Glossary

Logistics is the management of the flow of resources from source to destination to meet the needs of in-house operations, customers, and consumers. Logistics is usually seen as part of supply chain management, and is often separated into inbound logistics (obtaining supplies), and outbound logistics (distribution of products).

Logistics providers are third parties who provide a range of services to manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers that includes transport, storage and distribution.

Logistics Service Providers are companies that provide transportation and/or storage capabilities and sometimes associated services such as freight forwarding. When Logistics Service Providers expand their offer to include broader supply chain responsibility, they become known as 3PL or 4PL providers.

Logistics Systems refers to a class of manufacturing software designed to optimize scheduling and other activities throughout the supply chain – or value chain – including transportation and distribution functions.