Donald F. Wood

International Logistics Channels

The concept of channels has long been used to analyse and understand the functions of domestic marketing and distribution. The concept is carried further and used as an aid in understanding international logistics. Three channels are discussed: the international transaction and payment channel; the international distribution channel (through which the goods physically move); and the documentation/communications channel. Third parties or middlemen frequently appear in channels to facilitate their operations; they are mentioned briefly as are constraints on the smooth, uninterrupted flows through channels.

PERT, CPM and the export process

PERT techniques logically arrange all related tasks involved in completing a major process. Tasks can be examined in relationship to each other and one can determine whether--and, if so, by how much--changes in the length of time to perform one task affect overall completion time. When applied to the export process, PERT techniques allow one to examine trade-offs between alternatives such as air and water shipping; and to calculate values of accelerating each task.

A note on the “need” for graduate education in transportation in the United States

An examination of the employment situation for transport and logistics graduates in the United States.

International Air Transportation

This chapter deals with air transportation, and it emphasizes movements of cargo, rather than passengers. However, it is difficult to separate the two because the majority of freight moves on aircraft that carry passengers also. A very small percentage of the world’s commercial airline aircraft carry cargo exclusively. Airlines that carry both passengers and cargo give higher priority to the movement of passengers; flights are scheduled to capture passenger markets.

Logistics of Famine Relief

This chapter contains a discussion of the logistical aspects of famine relief efforts, where first- and third-world logistics—as discussed in Chapter 3—meet. This presents a situation where nations with advanced logistics techniques operate in areas at the other end of the spectrum, to the extent that they have almost no logistics infrastructure in place. Famine relief efforts provide a view of public-sector, or not-for-profit, international logistics efforts, where monetary profit may not be the motivating factor.

Ocean Ships and Shipping

This is the first of three chapters that deal with ocean shipping. This chapter deals with the various types of ships that are in use by both shippers who own them and firms that own them for others to use. Chapter 5 deals with bulk carriers and charter arrangements that are used when a shipper has sufficient cargo that it can think in terms of utilizing an entire vessel. Chapter 6 deals with movements of smaller quantities, usually more valuable per unit of weight, that move on regularly scheduled liner vessels.

Future Issues in International Logistics

This chapter is brief. Rather than summarizing what has been written so far, it will attempt to look forward into the first part of the 21st century and suggest what logistical “happenings” may occur. The political balances in the world have changed. In the first part of the 20th century, tensions between western European powers were the focus of the world’s attention. After World War II, the cold war, which lasted until about 1990, involved two superpowers whose conflicts were fought on the lands of other nations. During much of the 20th century, international tensions were great.

International Logistics Functions and Intermediaries

There are no airtight definitions of logistics or logistics systems. One European author indicated three types of systems, defined in terms of their scope. One was limited to the distribution of finished products and called “commercial logistics”; one integrated inbound and outbound activities and was called “productive/distribution logistics”; and the last encompassed total support over the entire life of a project or piece of equipment and was called “integrated logistics support.”1 As used in this book, logistics is the organized movement of materials and, sometimes, people. Logistics includes movement of whatever information is needed to sustain its own operations. Logistics implies that a number of separate activities are undertaken and are coordinated.

Seaports, Airports, Canals, and Tunnels

The transportation modal choice for many cross-border shipments comes down to a decision between air and water transportation. This chapter will investigate some of the major man-made links and nodes which facilitate international water and air transportation. Specifically, this chapter discusses seaports and airports (nodes), as well as canals and tunnels (links). Seaports and airports act as transfer points for cargo and passengers from ocean vessels or airplanes. Canals serve to connect bodies of water separated by land, whereas tunnels and bridges link land bodies divided by mountains or water.

Terms of Sale and Terms of Payment

The logistics manager should be concerned with the terms of sale involved in both selling and buying materials. In international transactions, the terms of sale govern the movement of the product, and if the logistics manager plays a passive role, he or she will have to accept logistics decisions made by others. Many of these decisions have an impact on costs and on service. Also, in every international transaction, there is a point in both time and geography where and when title to the goods changes, responsibility for insurance and caring for the shipment (say, of livestock) changes, responsibility for paying and arranging for transportation changes, and payment for the goods takes place.