When many outside the industry think of logistics, they think of two things: warehousing and transport. It’s true that hundreds of thousands of Aussies work as truck drivers, loaders, pickers, forklift drivers, and so on.
But there are a lot more behind-the-scenes logistics roles that aren’t as well known.
More links in the supply chain
Logistics can be broadly defined as ‘the commercial activity of transporting goods to customers’. If you think about it, from end to end, that’s a lot more than just moving and lifting. The whole journey from beginning to end is the supply chain. Storage and transport are just two parts of that chain. There’s also:
- Importing and exporting: the legal, business and administrative sides of getting things in and out of the country
- Inventory control: making sure you’ve got enough (but not too much) of the right stock, at the right time
- Emergency logistics: moving supplies like food, medicine and equipment in emergency situations, like natural disasters
- Production management: making things as efficient as possible at the start of the supply chain
- Scheduling: the planning side of transport
- Safety auditing: taking responsibility for health and safety procedures in a field that, statistically, sees more workplace injuries and deaths than others
- eCommerce fulfilment: picking and packing multiple small orders, and using tracking technology to give the customer up-to-date information on where their order is
- Analysis: gathering and looking at data to work out problems, like inefficiencies
- Purchasing management: making sure you’ve got enough of the right supplies, ingredients or inputs at the right time
- Consulting: looking at ways to make the whole supply chain as streamlined and efficient as possible
- ‘Last mile’ delivery: couriers, delivery drivers, and exciting new technology like drones
Your future in logistics
Your career in logistics could take you way beyond a warehouse floor or the cab of a truck. Start exploring your options. Check out Monarch Institute’s Diploma of Logistics, and speak to a course consultant today on 1300 738 955.
