at many levels of the organization. This broad and deep coordination is shown by the
work of Porter (1985). Here, inbound and outbound logistics, as part of the value chain,
are horizontally integrated with operation, marketing and sales, and service; and
vertically integrated with procurement, technology, human resource management, and
the firm’ infrastructure. However, successful logistics (and the authors suspect supply
chain management) strategies have three requirements: a balance of efficiency, customer
responsiveness, and coordination throughout the value chain. Attempts to insulate
(or isolate) logistics (and probably supply chain management) from other of the
organization’s activities will likely result in reduced competitive responsiveness.