Personnel decides everything! And logistics is no exception. You can be a mega professional, know and be able to build all the processes of movement of the material flow in the supply chain, but if you do not have a motivated team, it will not work…
Logistics is different: warehouse, transport, planning and forecasting, procurement, foreign economic activity, customer service. Each area has its own specific tasks and goals. And each role in logistics has different requirements. To understand what I’m talking about, I’ll give some collective image for each function:
We move according to the logic of the processes. At the beginning – Planning:
The planning manager is the “head” of logistics – the accuracy of the demand forecast, the timeliness of product orders, turnover and the level of service depend on its accuracy and accuracy. Often – an introvert, able to concentrate and keep one task in mind for a long time. (Long for me – more than 45 minutes). Possesses analytical thinking and a mathematical mindset. It is possible to combine it with the function of the accounting database manager. It is not recommended to combine this position with transport logistics, procurement and customer service.
The manager of procurement and foreign economic activity are the “legs” of logistics. The core competencies are very similar to a sales manager. He knows how to quickly navigate commercial issues, knows how to see the benefit before their vision, defends the best terms of the contract, has the ability to negotiate and solve non–standard issues. He is meticulous in commercial matters and documents and will resolve issues at all levels from the carrier to the customs inspector. As a rule, these are extroverts, choleric/sanguines. This is a special caste of people capable of combining procurement and external transport logistics.
The warehouse manager is the “body” of logistics. He will build processes in the warehouse and keep in his hands more than just warehouse personnel. He is responsible (materially and morally) and honest, prone to streamlining processes and poorly lying goods, has pedagogic skills. He knows how to swear. An extrovert or an introvert does not matter here – anyone who can handle the above tasks will be good. Potential head of the logistics department.
The client service manager is the “hands” of logistics. It’s a motor, fire, speed and sociability. He manages to take and process all orders with surprising speed, chat with customers, exchange pleasantries with accounting and marketing, beer on Fridays with the sales department. He is a communicator and a connector. It will tear him to pieces if you imprison him for building the accounting base and forecasting. But it is not that he is not capable, but that it is not his at all. Of course, this is a pronounced extrovert.
The soul of logistics is the manager. He inspires and motivates and, as befits a professional, redirects the company’s goals to the level of each employee, achieves the same understanding of each of his roles and responsibilities. The manager’s task is to build such a motivation system that it is clear, transparent, achievable and financially significant for employees.
| Feature | Recommended KPIs |
| Planning, forecasting | The implementation of the sales plan, turnover, service level |
| Procurement, Foreign Economic Activity | The implementation of the sales/profit plan. Cost rate |
| Composition | The implementation of the sales plan. Service level |
| Customer service | The implementation of the sales plan. Service level |
Someone may say that logistics does not sell! Why is one of the KPIs a sales plan? – This is a correct remark. Of course, logistics does not sell, but it sometimes has a decisive influence on the implementation of the sales plan, and it is fair to say that what, when and in what quantity will be sold depends on the work of logistics.
