International Logistics

What is International Logistics?

International logistics is the process of planning and managing the
flow of goods and products in your company's supply chain from acquisition
to international border.
Elements of International Logistics
 Transport visibility - Sometimes called “supply chain visibility” or
simply “visibility,” this is the ability to see where goods are at any
point from origin to buyer. Excellent visibility means being able to
track every parcel, every order and every unit and locate it in real time
in your supply chain and physical space. Which products are on
which truck, and where are those trucks? What are the contents of
each warehouse, and how much of that stock is scheduled to leave
within the next 24 hours? Transport visibility gives businesses data
they can use in real time, data to respond to upcoming demand, and
data to learn from their history successes and failures alike.
 Chain Custody - Chain of custody is an extension of transport
visibility — knowing where your goods are and were always, but it
adds a new data element: knowing WHO did WHAT with or to the
goods. This information isn’t usually needed daily, but having it helps
companies track down the source of problems when things go awry.
When did damaged merchandise get damaged? Are there any
individuals, organizations, or facilities in the supply chain that have a
higher rate of error than others (or more than is reasonable)? What
opportunities are there for something to go wrong (which, in turn, can
help you think about how to prevent this)?
 Traceability to origin - This element is also like visibility and chain
of custody but in reverse. Instead of knowing where things are and
where they’re going, traceability to origin (sometimes called backward
traceability) is about where the goods came from and where all of the
components came from.
 Integrity of consignment - This element is the essential goal of all
the others. Integrity of consignment means the product reached the
intended recipient in proper condition and was handled appropriately
per the terms of the contract and/or reasonable expectations of the
recipient. This obviously means intact, fully present, and usable, but
it could also include issues related to proper handling in transit. A
perishable good may be fine to use upon arrival, but if it was
improperly stored in transit, its useful life could be greatly reduced
and costly to the recipient. The integrity of that consignment would
have been compromised.
Goals of International Logistics
 Cost efficiency - This is usually the first goal that prompts
businesses to focus on optimizing international logistics. Doing
business across international borders can be expensive. There are
multiple tax regimes to understand and manage, tariffs and other
costly requirements, and the costs of long-distance shipping. These
costs add up. By all the cost structures and options, from
international real estate opportunities to regulatory frameworks,
understanding businesses can respond to a complex and sometimes
changing constraints to reduce costs. This is where casting a wide net
and attention to detail matter.
 Reliability - With international logistics, one misunderstanding of a
local rule could result in an entire shipment being unusable (for
example, if it gets confiscated or a perishable shipment is turned away
or stalled). More common threats to timeliness and predictability also
loom, from delays in processing and mistakes in filling out forms to
last-minute changes in import, export or travel policies. Having
dedicated people, services, and technology to spot and respond to
these threats to reliability can go a long way toward making an
international operation more dependable. In some cases, “reliability” is
just another way of saying “viability” because, without this, some
businesses wouldn’t be able to survive.
 Relationships - Building a good international logistics operation often
means making friends in many places. And when you have a reliable,
efficient operation, it’s easier to build friendships. Growing businesses
that pay their bills on time are a favorite of suppliers. Being the
company that gets customers what they need, when they need it, at a
fair price builds loyalty, especially when competitors are struggling. In
some cases, an international supply chain may be the one competitive
advantage that attracts customers, especially for product categories
where offerings have low differentiation.
 Components of international logistics management - There are
many ways to break down the components of managing international
logistics:
o All the different tasks a logistics manager faces in a day.
o The different parts of the supply chain, from sourcing to
production to storing to distribution to sales and delivery.
o The people, objects, data, and financial resources a business
needs to do it well.
But perhaps the most helpful approach for a business just starting in
international logistics is to consider that it is all in service of a
common goal: doing a good job for customers.
Two Main Phase in Movement of Materials
There are two main phases that are important in the movement of
materials.

1. Material management - It is the timely movement of raw

materials, parts, and supplies.
2. Physical distribution - It is the movement of the firm’s finished
products to the customers.
Components of Logistics
 Storage, Material handling and Warehouses
 to enable a steady stream of products to be supplied by
manufacturers.
 There tends to be an imbalance between supply, which is
steady, and demand, which can be unpredictable. The answer
is to store the surplus goods produced by a manufacturer until
they are demanded by consumers.
 Packaging and Unitization
 A key component of logistics is the care and condition of a
product.
 Unitization is also important as this assists storage and
transportation.
 Inventory
 is a logistics element that is closely related to storage and
warehousing.
 It is concerned with what stock to hold, where the stock is
located and how much stock to hold.
 Transport
 This includes all modes of transport including road vehicles,
freight trains, cargo shipping and air transport.
 Information and control
 The element of information and control is needed by all the
elements to act as triggers to various operational procedures.
 Information and control’s role is to help design information
systems that can control operational procedures. They are also
key in the forecasting of demand and inventory.

Types of international Logistics

Inbound Logistics
Inbound logistics alludes to the inner logistics errands and exercises that
organizations need to finish so as working. Inbound logistics ordinarily
refers to the strategic tasks of organizations that work genuinely upstream.
As far as the supply chain is concerned, it includes the relationship with
parties that work further upstream than the given business.
Outbound Logistics
Outbound logistics allude to the errands and exercises engaged with moving
the item to the end client. Such strategic obligations generally apply to
players that work moderately downstream, which are normally the last party
in the supply chain. The obligations incorporate the storage of
manufactured stock, the transportation of produced merchandise to the
retail location, and sometimes, the shipping and handling involved in the
process.
Third-Party Logistics
Third party logistics imply that a third-party business is utilized to
outsource logistics services. These services can incorporate all exercises that
include the management and the different ways an enterprise moves
resources starting with one location then onto the next. They involve tasks,
transportation, warehousing, production, and more.
Fourth-Party Logistics
A 4PL is a fourth-party logistics supplier and it basically makes third party
logistics a stride further by overseeing resources, innovation, technology,
infrastructure, and even manage external 3PLs to configure, fabricate and
give supply chain solutions for organizations. A 4PL service includes 3PL
service as well as Logistics strategy, Freight sourcing strategies, Network
analysis, and design, Consultancy, Business planning, Change
management, Project management, Inventory planning, and management
and Inbound, outbound, and reverse logistics management.
Distribution Logistics
Distribution logistics involves the arranging errands, control and all
procedures concerning the flow of goods and information between
manufacturing companies and clients. Distribution logistics (otherwise
called transport logistics or sale logistics) is the connection or link between
market and production. The zone contains all procedures engaged with the
distribution of merchandise from manufacturing organizations to customers.
Customers could be ending users, wholesalers, distributors, or processors.
It ensures that the manufactured goods and services reach the customer
safely and quickly.
Challenges of International Logistics
International logistics managers face many challenges daily, and the last few
years have seen a rise in the severity of those challenges. The fundamental problem
is that growing supply chains run through more jurisdictions and require more
personnel. So, they accumulate more possible points of failure and bottlenecks as
they expand. Let’s look at a few of the most common international logistics
challenges, keeping in mind that this list is representative, not comprehensive.

Traversing geography
Supply chains are just physically longer when they cross international
borders, sometimes including oceans. Things take longer to get from point A
to point B, requiring more investment in transportation and, often, multiple
modes of transport.
Personnel
Moving things along stretched supply chains requires a lot of people.
Businesses need drivers and mechanics for the vehicles, people to load and
unload physical items multiple times in a journey, technology people to
manage data gathering, and more. A good third-party logistics partner can
help with a lot of this, but at the end of the day, it's your business's product
and customers, so you need to be confident that your supply chain isn't only
well-designed but well-staffed, too.
Translation difficulties.
This is a whole category of challenges, as many things need to be translated
or converted in an international supply chain. Language needs to be
common or translated and not just regularly spoken languages, like English
and Mandarin, but also industry-specific jargon that's often needed to
achieve clarity on goals and problems. Currencies need to be converted.
Tracking systems need to talk to each other. Troves of data need to be
integrated. Most of these challenges fall within the transaction and
communication channels, but they're no less important to a reliable
operation than the movement of physical goods.
Government rules and regulations.
Every country has different laws and regulatory frameworks in which
businesses must operate, and making sure an entire global supply chain is
compliant with all the applicable rules is difficult. These challenges range
from acquiring permissions to paying taxes to making sure all your
documentation and forms are filled out correctly and submitted as required.
Political risk
Sometimes, the politics of a country changes with little or no warning.
Traveling employees might go from not needing a visa to needing one. An
airport might suddenly not be allowed to fly a route your business depends
on. A labor strike could cripple a port’s operations for days or weeks. There
could be huge delays at the border if a politician thinks he or she can score
points by tightening security measures.

End

References
https://www.slideshare.net/pruthvims/international-logistics-250140858?
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https://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/articles/inventory-
management/international-logistics.shtml?
fbclid=IwAR34GZuu1yXHsFmJLHwhU29bqu6hxgjDTAkcm71dP-
YQkMw6Z_uphkYr9hQ

Group 9:
John Daryl Baiño BSBA 4A
Kate Camiele Montalba BSBA 4A
Jerlyn Mae Joson BSBA 4A