Logistics, supply chain and sales force

Logistics is the management of the flow of goods, information and money from origin to consumption: transport, warehousing, inventory, order processing and packaging, aimed at the right product, in the right place, at the right time, in the right condition, at the right cost. Supply chain management is wider: it coordinates all firms in the chain — suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers — so the whole chain serves the customer efficiently instead of each firm optimising alone. Worked example: a retailer that orders in bulk to get a discount creates a bullwhip effect — the wholesaler sees a spike, the manufacturer sees a bigger spike, and the factory overproduces, then idles. Sharing real sales data across the chain damps the whip: each firm plans on actual demand, not on distorted orders.