Text 4. Organizing Logistics

1. Make sure you know the following words and word combinations.

Forklift trucks pallet, amount, procurement, destination, keep smth safe, truck, perform, arrangement, medium sized, employ, transport fleet, marketing, purchase, stock control, spread, contract, third-party, current trend, human resources, variation, common, overall function.

2. Read the text and do the tasks that follow.

It is probably easiest to imagine the activities that make up logistics in a manufacturer, with forklift trucks unloading pallets from lorries and moving them around warehouses. But the same principles apply in any other organization. When a rock band goes on tour they carry huge amounts of equipment. Procurement buys everything that is needed on the tour, transport packs it and moves it to the next destination, receiving makes sure that everything arrives safely, warehousing keeps things safe until they are needed, materials handling moves things between trucks and the stage, location decides where to perform. The same types of decision are made with even the most intangible service. Insurance companies, for example, decide what kind of branch network to have, where to locate offices, who to buy telephone and other services from, how to deliver information to customers, and so on.

You can see logistics in every organization, and it obviously comes in a huge number of different forms. The activities can be arranged in many ways within an organization, and there is certainly no single 'best' arrangement. A small organization might have one person looking after everything. A medium sized organization might have one department with different sections for purchasing, transport, stock control, distribution, and so on. A large organization might have a logistics division employing thousands of people and running huge transport fleets. Sometimes all the activities are organized in a single department reporting to a logistics director; sometimes they are part of a larger department such as marketing or production; sometimes they are spread out in small pockets throughout the organization; sometimes they are contracted out to third-party suppliers.

The current trend is towards an organization where logistics is a single integrated function, with a logistics director – or equivalent – at its head. This follows a traditional functional structure, with the logistics director working with directors in production, finance, sales, human resources, and so on. There are many variations on this, with a common one found in companies organized around products or projects. Then some logistics might exist in each division, with a matrix structure allowing co-ordination of the overall function.

3. Scan the text searching for the English equivalents of the following collocations.

Cоставлять, автопогрузчик, применять, удивительно, поддон, отправляться в турне, большое количество, размещать офис, доставлять информацию, исполнять, нематериальный, страховая компания, многими способами, большой транспортный парк, предоставлять отчет.

4. Answer the questions.

1. Do organizations follow the same principles of organizing logistics activities? 2. Do the same principles apply to services as well? 3. Logistics comes in a huge number of different forms, doesn’t it? 4. Is there any single ‘best’ logistics arrangement? 5. What is the current trend of organizing logistics activities?

5. Expand on the following statements from the text.

1. The activities that make up an organization’s logistics apply in any other organization. 2. Logistics comes in a huge number of different forms. 3. In current conditions logistics is a single integrated function.

6. Work in pairs. Describe an organization’s logistics organizing activities.

Interesting to know

Панамский канал

Строительство Панамского канала стало одной из важнейших вех в мореплавании. Введенный в эксплуатацию в 1920 году (первое судно прошло по нему в 1914, но из-за схода оползня осенью того года, официальное движение было открыто лишь шестью годами позже), канал в несколько раз сократил путь между портами Тихого и Атлантического океанов. Прежде, чтобы попасть из одного океана в другой, судам нужно было огибать Южную Америку аж вокруг мыса Горн. Сегодня Панамский канал — один из главных мировых морских путей, через который ежегодно проходит около 18 тысяч судов (нынешняя пропускная способность канала – 48 судов в сутки), что составляет значительную часть мирового грузооборота.