What is Difference between Logistics & Supply Chain Management?

“Supply Chain Management” and “Logistics” – these two phrases often cause confusion amidst eCommerce brands & they often consider it all the same. Yet, beneath the surface, they possess distinctive features. As businesses navigate the ever-evolving landscape, understanding the nuances between these two concepts becomes essential for optimizing processes and achieving success. Join us on a journey of exploration as we unravel the difference between logistics & supply chain management!

What is Supply Chain Management?

   “Supply chains compete, not companies.” ~Hau Lee

• End-to-End Process Focus: Supply chain management (SCM) drives success by overseeing all stages from planning to customer delivery. It optimizes operations, aiming for efficiency in procurement, production, distribution, and storage to meet customer needs effectively.
• Effective Planning: SCM begins with understanding customer requirements and devising strategies to fulfill them. It involves anticipating demand, planning operations, and aligning resources accordingly.
• Strategic Sourcing: Procurement is key. SCM involves selecting reliable suppliers who offer timely deliveries, competitive prices, and ample raw material reserves. This ensures a smooth flow of resources.
• Efficient Production: SCM ensures efficient manufacturing by maximizing machine and employee productivity while minimizing raw material wastage, contributing to cost-effectiveness.
• Streamlined Distribution: Effective supply chain management ensures smooth product storage and shipping, enhancing the customer experience. It covers transportation, inventory management, and even reverse logistics, facilitating easy returns, exchanges, and refunds for customer satisfaction.

What is Logistics?

     “Logistics is the art of getting the right thing, to the right place, at the right time.” ~ Bernard Ashley

• Focused on Transportation and Storage: Unlike SCM, logistics concentrates solely on transportation and storage within the supply chain, playing a pivotal role in ensuring smooth movement of goods.
• Transport Efficiency: Logistics optimizes goods transportation, managing efficient movement from point to point, enhancing inventory control, and facilitating customer deliveries, which significantly impacts customer repurchase decisions.
• Integral SCM Component: Logistics is a crucial part of SCM, directly influencing the customer experience by governing product receipt. This process spans acquiring raw materials, storing finished products, and ensuring timely deliveries.
• Warehousing and Inventory: Adequate warehousing and inventory management are paramount. Proper storage safeguards perishable items and prevents order delays by ensuring sufficient stock availability.
• Crucial Shipping Stage: Shipping marks the customer interaction point, demanding seamless operations for positive customer experiences. Businesses can either handle logistics internally or enlist logistics management services to maintain a seamless supply chain flow.

Difference between Logistics & Supply Chain Management 

• Scope and Focus: Supply chain management (SCM) encompasses the end-to-end processes from procurement to delivery, emphasizing optimization, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. Logistics, on the other hand, mainly concentrates on transportation, storage, and inventory management within the supply chain.
• Comprehensive vs. Specific: SCM takes a holistic approach, overseeing various aspects including sourcing, production, distribution, and customer service. Logistics has a narrower focus, dealing specifically with the movement and storage of goods.
• Customer-Centricity: SCM prioritizes meeting customer needs by streamlining processes and ensuring timely deliveries. Logistics contributes to this goal by managing the efficient movement of goods, which impacts customer experiences.
• Incorporation of Functions: SCM integrates diverse functions like procurement, manufacturing, marketing, and sales. Logistics primarily integrates transportation, warehousing, and inventory management, operating within the broader SCM framework.
• Strategic vs. Operational: SCM involves strategic decision-making such as selecting suppliers, setting inventory policies, and designing distribution networks. Logistics is more operational, dealing with the execution and management of transportation and storage activities.

Final Takeaway

So we can conclude that while supply chain management and logistics are intertwined with each other they are distinct terms that shouldn’t be used interchangeably, as logistics is just one part of Supply Chain Management (SCM).

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