What exactly is logistics?

Many people think of logistics as simply moving stuff. The appearance of the word on the sides of trucks certainly gives this impression. In practice logistics is a complex mix of freight transport, storage, handling, inventory management and all the IT required to co-ordinate these activities. It is a function that we all take for granted but without which our economy, indeed whole way of life, would collapse. It is a major industry in its own right, accounting for 12% of global GDP, and a major polluter releasing around 10-11% of global CO₂ emissions. To get a sense of just how important logistics is, have a look at this video. 

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Keynote address to Eastern European Business conference

At the Ost-Ausschuss der Deutschen Wirtschaft (German Eastern Business Association) conference in KLU on the 28 November 2024 I gave a keynote address on the ‘Role of Logistics in a Resilient Net Zero Europe’. In this talk I defined resilience in climatic and geopolitical terms and argued that we need to assess the combined logistical requirements of climate change adaptation, the renewable energy transition and carbon capture and storage.  When scale-up over the next few decades all of these activities will be highly freight transport-intensive though they are not as yet factored into the models used to forecast future freight traffic levels and related emissions. I also commented on freight modal shift and CO2 storage challenges that Eastern European countries will face. This was in keeping with the overall theme of the conference: 'Industry and logistics as pioneers of the green transformation in Central and Eastern Europe’