I’ll rather reverse the word’s meaning, from the english to the greek logos – word.

Logistics is in the first place a question of communication: those auditing logistics processes should first of all assess the effectiveness of the communication sub-processes within the logistics processes.

If logistics can mean to be right at the right time on the right place, it cannot always be necessarily so: logistics means a management system that – in a comparison against ISO 9001 – the latter can only make one smile.

They have something in common, though: despite of salary levels, logistics and quality managers are the management system’s cinderella’s – logistics managers’ income are often rounded by unofficial tips, so their often low professional qualification level are compensated by money.

But logistics managers keep being warehousing and transportation supervisors only, they don’t positively interact with product realization processes, because they often lack the necessary skills.

This tells also a lot on personnel evaluation and selection criteria: if I were a personnel manager, I would put it all down to quality and logistics, the former meaning targets, the latter meaning tools – and both involving risks, within and interacting.

Any kind of advanced product quality planning (APQP) process emphasizes the role of logistics processes; which, therefore, can hardly be classified as supporting processes, since they directly impact the customer delivery processes. This means that APQP processes have to planned, controlled, revised not only for conformity to documentation – Standards’ and / or Customers’ – but for effectiveness, too, such as their output on logistics processes. Any APQP process resulting in excessive product or raw material inventory, or late customer delivery, is a poor process, and it needs revision.

Once more, while the quality world is still dazzled by the SixSigma and the 5S systems, very little attention is given to the basics of management systems – and Logistics is one of these.

How many books and courses are advertised on SixSigma and 5S systems? But how many on Logistics management?

It’s just like we were at home, watching TV: the number of detergents spots beats film spots ten to one, if not more.

It is not so difficult to foresee that – in an ever increasing globalization – the next decades’ industrial priority risks will be Logistics.

Since implementing ISO 9001 – some 25 years ago – and its related standards, published figures show that there has been no change in non conformances trends, both major and minor. We should read more between the lines.

When it comes down to the non conformances root cause, we still find the same on the podium, at the first place: human error.

This analysis can be fair enough, but if it were really so, why is it so?

The reasons why we humans make mistakes can be simplified as follows:

One: we are in hurry;

Two: we are told not to care;

Three: we maliciously make mistakes.

While reasons # one and two can be cured in the realm of management processes, when studying ISO 9001, we find just one requirement, that is 7.6 e), that gives some warning on intended manipulation, and that is on control of measurement equipment, be it mechanical, electronic, chemical.

There is no other clearly-expressed warning on the risks that could put product quality at stake, due to human misdemeanors, despite human errors represent the highest risks, and – though they are predictable – they cannot be easily and cost-effectively prevented.

My vision is that it’s top management’s duty to provide for the resources to ensure effective risk management: in the end, it is a requirement at least as old as the first edition of ISO 9001.

And effective risk-based auditing can be a very effective tool, to manage risk.