Currently, in the era of advanced technical and IT solutions, a company’s success is no longer based solely on the quality of the products or services offered, or efficient technology. Changes occurring in the business environment and within the companies themselves require firms to continuously update their data collection and processing systems. Every organization, in order to achieve one of its primary goals, i.e., survival, must act dynamically, capable of adapting to constantly changing market conditions. The problem is no longer how to produce, but how to coordinate the flow of resources appropriate for each organization so as to best respond to opportunities and mitigate the threats posed to the company by the changing environment. An essential factor determining the success of the range of actions taken by an enterprise is obtaining accurate and reliable data on its current condition. Information obtained in this way provides the opportunity for effective planning of activities in various aspects of the organization’s functioning, especially where we must best utilize existing resources or define the demand for new ones. These aspirations take on a special character in the case of enterprises operating in the competitive and capital-intensive market of liquefied gas distribution. Price fluctuations of the raw material, irregularity, and lack of diversification of supply sources make the management of the logistics layer of such an entity a critical point in the distribution chain. From the warehouse facilities and inventory replenishment, through the fuel delivery system to customers, to the monitoring of individual installations. Thanks to ICT, all these aspects can be connected and made to function in a single information loop.
The purpose of this article is to present the concept and implemented functionality of an ICT system for managing an LPG installation network.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2003/5.