When we use the term “Global”, we talk about imports from Asia to the U.S.; we talk about exports to Europe; we talk about movements within North America – and we talk about more; products, components and finished goods, which never touch the U.S. They move from a vendor in Singapore to a manufacturing plant in the Philippines. Or they move from Hong Kong to Germany.
With such a complex scope of locations, plants, warehouses, vendors and customers the five key issues of logistics are especially critical with global logistics-
•Movement of Product
•Movement of Information
•Time / Service
•Cost
•Integration–within your company between you and your customers and between you and your vendors
Within these issues are additional influences and factors. For example, time zones. People in the Far East, Europe and North America are all networking at the same time. There is too great a difference in the time zones. This means there must be a firm understanding of plans and strategies by each element. Or, there are cultural factors. Different cultures view and understand business topics differently. These understandings and their complexities can compound if the strategies and plans for doing business are not the result of collaborative effort with input by all groups.
In the drive to reduce costs, auto industry manufacturers are scouting the planet looking for the lowest-cost suppliers. Attracted to lower-wage areas such as Mexico and China, globalization is stretching supply lines longer than ever. What’s more, major manufacturers are eyeing overseas markets for expanding their sales. This boosts outbound logistics. And a global glut of manufacturing capacity is forcing many manufacturers to shutter redundant plants. The remaining plants are picking up the slack but now must export to more countries.
