One of the most important issues that has occupied humanity since the early ages; consumption goods or the inputs used in the production of consumer goods are transferred from their place to the places where the consumers are located in appropriate conditions, and they are stored and presented to the consumers without spoiling, breaking or spilling. This development has been reflected today as the concept of “logistics”.
When we come to the present from the first ages; The world is now completely in the trend of globalization. Ensuring coordination in systems with material or product flow has revealed the importance of logistics and supply chain in covering all of the methods and techniques related to the regulation of activities. In fact, supply chains have become an area on which many scientists have been working in recent years.
In addition, it is seen that the borders between countries in economic terms are being lifted day by day and marketing activities are carried out electronically. It is seen that a single factory can sell to the whole world with a good distribution network.
However, nowadays the concept of Logistics is frequently used in the same sense with the concept of Supply Chain Management in practice. However, these two concepts are different from each other.
Considering the definitions of Supply, Supply Chain Management and Logistics, Logistics Management; Contradictions and misperceptions arise about how these two concepts are similar to each other and therefore they are confused, misunderstood and which concept covers the other. Although there are huge differences, it is seen that in practice, the transporters define their field of activity by adding the word Logistics to their signage, and they carry out supply chain activities in their companies that carry out logistics chain activities. It is necessary to provide conceptual integrity by revealing the contradictions and differences between logistics and supply chain management, taking into account the global development in this field. Ensuring this standard will bring many benefits such as definition integrity, correct job descriptions, ease of guidance in these areas of legal functioning, communication, information and integration, inter-firm activity flow, cost savings, and accurate time management.
For this purpose, I tried to contribute to the developments by presenting the similar and different aspects of both in a compared table, based on the definitions and applications of Logistics and Supply Chain for ease of understanding. For this reason, I have included comparative evaluations of the concepts within the integrity of the subject, starting from the definitions.
The Supply Chain covers all companies in the chain, including suppliers, manufacturers, transportation, storage, sales and after-sales services, from the existence of a product as a raw material to its delivery to the consumer and its final activities. The regulation of the operation in this chain with an understanding of dependency and relationship management is called Supply Chain Management.
Logistics, on the other hand, covers all the work required for the products to move or stop along a supply chain, and the management of information and risk flowing with the product along this chain. Therefore, Logistics Management is also responsible for ensuring that these works are carried out in a healthy way and as planned.
Logistics Management; “It is the stage of the supply chain process that covers the effective and efficient planning, implementation and control of the forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet customer needs.
Supply chain management ; It is the systematic and strategic coordination of the business functions and plans of the companies in question, covering all companies in the chain, in order to increase the long-term performance of the supply chain and all companies in this chain.