ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the key to functional excellence is recognizing all the activities involved in managing the supply chain and the importance of excellent execution of each individual activity as well as the totality. A growing number of companies are beginning to think of their activities as processes rather than a group of distinct tasks or functions. The logistics process spans the activities of many traditional functions, which must be coordinated in a harmonious way. Forecasting is an activity that is not always associated with the logistics function. Companies that have been most successful in meeting the flexibility impose challenges have addressed inventory on all three levels of the Strategic Inventory Management Pyramid. The base of the Strategic Inventory Management Pyramid, inventory control, focuses on building capabilities to achieve timely and accurate information on inventory status. Electronic data interchange (EDI) is providing logistics managers with new opportunities to leverage performance.
