivering products.

Logistics is itself divided into two processes:

  • INBOUND: procuring and storing the goods before transportation;
  • OUTBOUND: moving and distributing the goods to the end customer.

Even though logistics is part of supply chain management, it is equally important for a business to focus on. A great SCM plan ensures greater profits and customer satisfaction which is the primary goal for any organization.

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