The Decalogue of problem logic.
• First, not all retail is the same.
• Second, one must adopt—out of many possible area outlines—one, in order to avoid ambiguity in the discussion of the problem.
• Third, there is no, and will never be, an ideal recipe for effective logistics.
• Fourth, logistics must be understood, desired, and applied, not selectively in some retail sector or economic space, but systemically across the entire retail network and throughout its entire area of operation.
• Fifth, one must realize that logistics is not an activity alienated from reality, but is subject to many conditions in the area of its application, such as market network and industry entropy of points of sale, infrastructure limitations, or temporal differentiation of trading hours.
• Sixth, not only infrastructure, especially road infrastructure, but also the spatial development of the area where logistics is applied can be a significant barrier to it.
• Seventh, in terms of road network accessibility, one must take into account traffic organization conditions, especially restrictions due to one-way traffic, which is often forgotten even in many problem studies.
• Eighth, a logistics delivery system requires appropriate space for unloading goods in front of the point of sale and for loading those purchased by customers.
• Ninth, trade logistics has a two-way dimension, namely, apart from the delivery of goods, it also involves their non-sales disposal in the form of returns, and above all, in the form of various trade waste.
• Tenth, trade logistics is not merely the organization of a system of vehicle and cargo flows that increases the efficiency of the sales process for both the merchant and the buyer of the offered products, but also a procedure that, under conditions of many environmental exposures, should clearly limit the scale of their nuisance to people and the material environment.
• Second, one must adopt—out of many possible area outlines—one, in order to avoid ambiguity in the discussion of the problem.
• Third, there is no, and will never be, an ideal recipe for effective logistics.
• Fourth, logistics must be understood, desired, and applied, not selectively in some retail sector or economic space, but systemically across the entire retail network and throughout its entire area of operation.
• Fifth, one must realize that logistics is not an activity alienated from reality, but is subject to many conditions in the area of its application, such as market network and industry entropy of points of sale, infrastructure limitations, or temporal differentiation of trading hours.
• Sixth, not only infrastructure, especially road infrastructure, but also the spatial development of the area where logistics is applied can be a significant barrier to it.
• Seventh, in terms of road network accessibility, one must take into account traffic organization conditions, especially restrictions due to one-way traffic, which is often forgotten even in many problem studies.
• Eighth, a logistics delivery system requires appropriate space for unloading goods in front of the point of sale and for loading those purchased by customers.
• Ninth, trade logistics has a two-way dimension, namely, apart from the delivery of goods, it also involves their non-sales disposal in the form of returns, and above all, in the form of various trade waste.
• Tenth, trade logistics is not merely the organization of a system of vehicle and cargo flows that increases the efficiency of the sales process for both the merchant and the buyer of the offered products, but also a procedure that, under conditions of many environmental exposures, should clearly limit the scale of their nuisance to people and the material environment.
Emphasizing the logical content of logistics here has its philosophical justification, and philosophy is not only the love of wisdom, it is also its indication. Logistics is… quite obviously logic in the sense of Aristotle, whose basic views and logical program it realizes and expands. [Modern] logistics also contains entirely new chapters of logic previously unknown, e.g., the theory of multiple quantification, the logic of relations, etc., [and] in terms of method… it is characterized by very great precision, is axiomatized, uses an artificial language (i.e., the method initiated by the creator of logic), and finally, applies formalism.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2002/1.