ABSTRACT
Logistics management primarily concerns the coordination and control of the flow of materials in a supply chain from the movement of raw materials through to delivery to end customers. Logistics decisions involve the disposition of inventory or stocks and the means to transport this inventory from one stage in the supply chain to another, either in the downstream or upstream positions (Ballou, 1999; Christopher, 1992; Lambert and Stock, 1993; Stock et al., 1999). Often the definition of logistics management follows high-level definitions of supply chain management in general, but for the purpose of this chapter we shall concentrate on the flow of goods and decisions relating to transport and inventory. From a sustainability point of view, logistics is where some of the most
significant environmental impacts have their origins, explicitly stemming from transportation. Hence the role of transport in the sustainability debate will receive particular attention. Nevertheless, the goods (inventory/stock) themselves also have sustainability consequences, for example when they become waste and require disposal. Therefore subjects such as reverse logistics will also be covered in this chapter. While there are direct logistics processes such as transport and product disposal, which have impacts on society, many of the generic decisions in logistics management will lead to specific social and environmental outcomes. For this reason many of the recent discussions in logistics management are also included in the scope of the chapter.
