Manage Complex Innovation

Innovation is the change that outperforms the previous practice. To lead or sustain with innovations, managers need to concentrate heavily on the innovation network which requires deep understanding of the complexity of innovation.

Collaboration is an important source of innovation. Innovations are increasingly brought to the market by networks of firms, selected according to their comparative advantages, and operating in a coordinated manner.

When a technology goes through major transformation phase and yields a successful innovation then it becomes a great learning experience not only for the parent industry but for other industries as well. Big innovations are generally the outcome of inter and interdisciplinary networking among technological sectors along with combination of implicit and explicit knowledge.

 Networking is required but network integration (networking of networks) is the key to success for complex innovation in today’s era where diverse technologies are available at its best. Social economic zone, technology corridor, free trade agreement and technology cluster are some of the ways to encourage organizational networking and cross functional innovations.

 To win with innovation in a flat world we definitely need complex networking and crowd-sourcing

Innovative Logisticks Management

Innovation management is the discipline of managing processes in innovation. It can be used to develop both product and organizational innovation. Without proper processes, it is not possible for R&D to be efficient; innovation management includes a set of tools that allow managers and engineers to cooperate with a common understanding of goals and processes.

The focus of innovation management is to allow the organization to respond to an external or internal opportunity, and use its creative efforts to introduce new ideas, processes or products.

 Importantly, innovation management is not relegated to R&D; it involves workers at every level in contributing creatively to a company's development, manufacturing, and marketing. By utilizing appropriate innovation management tools, management can trigger and deploy the creative juices of the whole work force towards the continuous development of a company.

 The process can be viewed as an evolutionary integration of organization, technology and market by iterating series of activities: search, select, implement and capture.

Innovation processes can either be pushed or pulled through development. A pushed process is based on existing or newly invented technology, that the organization has access to, and tries to find profitable applications to use this technology.

 A pulled process tries to find areas where customers needs are not met, and then focus development efforts to find solutions to those needs.

 To succeed with either method, an understanding of both the market and the technical problems are needed. By creating multi-functional development teams, containing both engineers and marketers, both dimensions can be solved.

 The lifetime (or product lifecycle) of new products is steadily getting shorter; increased competition therefore forces companies reduce the time to market. Innovation managers must therefore decrease development time, without sacrificing quality or meeting the needs of the market.

Logisticks Definations

Logistics - (business definition) Logistics is defined as a business planning framework for the management of material, service, information and capital flows. It includes the increasingly complex information, communication and control systems required in today's business environment. -- (Logistix Partners Oy, Helsinki, FI, 1996)

Logistics - (military definition) The science of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of forces.... those aspects of military operations that deal with the design and development, acquisition, storage, movement, distribution, maintenance, evacuation and disposition of material; movement, evacuation, and hospitalization of personnel; acquisition of construction, maintenance, operation and disposition of facilities; and acquisition of furnishing of services. -- (JCS Pub 1-02 excerpt)

Logistics - The procurement, maintenance, distribution, and replacement of personnel and materiel. -- (Websters Dictionary)

Logistics - 1. The branch of military operations that deals with the procurement, distribution, maintenance, and replacement of materiel and personnel. 2. The management of the details of an operation.
[French logistiques, from logistique, logic (perhaps influenced by loger, to quarter), from Medieval Latin logisticus, of calculation.] -- (American Heritage Dictionary)

Logistics - ...the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements." Note that this definition includes inbound, outbound, internal, and external movements, and return of materials for environmental purposes. -- (Reference: Council of Logistics Management, http://www.clm1.org/mission.html, 12 Feb 98)

Logistics - The process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, cost effective flow and storage of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of meeting customer requirements. -- (Reference: Canadian Association of Logistics Management, http://www.calm.org/calm/AboutCALM/AboutCALM.html, 12 Feb, 1998)

Logistics - The science of planning, organizing and managing activities that provide goods or services. -- (MDC, LogLink / LogisticsWorld, 1997)

Logistics - Logistics is the science of planning and implementing the acquisition and use of the resources necessary to sustain the operation of a system. -- (Reference: ECRC University of Scranton / Defense Logistics Agency Included with permission from: HUM - The Government Computer Magazine "Integrated Logistics" December 1993, Walter Cooke, Included with permission from: HUM - The Government Computer Magazine.)

Logist - To perform logistics functions or processes. The act of planning, organizing and managing activities that provide goods or services. (The verb "to logist." Eg. She logisted the last operation. I will logist the next operation. I am logisting the current operation. We logist the operations. The operations are well logisted.) -- (MDC, LogLink / LogisticsWorld, 1997)

Logistic - Of or pertaining to logistics. -- (MDC, LogLink / LogisticsWorld, 1997)

Logistical - Of or pertaining to logistics, logistics-like. -- (MDC, LogLink / LogisticsWorld, 1997)

Logistics Functions - (classical) planning, procurement, transportation, supply, and maintenance. -- (United States Department of Defense DOD)

Logistics Processes - (classical) requirements determination, acquisition, distribution, and conservation. -- (United States Department of Defense DOD)

Business Logistics - The science of planning, design, and support of business operations of procurement, purchasing, inventory, warehousing, distribution, transportation, customer support, financial and human resources. -- (MDC, LogLink / LogisticsWorld, 1997)

Cradle-to-Grave - Logistics planning, design, and support which takes in to account logistics support throughout the entire system or product life cycle. -- (MDC, LogLink / LogisticsWorld, 1997)

Acquisition Logistics - Acquisition Logistics is everything involved in acquiring logistics support equipment and personnel for a new weapons system. The formal definition is "the process of systematically identifying, defining, designing, developing, producing, acquiring, delivering, installing, and upgrading logistics support capability requirements through the acquisition process for Air Force systems, subsystems, and equipment. -- (Reference: Air Force Institute of Technology, Graduate School of Acquisition and Logistics.)

Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) (1) - ILS is a management function that provides planning, funding, and functioning controls which help to assure that the system meets performance requirements, is developed at a reasonable price, and can be supported throughout its life cycle. -- (Reference: Air Force Institute of Technology, Graduate School of Acquisition and Logistics.)

Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) (2) - Encompasses the unified management of the technical logistics elements that plan and develop the support requirements for a system. This can include hardware, software, and the provisioning of training and maintenance resources. -- (Reference: ECRC University of Scranton / Defense Logistics Agency Included with permission from: HUM - The Government Computer Magazine "Integrated Logistics" December 1993, Walter Cooke.)

Logistics Support Analysis (LSA) - Simply put, LSA is the iterative process of identifying support requirements for a new system, especially in the early stages of system design. The main goals of LSA are to ensure that the system will perform as intended and to influence the design for supportability and affordability

Origins and Defination

                                          
The term logistics comes from the Greek logos (λόγος), meaning "speech, reason, ratio, rationality, language, phrase", and more specifically from the Greek word logistiki (λογιστική), meaning accounting and financial organization

The word logistics has its origin in the French verb loger to lodge or to quarter. Its original use was to describe the science of movement, supplying & maintenance of military forces in the field. Later on it was used to describe the management of materials flow through an organization, from raw materials through to finished goods

Logistics is considered to have originated in the military's need to supply themselves with arms, ammunition and rations as they moved from their base to a forward position. In ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine empires, military officers with the title Logistikas were responsible for financial and supply distribution matters

The Oxford English Dictionary defines logistics as "the branch of military science relating to procuring, maintaining and transporting materiel, personnel and facilities." Another dictionary definition is "the time-related positioning of resources." As such, logistics is commonly seen as a branch of engineering that creates "people systems" rather than "machine systems". When talking in terms of human resources management, logistics means giving inputs, i.e. "recruiting manpowers", which ultimately work for the final consumer or to delivery.

Logistics management

                                                      
Logistics is that part of the supply chain which plans, implements and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet customer and legal requirements. A professional working in the field of logistics management is called a logistician.

Logistics management is known by many names, the most common are as follows:

    * Materials Management
    * Channel Management
    * Distribution (or Physical Distribution)
    * Business or Logistics Management or
    * Supply Chain Management

The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport (CILT) was established in the United Kingdom in 1919 and was granted a Royal Charter in 1926. The Chartered Institute is one of the professional bodies or institutions, for the logistics and transport sectors, that offers professional qualifications or degrees in logistics management.

Logistic outsourcing

Logistics outsourcing
                                        


Third-party logistics
Third-party logistics (3PL) involves using external organizations to execute logistics activities that have traditionally been performed within an organization itself.
                                                 

According to this definition, third-party logistics includes any form of outsourcing of logistics activities previously performed in-house. If, for example, a company with its own warehousing facilities decides to employ external transportation, this would be an example of third-party logistics. Logistics is an emerging business area in many countries.

Fourth-party logistics
The concept of Fourth-Party Logistics (4PL) provider was first defined by Andersen Consulting (Now Accenture) as an integrator that assembles the resources, capabilities and technology of its own organization and other organizations to design, build, and run comprehensive supply chain solutions.

                                     
Whereas a third party logistics (3PL) service provider targets a function, a 4PL targets management of the entire process. Some have described a 4PL as a general contractor who manages other 3PLs, truckers, forwarders, custom house agents, and others, essentially taking responsibility of a complete process for the customer.

Emergency logistics
                                               

Emergency logistics is a term used by the logistics, supply chain and manufacturing industries to denote specific time critical modes of transport used to move goods or objects rapidly in the event of an emergency.[citation needed] The reason for enlisting emergency logistics services could be a production delay or anticipated production delay, or it could be that specialist equipment is needed urgently to prevent instances such as aircraft being grounded (also known as "aircraft on ground"--AOG), ships being delayed, or telecommunications failure. Emergency logistics services are typically sourced from a specialist provider.

Logistic management

                                         
The term Logistics Management or supply chain management is that part of Supply Chain Management that plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective, forward, and reverse flow and storage of goods, services, and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet customers’ requirements.

Logistic management Software

                                                    
Software is used for logistics automation which helps the supply chain industry in automating the workflow as well as management of the system. There are very few generalized software available in the new market in the said topology. This is because there is no rule to generalize the system as well as work flow even though the practice is more or less the same. Most of the commercial companies do use one or the other of the custom solutions.

But there are various software solutions that are being used within the departments of logistics. There are a few departments in Logistics, namely: Conventional Department, Container Department, Warehouse, Marine Engineering, Heavy Haulage, etc.

Software used in these departments:

    * Conventional department : CVT software / CTMS software
    * Container Trucking: CTMS software
    * Warehouse : WMS/WCS

Improving Effectiveness of Logistics Management:

   1. Logistical Network
   2. Information
   3. Transportation
   4. Sound Inventory Management
   5. Warehousing, Materials Handling & Packaging

Logistic management tips

10tips

1. Develop your career goals. Take a reality check of your knowledge, skills and experience. What are the short-term opportunities? How ambitious are you? What is your long-term potential? How do you get there from here? Develop a career plan to achieve your goals..

2, Obtain the necessary training and education. What skills, knowledge and experience are needed to achieve your long-term goals? Is your company willing to sponsor you to improve your education and skills? You can also take courses on your own. Many universities and colleges offer part-time logistics management programs. Industry associations such as the American Society of Transportation and Logistics, Warehousing Education and Research Council, and American Production and Inventory Control Society, provide excellent courses in logistics-related fields. You can keep abreast of new ideas and technology by reading trade magazines and newsletters.
3.  Assess opportunities within your current company. Plot a potential career path. Will there be new opportunities there, or do you need to wait for someone to retire? Express interest in career advancement with your boss or with the human resource department. Learn what you need to do to earn a promotion

 4.  Get involved in project work. Demonstrate your capabilities and learn from others by becoming an active team member in logistics projects. You'll gain invaluable experience by participating in logistics improvement initiatives, such as evaluating strategic supply chain networks, improving warehouse layouts, reducing inventories, and improving fleet performance.

5  Develop computer and systems skills.To advance in logistics management, you need basic computer skills, such as Excel and/or Lotus, Word and PowerPoint. You also need to be Internet savvy. You do not need to learn how to program, but you need to develop expertise in the use of inventory management, warehouse management and/or transportation management systems.

6  Prepare a professional resume. Maintain a professional looking, up-to-date resume at all times. You never know when that dream opportunity calls. Make your resume no longer than two pages. List your responsibilities, but even more importantly, indicate your achievements. For example: "Reduced annual labor costs by $700,000 through implementing engineered standards." Check your resume for grammar and typos, and make sure the presentation is well laid out. Get professional advice if necessary.

7   Use Internet career boards. Online career boards can be your fastest link to jobs available. Conduct a job search, and apply for jobs online. Post your resume. Many services are free for job seekers.

8   Research companies online. Many companies post employment opportunities on their web sites. Read about the company. Check the company's progress and growth performance. The more you know about the company, the better equipped you will be to fare well in an interview, or to avoid boarding a sinking ship.

9  Prepare for an interview. You only have one chance to make a good first impression. Dress smartly and act confidently. Be prepared to discuss your work history and achievements. Interviewing is a two-way street. Ask questions about the company and its corporate culture. Make sure this is the right company for you and that you feel comfortable with your new potential boss.

10   Assess the opportunity. Now that you have been offered a new job, take inventory. Is this is the right job for you and your family? Is it challenging enough? Will you enjoy the new job more than your current job? Are there advancement possibilities? Is it a positive stepping stone to achieve your career goals? Is the money adequate? If you get all green lights, go for it. Make it happen.

Logistic companies

Features of logisticks management

The Logistics Park of the Future

What you need to consider before getting involved

By Tony Seideman

Common sense and logistics often are not close companions. There are simply too many complexities involved when it comes to getting goods from one place to another.
Few concepts illustrate this better than the logistics park. The common sense proposition is simple — if you want to cut costs, put all the different components of your logistics operations as close together as possible. But today’s economy is so complex that what seems obvious might not actually be rational.

Who should own and operate?
One of the first issues that needs to be worked out is what exactly a logistics park is and who should own and/or operate it.
“People call them all sorts of things, but it’s unclear what they really are,” says one maritime industry executive.

Many logistics parks owners and operators would dispute that. They say their concept is pretty clear — create distribution centers on steroids that connect closely not just with every transportation mode, but with as many retailers and transportation companies as well.

Transportation or real estate driven?
One area of friction may be that real estate rather than transportation companies drive most logistics park development activity. This aggravates some maritime industry members, who say the facilities wind up serving the developers better than they do the shippers and carriers they’re supposed to support.

“It’s a branding of a concept we once knew of as an industrial park. It’s a focus of trying to bring everything together — truck, rail and air, and often not very successfully,” the maritime industry executive says.

Real estate developers seem almost surprised by that criticism. Of course a logistics park is an industrial park, says Larry Harmsen, managing director of capital deployment for North America for Denver, Colo.-based ProLogis. Their focus is just on a specific area of industry — the movement of goods. “They are really industrial parks that are serving the logistics industry,” he says.

Efficient or intrusive?
As industrial needs change, so do industrial parks — and the same goes for logistics parks. And developers and maritime industry members say that, despite current concerns, the rise in energy costs and the slowdown in the economy may well make logistics parks very much more attractive.

“At the end of the day, as the consumer economy continues to grow, it’s still important to have facilities that are effective and efficient around the country,” says John Ficker, vice president, supply chain solutions for Chicago-based First Industrial Realty Trust Inc.

One person’s “efficient,” however, is another person’s intrusion — something that can make putting logistics parks together an absolute nightmare. “The whole NIMBY thing is alive and well,” Ficker says. That’s especially true in an area of the country where the idea of logistics parks seems most logical: Southern California. “It’s difficult to do anything in Southern California,” he says.

Questions all future logistics parks must address
Anyone looking to get involved in logistics parks needs to ask themselves some very specific questions:

No. 1: Are all the modes present, and can they be connected? Multimodal activity is an essential logistics park activity. If any of the modes are missing, then a logistics park’s viability is obviously compromised.

No. 2: Will the neighbors fight your project to its — and your — death? BNSF wants to build a logistics park in Southern California. Virtually everyone in the transportation industry agrees that’s a great idea. The park would take trucks off the highway, reduce pollution and cut costs. The locals don’t agree. They hate the idea of the sound and stink of vehicles. “It is a bit of a tragedy,” Harmsen says.

No. 3: Are carriers willing to jump in and help shoulder the burden? Given that it’s all about moving goods, having carriers take part is an essential part of any logistics park. One reason a ProLogis distribution park in Virginia is working out is because it was done in tandem with NYK Lines.

No. 4: Are shippers close by as well? Mega distribution centers are now a routine part of the transportation equation for major retailers — meaning that they should be included in any plans for logistics parks as well. One reason there is a great deal of logistics park activity on the East Coast is the fact that shippers and carriers alike are concerned about possible transportation tangles due to union negotiations, crowding, strict environmental factors and other reasons. “It’s all about risk mitigation,” Fiske says.

No. 5: Can you afford to wait awhile? Given all the pieces that go into putting a logistics park together, assembling one from scratch can take a long, long time. That’s especially true when public rather than private funds and property are included. On the other hand, true industrial parks are designed with flexibility in mind — so moving into and out of an already existing facility isn’t all that difficult.
No. 6: Have you taken a close look at the realities of the economics involved? Even real estate developers acknowledge that the price of land isn’t as important as the cost of moving the goods themselves. “If you look at a retailer’s total operating costs, logistics is about 10-12 percent,” says Jon Cross, director of marketing, The Allen Group of San Diego, Calif. “Out of that, logistics transportation is 50 percent, while real estate, as in rent, is 4.3 percent.”

“Companies are not locating logistics businesses and centers because they are getting real estate a nickel or a dime cheaper. Companies are locating their infrastructure because they can reduce their transportation costs,” Cross says.

In the end, there’s a reason commercial real estate developers dominate the logistics park equation. “It’s not about real estate costing more. It’s not about who has a nickel or dime cheaper on the leases. It’s about who has the infrastructure, the best leases and land around the infrastructure that we can reduce our transportation costs,” Cross says.