Sales and distribution logistics begins and ends with the final user or consumer. It is comprised of, as partial logistics: (1) actual sales logistics, or tasks pertaining to offer and sales order;21 (2) distribution logistics, encompassing tasks from the finished product to the final user; and (3) service and maintenance logistics, which follows investment goods, in particular, throughout their further life cycle.
Research and development logistics (called R&D logistics) manages tasks along the chain of “research — design — product and manufacturing process development — conception and procurement of production facility — prototyping.” The importance of research and design logistics is on the rise due to customer-order-oriented product and process design, which often makes up more than half of the delivery lead time of a customer order. To obtain a short lead time, product and process design must be included in the logistics design from the start. This is usually achieved in a project-oriented manner.
Procurement logistics and production logistics are tasks in purchasing and in production up to the provision of saleable output. Traditionally, this has included all tasks and processes involved in moving (transporting, cargo handling, picking (putting together all items of an order), and storing goods,22 but not tasks and processes that result in the physical transformation of the goods. This narrow
definition has survived. Actually, production processes that change goods physically or in content have a great influence upon the choice of logistics systems and their efficiency. With the demand for short total lead times, production processes must be a part of logistics planning — by the company producing the goods as well as by suppliers.
Disposal logistics handles the flow to disposal-preparation maintenance, to taking back, to disassembly, and to recycling. For material goods, the importance of disposal logistics is currently increasing due to depleting resources as well as to overloaded waste depots. Companies differ in their motivation in this area. Some are forced to act by legislation, and others view action as a strategy towards success. Significant areas of disposal logistics are handled today more pragmatically than systematically. To a large extent, planning and control in practice and in research continues to be ad hoc.