Logistics and distribution

Logistics is the time-related positioning of resources, or the strategic management of the total supply chain. The supply chain is a sequence of events intended to satisfy a customer that can include procurement, manufacture, distribution and waste disposal, together with associated transport, storage and IT. It traces the movement of materials through production to become finished goods, which are then distributed to customers.

Logistics is concerned with getting the right product to the right place in the right quantity at the right time, in the best condition and at an acceptable cost. It embraces procurement, purchasing and supplier management, materials management and manufacturing, inventory management and warehousing, distribution, customer service, and recycling.

Although this article will not deal with transport, it is almost impossible to separate it from other parts of the supply chain. The latter has to be an integrated operation if it is to be successful, and this principle will be familiar to anyone who has spent some time in Service logistics. Many qualifications include all parts of the supply chain.

Supply chains are becoming increasingly adaptive and agile as competition affects them, and e-management of them is often the norm. Indeed, IT and electronic communications have become key competencies for logistics managers, with the supply chain at the heart of many e-commerce developments.

Just-in-time is a key phrase in the supply chain. Things need to happen when and where they must; materials should arrive in the right quantities to meet production schedules; and warehousing and transport should be co-ordinated to get the goods to the customer on time. Over-ordering or over-estimating adds cost and is a competitive disadvantage. Supply chains can start in Hong Kong and end in Harlow. Warehousing involves minimum holdings while satisfying customer expectations.

Many companies now outsource their logistics, or elements of them, to third-party providers. These subcontracted services can include:

• primary and secondary transport and distribution
• inbound logistics and consolidation
• inventory management
• order processing and case/unit picking
• invoice and management reporting.

There are significant skills shortages throughout logistics, particularly at Levels 2 and 3, and major employers offer significant training to their staff. Strictly speaking there are no NVQs/SVQs, National Certificates/Diplomas and Higher National Certificates/Diplomas in logistics, although they exist in closely linked disciplines like warehousing and distribution, and road transport. This situation is changing with a Foundation Degree in the subject, and a number of degrees and higher degrees that can be accessed through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

Logistics in the Services

Each Service has a number of highly trained and experienced logisticians who support operations, training and exercises, unit moves, static bases, war stocks and equipment pools. They work in the Defence Logistics Organisation, in ships and ports, in Army formations, and on air stations and detachments to turn plans into reality.

Every unit has its own logistic staff, performing exactly the same functions but at a lower level. They manage and deliver the essentials of fuel, ammunition, water, food, clothing and personal equipment to the people actually involved in operations. They may have ranks and job titles that are peculiar to a single Service, and in many cases they have enough experience to gain qualifications – usually vocational ones – in the logistics field.

Each unit and sub-unit also has a host of people who carry out many logistic functions as an integral part of their everyday work, although they would never dream of calling themselves logisticians. Many other military people are also concerned with logistics although they do not themselves run facilities. They may be involved with research, design, trials and tests, project management, procurement, development, maintenance, finance, training, and so on.

For resettlement there are a number of firms offering training in logistics that can be accessed through the Career Transition Partnership, as well as the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport’s three-week Certificate in Transport (Road Freight) and Warehouse Management (equivalent to NVQ Level 3), available at the Resettlement Training Centre in Aldershot. It is also important to get qualifications that will still be valid in the months and years ahead; logistics and its qualifications are changing rapidly.

Training and qualifications

There are five main routes to the upper echelons of logistics:

1 graduate training

2 postgraduate entry

3 with management experience

4 school (or young Service) leavers

5 professional qualifications.

Whatever the entry route, the following personal qualities are valued in people working in this field.

• Core technology skills:

– IT literacy

– machinery

– warehousing – engineering

– warehouse management

– analysis.

• People skills:

– problem-solving

– leadership

– communication

– team-building

– decision-making.

• personal qualities:

- analytical

- presentation

- numeracy

- decision-making.

Graduate training entrants join management-training programmes run by employers. They will then often take the professional qualifications of the relevant institute.

Postgraduate entry applicants will have completed an MSc or an MBA. People without a first degree can often enter a postgraduate programme provided that they are up to the academic demands of the course.

Graduates with management experience may well see transport and logistics as the logical next career step and will need to gain the extra knowledge to make it possible.

Some school (or Service) leavers with A-levels may want to start work at once. For them, the best route into management might well be on-the-job experience.

Professional qualifications must reflect the needs of the profession and employers, so they are under frequent scrutiny to ensure they are relevant and provide the right standards. They can enable Service leavers to translate their Service skills into their civilian equivalents.

The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) offer qualifications at a number of levels that are on the National Qualifications Framework and valued in the industry. Both institutes will allow exemptions to various levels of qualification and individual subjects based on prior learning and experience.

CILT qualifications are:

• Supply-Chain Awareness Award
• Introductory Certificate in Logistics and Transport (Level 2)
• Certificate in Logistics and Transport (Level 3)
• Professional Diploma in Logistics and Transport (Level 5)
• Advanced Diploma in Logistics and Transport
• MSc in either Passenger Transport Management or in Logistics.

CIPS currently offers qualifications at the following levels:

• Certificate (Level 3)
• Foundation (Level 4)
• Advanced (Level 5)
• Graduate Diploma (Level 6).

Levels 2 and 7 (being phased in) are completely new levels in the CIPS qualifications.

Although there are few logistics vocational qualifications, there are many units that are relevant to logistics in vocational qualifications that are offered by the Services. It is also possible to ‘grow’ an NVQ/SVQ through a military vocational qualification office or a local college. Higher National and National Certificates and Diplomas can also be gained through part-time study, and a visit to an education centre or local college can provide the necessary information.

Employment

With the huge variety of logistics jobs available, it is possible only to highlight a few areas of employment that Service leavers might consider.

• Manufacturing makes great use of just-in-time management to cut unnecessary costs, with materials arriving in the right quantities and at the right times to meet production schedules, and finished goods despatched to customers.
• Retailing is a very competitive business and the supply chain for a major outlet has to be carefully managed to maintain profit margins.
• Logistics service provision is a growth area as more organisations outsource some or all of their logistic support, so that customer satisfaction will be a prime goal of the service company.
• Consultancy offers opportunities for experienced logisticians to work either in-house or for an external business to advise clients on supply chain matters.

Readers should note that logistics is a very broad field, and any company or department specialising in this field will also need staff working in the administrative, financial, IT, human resources and marketing functions.

Salary levels

The starting salary for a graduate trainee is from £15,000 to £18,000. Logistics supervisors earn between £20,000 and £27,000, while distribution managers could receive £30,000 plus benefits. Supply chain controllers could be on packages of £60,000 plus benefits with senior controllers on upwards of £150,000. A background in logistics is now accepted as a basis for career development in general management and a board-level position in a major company. Much depends on the area of the industry and the size of the organisation.

Contact details

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Logistics and Transport Centre, Earlstrees Court, Earlstrees Road, Corby, Northants NN17 4AX Tel: 01536 740100 Website: www.ciltuk.org.uk

Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, Easton House, Easton on the Hill, Stamford, Lincs PE9 3NZ Tel: 01780 756777 Website: www.cips.org

Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), PO Box 28, Cheltenham GL52 3LZ Tel: 0870 1122211 Website: www.ucas.ac.uk