ABSTRACT
Managing the logistics of a global organization is an immensely complicated task. But if trends continue, it will become even more important–and presumably more complicated–in the future. The single most important factor in deciding whether a company can work globally is the product that it is making. The standard view of a global operation is based on a car manufacturer. This buys materials and components from suppliers around the world and moves them to assembly plants. The product features might encourage local supply, but this does not necessarily mean that they prohibit global operations. There are many examples of organizations that operate globally, but still give a local service. There are global operations that have a fairly limited need of logistics. A hamburger chain, for example, might work globally, but practicalities demand that almost all its materials are bought locally. The overall structure of the company obviously determines the shape of its supply chains.
