abstract:

The total logistics cost includes transportation cost, inventory cost, storage cost, order processing and information cost, and batch cost. Among all logistics costs, transportation costs account for the highest proportion. Logistics costs also depend on reducing storage costs. China has a huge space for logistics development.

Text:

Logistics cost refers to the total cost from the supply of raw materials to the delivery of goods to consumers. That is to say, the monetary expression of various resources consumed in the process of product spatial displacement (including static) is the sum of manpower, material resources and financial resources spent in all aspects of physical movement such as packaging, handling, storage, distribution and processing, and logistics information.

Logistics cost analysis:

Generally speaking, total logistics cost (TLC) includes transportation cost, inventory cost, storage cost, order processing and information cost, and batch cost. That is TLC= transportation cost+inventory cost+warehousing cost+order processing and information cost+batch cost.

Logistics cost is an interactive and restrictive relationship. The cost management of logistics supply chain is not to reduce the local cost of a certain link, but to pursue the lowest total logistics cost and the maximum profit on the basis of satisfying a certain level of customer service.

This requires the analysis and control of logistics costs from the perspective of system integration.

Total cost analysis is the key to integrated logistics management. The reduction of the cost of a single logistics activity will inevitably lead to the increase of other costs, and improper handling will lead to the increase of the total cost. For example, reducing the number of distribution centers and assembling goods only in a few centers will certainly reduce the inventory storage cost, but it will significantly increase the transportation cost. Or sales decline due to the decline in service level. It is bound to affect the final profit.

Among all logistics costs, transportation costs account for the highest proportion.

According to the data, the cost composition of American and Canadian companies is shown in the following table:

Composition of Logistics Costs of American and Canadian Companies

Cost Content American Company (%) Canadian Company (%)

Customer service, orders and customs clearance 8 8

Warehousing 25 25

Transportation 37 36

Management 9 8

Inventory handling 2 1 23

Generally speaking, the development of American logistics represents the highest level in the world in terms of total scale, enterprise strength and advanced technology application. 1998, the total logistics expenditure in Europe was146 billion US dollars, while the logistics expenditure in the United States was as high as 886 billion US dollars, of which the logistics expenditure in the United States was106 billion, accounting for14 of the global total.

To a great extent, the development of American logistics benefits from its dense and advanced comprehensive transportation network. American air transport accounts for almost half of the world. In 200 1 year, among the top ten cargo airports in the world, the United States accounted for five: Memphis (1), Los Angeles (2), Kreich (4), Miami (6) and new york (9). Among the top 20, the United States accounted for 9: the above 5 plus the Louvre (10. The two largest aviation logistics groups in the world are FedEx and ups in the United States. In 2000, the two companies owned and leased 660 and 562 cargo planes respectively. In 2002, the number of UPS increased to 604, and dozens of cargo planes ordered will be put into use one after another. At present, there is no third logistics group in the world that can compare with these two "Big Mac" enterprises.

The shipping and inland river transportation in the United States are also very developed, and the ports of Los Angeles, new york, Long Beach and Oakland are all big ports in the world. Inland river transportation in the United States has also played a great role. The navigable reach of the Mississippi River basin alone is more than 2,000 miles long, and the total length of inland river transportation in the United States is about 300,000 kilometers, which is the highest in the world. In 2000, the total highway mileage in the United States was about 4 million miles (6.4 million kilometers), of which the total intercontinental highway mileage was 46,675 miles (75 1 16 kilometers), accounting for more than half of the total highway mileage in the world. In particular, the American government attaches great importance to the standardization of transportation equipment and the joint action of various modes of transportation. Promulgated the Multimodal Transport Act, emphasizing multimodal transport, and put forward that multimodal transport is one of the four characteristics of the US transportation system in the strategic plan of the Ministry of Communications from 2000 to 2005.

Therefore, strengthening transportation economic accounting can obviously reduce transportation costs. For example, a company uses a computer system to adopt the form of standard charges and standard routes for 20,000 lines and 8 different modes of transportation. More than 300,000 permutations and combinations can be obtained. The system is updated regularly so that users can get timely information and choose the best mode of transportation.

Logistics costs also depend on reducing storage costs.

Although the logistics cost in the United States is not the lowest in the world (slightly higher than that in Japan), it has been declining steadily in the past decade. The proportion of total logistics expenditure in GDP decreased from 1 1.6% to10/%in 2000, and it remained above 1 1% in the 1980s, with the lowest being1. 199 1-2000 maintained at around 10%, with the highest at 199 10.6% and the lowest at 1993 and 1999. In 2000, the gross domestic product of the United States was $65,438+000 trillion. If it is reduced by one percentage point, it will save about 1000 billion US dollars (see the table below).

Table of the proportion of logistics expenditure in GDP in the United States

Unit: US$ 6,543.8+US$ 0 billion

Annual GDP (trillion dollars) Inventory expenses, transportation expenses, management expenses, total logistics expenses, logistics expenses, GDP, inventory expenses and transportation expenses.

1986 4.45 2 17 28 1 20 5 18 1 1.6% 4.9% 6.3%

1987 4.75 225 294 2 1 540 1 1.4% 4.7% 6.2%

1988 5. 1 1 25 1 3 13 23 587 1 1.5% 4.9% 6. 1%

1989 5.44 282 329 24 635 1 1.7% 5.2% 6.0%

1990 5.80 823 35 1 25 659 1 1.4% 4.9% 6.0%

199 1 5.99 256 355 24 635 10.6% 4.3% 5.9%

1992 6.32 237 375 24 636 10. 15% 3.8% 5.9%

1993 6.64 239 396 25 660 9.9% 3.6% 6.0%

1994 7.05 265 420 27 7 12 10. 1% 3.8% 6.0%

1995 7.40 302 44 1 30 773 10.4% 4. 1% 6.0%

1996 7.8 1 303 467 3 1 80 1 10.3% 3.9% 6.0%

1997 8.32 3 14 503 33 850 10.2% 3.8% 6.0%

1998 8.79 323 529 34 880 10. 1% 3.7% 6.0%

1999 9.30 332 554 35 92 1 9.9% 3.6% 6.0%

2000 9.95 337 590 39 1006 10. 1% 3.8% 5.9%

As can be seen from the above table, the decline in logistics costs in the United States mainly comes from the savings in warehousing costs. In 2000, compared with 1990, among the three major expenditures of American logistics, transportation expenses increased from $35 10/0 billion to $590 billion, but the proportion of GDP decreased only slightly by 0. 1 percentage point, from 6.0% to 5.9%, and management expenses increased from $25 billion to $390. This shows that the transportation network in the United States matured earlier, the transportation cost basically kept pace with the overall economic development, and there was limited room for downward adjustment. The wide application of information technology, management software and automation in the warehousing industry and the popularity of just-in-time system have become the main sources of saving logistics costs.

But at present, China's logistics cost accounts for 20% of GDP, which is 1 times higher than the average level of developed countries. In view of the "big and complete" and "small and complete" production modes of Chinese enterprises, logistics management is still a new concept for most Chinese enterprises. According to statistics, at present, the circulation cost of general industrial products in China, from loading and unloading, storage, transportation and other logistics links to consumers, accounts for about 50% of the commodity price, while the circulation cost of fruits, vegetables and some chemical products is sometimes as high as 70%.

References:

Wu Zhihui, the United States logistics costs

The eighth issue of Southern Logistics in 2004.

Logistics and Supply Chain Management Electronic Industry Press Author: Luo Wenping

Beijing Youth Daily July-April 2004

China Material Information Center June 23, 2003

Economic Information Daily 2004-2-2