Nowadays, many people know that logistics is important and should be taken seriously. So why is logistics important, and what is the essence of logistics? What is the role of logistics?

Generally speaking, the essence and role of logistics are mainly manifested in the following seven aspects.

1、 Value preservation

Logistics has a value preservation effect. That is to say, any product must go through a period of time and distance from production to final consumption. During this period of time and distance, it must go through multiple logistics activities such as transportation, storage, packaging, loading and unloading. During this process, the product may be exposed to rain, moisture, water immersion, rust, damage, loss, etc. The mission of logistics is to prevent the occurrence of the above phenomena, ensure the quality and quantity of products during the process of moving from producers to consumers, and play a role in preserving the value of products, that is, protecting the existence value of products, so that the value of the product remains unchanged when it reaches consumers.

2、 Save money

Doing a good job in logistics can save natural resources, human resources, and energy, while also saving costs. For example, containerized transportation can simplify product packaging and save a lot of packaging paper and wood; Implementing mechanized loading and unloading operations and automated warehouse management can save a large number of workers and significantly reduce personnel expenses. There are numerous examples of how valuing logistics can save costs. Haier Enterprise Group, known as the "first person to awaken logistics management in China", strengthened logistics management, built a modern international automated logistics center, and reduced inventory and procurement funds from 1.5 billion yuan to 700 million yuan within a year, saving 800 million yuan in expenses.

3、 Shorten the distance

Logistics can overcome time intervals, distance intervals, and human intervals, which is naturally the essence of logistics. There are countless examples of modern logistics shortening distances. Fresh fruits from around the world can be purchased in Beijing, and fruits from all over the country are also available year-round; The postal department has improved logistics, greatly reducing the time and distance of letters. National express delivery can reach FedEx in the United States within two days, and can be delivered to 15 cities in Asia the next day; Japanese distribution centers can achieve ordering before 10am and same day delivery. This logistics speed instantly brings people closer in terms of geographical and temporal distance. With the continuous advancement of logistics modernization, international transportation capacity has been greatly strengthened, greatly promoting international trade and gradually making people feel that the earth has become smaller and the distance between continents has become closer.

Residents in the city unconsciously enjoy the fruits of logistics progress. Bananas produced in the south can be purchased all year round in major cities across the country; Honeydew melons from Xinjiang, white melons from Ningxia, rice from Northeast China, and rice from Tianjin Xiaozhan are all supplied to the market regardless of season; In recent years, a large number of Chinese textiles, toys, daily necessities, and other products have entered the US market. In addition to the low labor prices in China, this is also due to the developed international transportation industry and reduced international shipping costs.

4、 Enhance enterprise competitiveness and improve service level

In the new economic era, competition among enterprises is becoming increasingly fierce. In the same economic environment, manufacturing enterprises, such as home appliance manufacturers, mainly compete with each other in terms of price, quality, function, style, and after-sales service. It can be said that in today's advanced industrial technology, home appliances such as televisions, air conditioners, and refrigerators have similar levels of quality, function, style, and after-sales service among enterprises, and the only comparable aspect is often price. The frequent price wars of household appliances in major cities across the country in recent years are sufficient to illustrate this point. So what are the factors supporting the price reduction? If in order to occupy market share, it is not impossible to lower prices at a loss once or twice, and then make up for this loss after the market is regained. However, what if the price reduction still doesn't work even after losing money? It goes without saying that companies may suffer a complete failure. In the era of material shortage, enterprises can seize the first profit by expanding production and reducing manufacturing costs. In an era of abundant resources, enterprises can also gain secondary profits by expanding sales. But in the new century and new economic society, the first and second sources of profit have basically reached a certain limit, and the remaining "uncultivated virgin land" is logistics. Price reduction has been the main means of competition among enterprises in the home appliance industry in recent years. The backing of price reduction competition is the reduction of total costs for enterprises, that is, the reduction of costs other than functionality, quality, style, and after-sales service, which is what we call reducing logistics costs.

Foreign manufacturing companies have long recognized that logistics is a magic weapon for their competitiveness. Good logistics can achieve zero inventory, zero distance, and zero occupation of working capital, which is an important way to improve customer service, build enterprise supply chains, and increase core competitiveness. In the 21st century of economic globalization, information globalization, and capital globalization, enterprises can only survive and develop in fierce competition by establishing modern logistics structures.

5、 Accelerate the circulation of goods and promote economic development

When discussing this issue, we use the example of a distribution center as the most convincing. It can be said that the establishment of distribution centers provides vast development space for chain businesses. By using computer networks to connect supermarkets, distribution centers, suppliers, and production enterprises, an effective combination of commercial, logistics, and production enterprises can be formed with the distribution center as the hub. With the rapid and timely information transmission and analysis of computers, efficient operations and timely delivery through distribution centers, and feedback of information to suppliers and production enterprises, an efficient and high-energy commodity circulation network can be formed, providing important basis for enterprise management decisions. At the same time, it can greatly accelerate the speed of commodity circulation, reduce the retail price of goods, increase consumer purchasing desire, and promote the development of the national economy.

6、 Protecting the environment

Environmental issues are the theme of today's era, and protecting the environment, controlling pollution and public hazards are common goals of countries around the world. Some people may ask, what is the relationship between environmental protection and logistics? Let me introduce it here.

When you walk on the road, sometimes you will see a layer of yellow soil on the road. This is caused by a construction truck that leaked soil from the truck at night. If you encounter a truck carrying cement passing by, it will be more troublesome for you; The traffic congestion on the road is getting worse and worse, and you can't even ride a bicycle to get through. The noise and exhaust make you afraid to open your mouth and breathe; The late night freight truck keeps roaring, making you tired and unable to fall asleep. All of these problems are related to outdated logistics. The truck spreading yellow soil is due to improper loading and unloading, and there are cracks in the truck compartment; Flying cement ash from trucks is a problem with the covering of cement packaging; Road congestion is due to insufficient construction of circulation facilities. If we consider these from the perspective of logistics, they will all be easily solved.

For example, we can set up several logistics centers and distribution centers outside the city, so that large trucks do not have to enter the city during the day or night, and only use two ton small trucks for delivery. The noise at night will be reduced; The government attaches great importance to logistics and vigorously builds urban roads, stations, and docks. This will alleviate traffic congestion in the city and naturally improve air quality.

7、 Create social benefits and added value

Realizing the mechanization and automation of loading, unloading, and handling operations can not only improve labor productivity, but also liberate productivity. Liberating workers from heavy physical labor is itself a respect for people and creates social benefits.

For example, Japan's "Home Delivery Service" and "Home Delivery Service" that began many years ago, as well as China's "Home Delivery Service" that has been launched in recent years, are new industries that serve consumers. Their emergence has made residents' lives more comfortable and convenient. When you go skiing, you don't have to carry, move, or transport the heavy skiing equipment by yourself. Just call the "express delivery service" and someone will come to pick it up. Before the person arrives at the ski resort, your skis and other equipment have already arrived.

For example, when shopping in supermarkets, not only are the products cheap, safe, and the environment good, but they also provide you with hand carts, which can save you a lot of effort and make shopping easy. Handcarts are transportation tools, and this small service can bring many conveniences to consumers, which also creates social benefits.

From the above examples, we can see that logistics creates social benefits. With the development of logistics, the living environment and quality of life of urban residents can be improved and enhanced, and human dignity will also be more reflected. Regarding the creation of added value in logistics, it mainly manifests in the aspect of circulation processing, such as cutting steel coils into steel plates, processing logs into boards, processing grains into food, and processing fruits into canned goods. Famous cigarettes, wines, classics, and paintings are all processed through circulation, making the packaging more exquisite and greatly improving the appreciation and added value of the goods.