Can anticipatory logistics work in the corporate world?

Essay by Wolfgang61University, Master'sA+, October 2004

download word file, 5 pages 5.0

Supply chain management (SCM) is one of the most important factors in today's business operations. With international product raw material sourcing and international sales, the scope and complexity of supply chains can be significant. Customers' requirements drive the process by demanding that their orders be shipped accurately, on time, and with the agreed specifications of the product. The purpose of SCM is to minimize excess inventory and unnecessary costs.

Anticipatory logistics is the key to maintain a customer supplied with the product so their sales or operations do not stall while waiting for additional product delivery. With today's business information technology (IT), any corporation has the potential to effectively utilize anticipatory logistics in their supply chain. There are already several corporations or business that are successfully using anticipatory logistics in one way or another.

I intend to prove my point by defining and analyzing Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Anticipatory Logistics (AL).

I will further explain how and why they are used in the military, and how it can be utilized in the corporate world. I will also provide examples of private corporations that are already effectively utilizing anticipatory logistics. This paper will provide facts and opinions from several different reports and write-ups from subject matter experts, news reports, and other documents.

The Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Helmuth von Moltke said "The problem is to grasp, in innumerable special cases, the actual situation which is covered by the mists of uncertainty, to appraise the facts correctly and to guess the unknown elements, to reach a decision quickly, and then to carry it out forcefully and relentlessly." The expeditious and accurate delivery of goods to the customer will rely on precise predictions of what the customers will need in real time.

In the winter 1988 issue of Supply Chain Management...