A crucial element in the management of these
logistic processes is the control of the associated
information flow. This concerns information from
preceding and succeeding stages in the logistic
chain such as orders, demand forecasts, delivery
information, transportation times and quantities.
The information is processed by several information
and telecommunication systems. In addition
to the production of status reports, most of these
systems can usually aggregate the available data.
As has been stressed earlier, the aggregated data
can be used by the management for proper and
timely control of the logistic process, by means of
plans, procedures, schemes and concepts such as
MRP, DRP, transportation schedules and inventory
control policies. Operations Research models
are very useful to support these management
decisions.