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GENERAL LOGISTICSSUSTAINABLE LOGISTICSCLIMATE CHANGEFREIGHT TRANSPORTINFRASTRUCTURE AND PROPERTYRETAIL LOGISTICS- Downloads
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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Welcome
Professor Alan McKinnonWelcome to my personal website. On this site I have assembled many of the outputs of a career spent researching, teaching and advising in the field of logistics.
I had the good fortune to enter this field when it was at an early stage in its development, full of interesting research questions and in the grip of managerial revolution. It remains a vibrant and rapidly evolving subject area, constantly faced with new challenges and opportunities.
One of the greatest challenges logistics managers will have to confront in future decades is climate change. The link between logistics and climate change has been the focus of much of my recent research and features prominently on the site. My book on the decarbonisation of logistics was published in June 2018.
Whatever your interest in logistics, however, there should be something on this site of relevance.
Alan McKinnon
Professor of Logistics, Kuehne Logistics University, Hamburg
Professor Emeritus, Heriot-Watt University, EdinburghBlogs on logistics topics
Keynote address to Supply Chain Resilience 2025 conference, London
I had the honour of being the keynote speaker at the fourth annual conference on Supply Chain Resilience (SCR) organised by Logistics UK, the trade body representing users and providers of logistics services in the UK, which was held in London. I began by providing an historical perspective on the development of the subject over the past 25 years, noting the diversification of supply chain risks and their increasing severity, business reach and geographical extent. I then focused on current geopolitical and environmental disruptions, the contribution of AI to resilience planning and the inter-dependences between the decarbonisation and resilience of supply chains.
You can download a copy of the presentation which has weblinks to numerous data sources:
Resilience of Freight Transport Systems and Supply Chains in a Turbulent World
I also gave keynote addresses to the first and second conferences that Logistics UK organised on Supply Chain Resilience in 2022 and 2023. These presentations can also be downloaded:
2022: Supply Chain Resilience: Setting the Scene
2023: Supply Chain Resilience: Recent Developments at Global, European and UK Levels
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