Logistics Duties

Logistical responsibilities are a little bit different from company to company but usually include budgeting, planning, and managing a product or project from sourcing to distribution. Core competencies include the ability to negotiate, communicate, plan and coordinate. Skills required include the use of a project plan, spreadsheets, making calculations, and applying logical reasoning.

Assessment

Determine requirements for money, manpower, material, facilities, and services needed to support the product launch or field retrofit. Consider transportation methods and costs, storage fees, material availability, point of service, special equipment required, and any technical support services that will be needed in advance of the product launch or retrofit. Calculate the number of customers that will participate to understand broad scope. Correspond with customers to better understand their needs and participation expectations.

Budget and planning

Assess costs and allocate budget accordingly. Define priorities and critical needs of customers and then develop a schedule that details where material will be going, and when. Coordinate with customers so they are aware of the intent. In some cases they may need to ship product back to the facility in the case of a retrofit. Provide them with the necessary return authorization number and shipping address. If it is new product, verify quantity of product required and ship to address. Communicate with customers what costs they will incur, if any.

Coordinate and execute

Coordinate requirements with work associates to ensure that the needed support is provided at the right time and place. Communication with planning, forecasting, shipping, repair, field service or sales may be necessary to ensure a smooth transition from planning to execution. If product availability gets hampered for any reason, identify root cause, fix problems, and re-plan, ensuring that customers are aware of any pending issues that may impact their operations and schedules.

Report

Logistic duties include reporting that involves the budget, the time schedule, the number of customers impacted, the number of pieces or units to be shipped, and includes an ongoing analysis of the project. 'Percent to Complete to Plan' is one method of monitoring a project plan or product launch. This particular metric identifies whether the plan is on time or whether the product is falling behind. When projects fall behind schedule, logistic duties may also include creating a correction action report to outline the plan for recovery. Executive reporting is usually required for high profile/ high risk projects or campaigns

Source: Logistics Management Series: GS 0346 http://www.opm.gov/fedclass/gs0346.pdf