How to be an excellent logistics manager

How to be an excellent logistics manager

The logistics manager is responsible for the logistics supply of the whole enterprise? Helmsman? , convert the orders or supply forecasts received from sales into the company's recent leading production and supply plans, material demand plans and finished product distribution and supply plans, then purchase the corresponding raw materials and packaging materials from suppliers, organize and arrange the corresponding production plans, and then transfer the produced finished products to customers all over the country through reasonable goods transfer plans to ensure that the needs of customers are met. Logistics managers in a broad sense include warehouse managers, transportation supervisors, logistics managers and logistics enterprise operation directors. Therefore, the logistics manager plays a very important role in the internal management and operation of the company.

Through the investigation of logistics managers in many large and medium-sized enterprises in China, it is found that the functions of logistics managers can be divided into two parts. One is management at the operational level, which is responsible for organizing, leading and directing subordinates, so that all employees in the logistics department can form a team and jointly complete the basic functions of logistics management under the guidance of the overall goal of the enterprise.

The other is the decision of management. Includes two main tasks. First, the logistics manager needs to keep close contact with other departments and coordinate the planning convergence of all departments. For example, the relationship between purchase quantity and sales quantity, purchase time and sales time, and transportation batch and sales quantity. Optimize resources from the overall consideration to achieve the best business performance of enterprises. Second, logistics managers should participate in the strategic decision-making of enterprises. The decision-making of enterprise management direction and market expansion can not be separated from the support of logistics. It is necessary to be able to make forward-looking consideration of various decisions such as storage point, storage scale, storage mode and transportation of various items.

For a successful logistics organization, logistics manager is particularly necessary. The ability of these managers to formulate or implement strategies largely determines the future competitiveness of enterprises. Because the products provided by logistics activities are intangible logistics services, and the customers of such services are very different, in order to meet different customers, there must be different management models and competition methods, which poses a very arduous challenge to the top managers engaged in logistics management. What kind of logistics manager do enterprises need at present? What qualities and abilities do logistics managers need?

Based on the 2009 Investigation Report on the Workplace Situation of Logistics Managers in Beijing Institute of Materials and the results of the investigation and analysis of logistics managers by American experts and scholars in 2009, the following research conclusions are drawn for logistics managers.

First of all, logistics managers should be familiar with operational affairs, master theoretical knowledge and operational methods, and preferably have rich operational experience, which is conducive to managing subordinates. Logistics is a system or process that contains many components or sub-processes. It is a network composed of related activities, and its primary purpose is to manage the orderly flow of materials and people in enterprises or supply chains. Logistics managers have a heavy workload and high requirements for basic knowledge such as transportation and warehousing. He is a generalist.

The Report on the Present Situation of Logistics Managers' Workplace shows that few logistics managers only do one kind of work, and they have long been used to wearing several hats. Among the interviewers, 82 are in charge of transportation, 72 are in charge of warehousing, 55 are in charge of customs clearance and procurement (procurement is for distribution enterprises), 49 are in charge of logistics scheme design and analysis rules, 48 are in charge of customer service, and 42 are also in charge of documentary.

According to foreign surveys, 95% of the respondents have a bachelor's degree, 45% have a master's degree, 5% have a junior college degree, and 17% have qualification certificates issued by industry organizations such as APICS. Among all the respondents, business major is 4 1, engineering major is 1 1, marketing major is 12, and other majors are 23. Among them, 13 of the respondents majored in marketing.

The Report on the Present Situation of Logistics Managers' Workplace shows that there is a shortage of highly educated logistics managers. More than 25 managers have bachelor's degrees, only 6 have received graduate education, and the remaining 69 respondents have bachelor's degrees or less.

Modern logistics requires logistics managers to have not only single logistics knowledge and skills, but also comprehensive skills and knowledge. This knowledge requires logistics managers to understand not only the objects and means, but also the national policies. As far as labor means are concerned, we should understand everything from IT technology to various technologies, which is an important point that logistics managers are different from or higher than general product sales managers. The reason why logistics develops so late is that logistics talents require a wide range of knowledge and it is very difficult to develop. Most of the logistics managers surveyed think that logistics managers have too much to learn, and they really can't finish learning. What teachers teach is also limited, and the knowledge learned from different industries is infinite. So learning through formal channels can only be a way of thinking, and everything in real life can actually increase its own value.

Secondly, in order to facilitate communication and coordination with other departments, logistics managers need to have a comprehensive understanding of their own business in addition to their communication and coordination skills. Every industry involves logistics, and has the characteristics of different industries, some of which are very different. The same is logistics, retail logistics is the most complicated, and automobile logistics is the highest end. Therefore, it is very important for enterprises to choose logistics managers according to the characteristics of products and services, especially some large logistics enterprises, which have gathered logistics elites from all walks of life. At present, Baogong Logistics has absorbed the senior logistics manager from Haier Logistics, the vice president of China Merchants Logistics and the chairman of Minrun. The contractor association gives full play to everyone's experience and is fully responsible for the logistics operation of a certain industry, so it must bear the work pressure exerted by guiding front-line operators and company leaders.

Among the logistics managers surveyed, about 30 employees in China are between 25 and 35 years old, about 28 employees are between 35 and 45 years old, and less than 5 are over 45 years old. The average age of managers is 30 years old. Most of them have 6 years of working experience in the logistics industry (including commercial circulation and material system), and have skipped twice in the logistics field on average, and have held 4 different positions successively. In order to quickly improve the professional knowledge level and salary, it is a major phenomenon in the domestic logistics industry that logistics managers constantly change jobs.

Third, logistics managers should have a global concept and be good at systematic thinking. As an excellent logistics manager, we must be as transparent as possible in all aspects of logistics. For example, whether to outsource the logistics business of the company or to do the transportation and logistics business by yourself, whether to outsource all or only part of it; If outsourcing, how to choose logistics service providers, how to effectively control the selected logistics service providers to provide high-quality logistics services that meet the needs of the company. And in daily production and operation, find out the unreasonable part of the cooperation between the two parties in time and take effective measures to correct it in time to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the enterprise.

Third, the logistics manager can bear the double pressure of front-line operators and company leaders. The characteristics of logistics operation across multiple industries determine the constraints of external environmental factors. When there is a problem in an environment, the logistics manager must quickly make a solution to the problem. Logistics links are closely linked and operate 24 hours a day. Logistics managers must always pay attention to the operation of each link. The survey found that the legal working hours of 40 hours per week for logistics managers were obviously insufficient. Only three logistics professionals work less than 40 hours a week, most logistics employees work 50 hours a week, 17 respondents work 60 hours a week. Overtime is a feature of their work. In addition, the logistics manager is in the position of management and implementation, and is often criticized and supervised by the company's management in the process of operation.

Usually, the higher the position of logistics manager in the company, the more heavy labor and corresponding remuneration it means. The salary of senior managers in the United States includes wages and bonuses. The average salaries of logistics managers, directors and vice presidents are 6.5438+0.24 million, 6.5438+0.5 million and 0.2 million dollars respectively. Some domestic enterprises also recruit logistics managers, with an annual salary of 300,000-400,000 yuan, but with more water.

DHL managers have international practical experience and different cultural backgrounds, and can quickly adapt to the differences of different cultures. Professional operation and sales experience is also essential. DHL has 65,438+00 core competencies, such as planning, team management, self-motivation and communication skills. In China, DHL requires managers to be experts in logistics operation, as well as working experience and management concepts of multinational companies.

New employees of DHL should receive formal and strict induction training before taking up their posts. Each new employee will enter each department in turn for rotation internship to ensure that they have direct experience of all business links of the company and have an understanding of all professional knowledge before they officially take up their posts.

DHL has launched MDPR projects around the world, namely? Manager development planning and evaluation? . Through the review and evaluation of managers' past abilities, corresponding development plans are made, including broadening management horizons, MBA programs, cross-departmental development, etc., to improve managers' quality and ensure their development. ;