Application of the Critical Chain Method in Logistics Project Scheduling

The popularization over the last few decades of the planning approach presented by a significant group of American organization and management theorists, in which single plans and standing plans are clearly distinguished, has highlighted the importance of the project.

The definition proposed by the Project Management Institute (PMI) states that a project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service. Paraphrasing this definition, a logistics project can be most generally defined as a temporarily separated endeavor aimed at executing a one-time and unique action, consisting of delivering a specific good at a planned time and to a designated place.

Additionally, this endeavor must be characterized by the following features:

• singularity, i.e., the execution of the endeavor for the first time,
• purposefulness, i.e., the result of a specific strategy,
• distinctness, i.e., lack of connection with the normal, routine activities of the company/supply chain,
• limitation, i.e., the existence of a time constraint for the execution of the endeavor,
• structural distinctness, i.e., separating the execution of the endeavor as a separate structure,
• within the company/supply chain.

All the above conditions are very important, especially in a situation where we are dealing with projects implemented on a contract basis, where meeting deadlines and the compliance of the achieved goal with the project assumptions are extremely important. The process of executing every project is a multi-threaded process, involving various resources, requiring diverse skills from the implementers, and affecting various spheres of the company’s operation through its effect.
The project itself, regardless of the approach used, is a separate, unique organizational entity established temporarily and temporarily involving people from various organizations, organizational units, etc. The essence of project management boils down to using this structure and material and intangible resources to execute a plan, which is also temporary by nature, because it is valid as long as the project exists. In terms of controlling, the project constitutes a specific investment center or is something on the border of an investment, cost, result, and revenue center. On one hand, the project is determined by accepted time and budget constraints, and on the other, treated as an investment endeavor, it should primarily lead to the achievement of development goals. The ambiguity and diversity of the definition of a logistics project do not allow for pointing to one single correct one. However, it is certain that due to its innovative nature and the resulting difficulty in precisely determining time and costs, an immanent feature of logistics projects is a high degree of risk and uncertainty. (…)

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