Structuring logistics activities in multinational companies ---Strategic perspective---

Abstract

The internationalization of the world economy has substantially increased the border-crossing activities between companies. Consequently, logistics has become a strategic weapon for the success of many global firms. By minimizing the costs in the value chain or providing customers/consumers with differentiated services, logistics acts as a major source of competitive advantages. In spite of the significance of cost factors, the environmental considerations have become another key element in the development of logistics strategy, and this role will possibly increase in the future. Nowadays it is crucial for firms to design their logistics structure on the international basis. Design and control of these international structures has become a complex managerial issue. A common solution for many MNCs is to outsource logistics services/knowledge from third party service providers, through which companies could be more focused on their core business. Multinational companies have never stopped looking for better solutions for logistics. The current trend in the market is to decrease the number of local distribution centers (DCs) while establishing more centralized warehouses on the regional, national or international basis. This trend is closely linked to a concept of regional logistics infrastructure center (RLIC), which is regarded as the logistics solution for the future.