Article distinguished in the 4th edition of the “Pen of the Logistician” competition.
1. Economic functions of logistics
Logistics, presenting a process-oriented approach to cost rationalization, is gaining increasing importance and constitutes a contemporary trend shaping the behavior of logisticians in achieving economic and organizational goals. Treating logistics and its components as elements of an entire mechanism allows for comparing the reliability of its functioning with the guidelines determining the correct operation of a machine and the ideal interaction of all gears.
Considering logistics as an independent field of science, one should reflect on its place in the modern economy on a micro and macro scale. Therefore, logistics cannot be treated as a detached sphere of enterprise operation; rather, the logistics process should be considered as a logistics support system, treated as a “purposefully organized subsystem of any organization, supporting its basic process of goods production by integrating all activities related to the effective, efficient, and beneficial flow of resources necessary for the production of the basic good, and supporting the service of the production process in terms of ensuring the necessary equipment for this process, both in terms of availability and reliability.” In this approach, the 6R principle applies (in German: richtig, in English: right):
- right objects (richtige Obiekte);
- right quality (richtige Qualitat);
- right quantity (richtige Menge);
- right place (richtiges Ort);
- right time (richtige Zeit);
- at optimal costs (richtige [optimale] Kosten).
Proper understanding and use of the above guidelines determine the rational management of available resources and the realization of intended goals at the desired cost level.
A more detailed presentation of the process approach to logistics will be served by an example of organizing the work of all logistics subsystems in the analyzed enterprise in the waste recycling industry. An important issue in the initial phase of organizing the flow of waste through individual links of the logistics system is to consider all possible variants of the occurrence of different classes of waste with varying levels of harmful impact on the environment. In this regard, one must design:
A more detailed presentation of the process approach to logistics will be served by an example of organizing the work of all logistics subsystems in the analyzed enterprise in the waste recycling industry. An important issue in the initial phase of organizing the flow of waste through individual links of the logistics system is to consider all possible variants of the occurrence of different classes of waste with varying levels of harmful impact on the environment. In this regard, one must design:
- storage structures and constructions,
- means of transport and handling as well as transport packaging,
- means enabling the sorting and utilization of waste.
Proper preparation of the above components of the logistics system determines the rational management of available resources and the realization of logistics assumptions in accordance with adopted procedures.