The following check-list is intended to assess your esteemed company’s awareness of the importance of logistics processes, their risks and their relevance to attain your Company’s success.

Of course, what follows cannot be but a guide-line, hence it cannot be 100% exhaustive, yet it can help you through to better knowing, understanding and commanding processes that are usually neglected.

Gentlemen and Ladies, let’s start our engines.

1. What do you mean and understand by logistics?

2. What do you know about history of logistics and logistics in history?

3. Do you know that the greatest commanders in history won – or lost – their battles and wars mainly due to Logistics?

4. If your answers to the above questions are positive, how do you rate – from 1 lowest to 5 highest – your Company’s logistics performance?

5. If answer to question 4. is below 3, what plans are in place to raise the performance level?

6. What’s your company’s overall awareness of logistics processes’ impact on cost saving?

A qualitative as well a quantitative evaluation is helpful.

7. Addressing organizational details, is there in your company a logistics manager?

8. What authority or power does she have?

9. Is he or she logistically educated? And experienced?

10. Has your company established logistics performance metrics (indexes)?

10a. If not, why?

10b. If yes, what logistics processes’ input and output do they address?  Inventory management is a basic sub-process but it’s itself what it is, just the same as I have to keep my own fridge to keep me fed: what about the necessary money resources?  And adverse weather conditions?

11. Logistics processes are very much computer-dependent; putting aside the very important aspect of data security.  How do you rate (see the above scale) your company’s computer system fit to process your company’s logistics data?

12. How often – and how and by whom – are logistics internal audits performed in your Company?

12a. If you were to draw a chart of their outcome in the last 12 months, what would be the trend?

13. Would you say that companies or organizations generally lack of a “logistical” way of thinking?

ISO 9001:2000 opened a way to “process-oriented thinking” yet, after some 15 years or so, most professionals still are not at ease with it.

13a. What would your company’s policy input to improve logistics processes?

14. ISO 9001:2015 CD chapters # 4 Context, # 5 Leadership, # 6 Planning, # 7 Support, # 8 Operation, # 9 Performance, # 10 Improvement, they all hint of a company’s logistics processes.  So, has your company established or developed its management system(s) accordingly?

14a. If not, it would be high time to review it (them).  When and how?

15. Risk “processing” is being oriented to social and finance risks, safety risks, data security risks, product (quality) risks yet seldom are logistics risks addressed.  How would you rate your company’s awareness to logistics risks (see scale above)?

15a. If below 3, what are the plans to improve awareness and performance?

16. Logistical planning and processing:  What are the resources that your company provides, in terms of:

16a. Number or personnel, or on-the-job hours?

16b. Personnel education and experience?  And training?

16c. Logistics system monitoring?

17. If you would ever tear your company’s management system(s) apart to make it (them) anew, how would you proceed?

17a. Would you plan the tearing-down process or would just you proceed “hands and fingers” on it?

18. Company’s internal intelligence:  How does your company go about it?

18a. Is it a top-down process only or bottom-up voices are listened to, as well?

18b. If so, how and what’s the bottom-up communication effectiveness?

18c. If bottom-up communication is ineffective, why?

Bear in mind that most successful generals claim that empty bellies will never win a battle least of a war.

19. Has it ever occurred you to think that umbrella-like company protective systems are shaped just like arachnids and octopuses?

20. Logistical thinking: big cars make streets narrower, in many a case small is smarter.   Lean management equals minimalism.  How does your company go about it?  Does it build pyramid-like system(s) or looks to its natural processes flows?

21. Logistical thinking is also very close to ISO 9001:2015 CD #4 chapter ‘Context.’  How far do your company’s internal audits dig into this strategical matter?

In case you want to reply to CERM Academy – and your feedback would be most welcome – we would only be too happy to analyze it and provide you with guidance on how to improve your awareness of logistical risks and performance.