The long journey of a can of tuna
Accident? Road work? Time passes. It is now evident that you will be late for your meeting. As you dial your client's number, you notice that a tram glides by. It stops near your apartment, and would have dropped you off, on time, at your destination.
Congratulations. You have just experienced a logistics issue.
Behind the clockwork
Business is about movement. Every day, millions of tons of materials, finished goods and people are moving, whether it be off of supermarket shelves, onto container ships, or across roadways. We can be easily lulled into forgetting that behind all the hype of hypermarket convenience lies a complex and competitive network that assures that shelves are full and all those goods and services keep moving. For every stock keeping unit (SKU) on a supermarket shelf or office worker occupying space in an office building, there is a logistics issue.
While missions, visions, values and "cool ideas" receive all the glory in the business press, the people handling the logistics are behind the scenes, seeing that it all gets done. Yet rarely are they hailed for their good work. No one will accuse the logistics industry of being too glamorous or drawing too much attention.
Nor is there any rest for the weary. As little recognition as it might receive in the world of business, the worldwide logistics industry is facing increasing pressures: competition, rising fuel prices, and increased global trade make the business of logistics a challenging one, and a thankless one. Complicating those global challenges are the ever-present local challenges to doing business in the rapidly evolving Polish marketplace. Crumbling infrastructure and rapidly changing client demands can make it difficult to keep up.
Into the limelight, at last
Yet the face of logistics is changing. More and more companies are citing better management of logistics as a competitive advantage (the success of Wal-mart can be traced to efficiencies in logistics). According to Aleksander Domaradzki, transportation and logistics industry leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, "in Poland, things are happening, and it really is the driver for a lot of what is going to happen in the economy, and is also a good barometer for what's happening in the economy." Whereas once logistics provoked images of surly truck drivers with tattoos, young people are now choosing logistics as a career.
"More and more people are now seeing it as a career path: it's complicated, it's got a lot of intellectually challenging things about it, they can see the growth potential [and] they see it’s a really exciting thing to do," says Domaradzki. So it would seem that people are finally realizing that the long journey that humble can of tuna makes from the fishing boat to the factory floor and all the way to the consumer's plate is really quite fascinating after all. Yes, logistics is becoming trendy.
In order to find out more, the WBJ decided to consult some experts. This week's Industry Focus looks at the issues surrounding the logistics sector in Poland: Where is it now, where is it going, and what issues you should watch for to protect your business.
Congratulations. You have just experienced a logistics issue.
Behind the clockwork
Business is about movement. Every day, millions of tons of materials, finished goods and people are moving, whether it be off of supermarket shelves, onto container ships, or across roadways. We can be easily lulled into forgetting that behind all the hype of hypermarket convenience lies a complex and competitive network that assures that shelves are full and all those goods and services keep moving. For every stock keeping unit (SKU) on a supermarket shelf or office worker occupying space in an office building, there is a logistics issue.
While missions, visions, values and "cool ideas" receive all the glory in the business press, the people handling the logistics are behind the scenes, seeing that it all gets done. Yet rarely are they hailed for their good work. No one will accuse the logistics industry of being too glamorous or drawing too much attention.
Nor is there any rest for the weary. As little recognition as it might receive in the world of business, the worldwide logistics industry is facing increasing pressures: competition, rising fuel prices, and increased global trade make the business of logistics a challenging one, and a thankless one. Complicating those global challenges are the ever-present local challenges to doing business in the rapidly evolving Polish marketplace. Crumbling infrastructure and rapidly changing client demands can make it difficult to keep up.
Into the limelight, at last
Yet the face of logistics is changing. More and more companies are citing better management of logistics as a competitive advantage (the success of Wal-mart can be traced to efficiencies in logistics). According to Aleksander Domaradzki, transportation and logistics industry leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, "in Poland, things are happening, and it really is the driver for a lot of what is going to happen in the economy, and is also a good barometer for what's happening in the economy." Whereas once logistics provoked images of surly truck drivers with tattoos, young people are now choosing logistics as a career.
"More and more people are now seeing it as a career path: it's complicated, it's got a lot of intellectually challenging things about it, they can see the growth potential [and] they see it’s a really exciting thing to do," says Domaradzki. So it would seem that people are finally realizing that the long journey that humble can of tuna makes from the fishing boat to the factory floor and all the way to the consumer's plate is really quite fascinating after all. Yes, logistics is becoming trendy.
In order to find out more, the WBJ decided to consult some experts. This week's Industry Focus looks at the issues surrounding the logistics sector in Poland: Where is it now, where is it going, and what issues you should watch for to protect your business.
