Introduction

Logistics management is about the procurement of materials, maintenance, movement, warehousing, storage, packaging, and keeping of finished and semi-finished goods in a safe condition for transportation. This consists of the management of all information related to the starting point of producing goods to the consumption of goods. Grabara, (2013) management of logistics entails the planning, movement, control, and storage of finished and non-finished goods including raw materials in the organization. The purpose of the essay is to describe my role as the Logistics Manager of Unilever manufacturing company, this will entail various logistics aspects of the organization ranging from the production, marketing, financial, and accounting aspects of the logistics management of Unilever Organization. Logistic management has an influence on the various order cycle and management of the organization.

Unilever Company is an international company that deals in consumer products and items, these products range from Food products, Drink’s products, Household products, among several lines of products (Dentoni & Veldhuizen, 2012). The organization supplies goods all over the world with several branches in over 190 countries. The company is a well-known international organization with over 2.5 billion consumers and customers across the world. Rumyantseva et al., (2007) the company has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. They produce products that are easy to move from the production point to the consumption level. The main competitors of Unilever Company are Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, IFFCO, Spinneys, among others. The company has local competitors depending on the country the various branches are located. The logistics management in Unilever Company is very important in order to ensure the movement of various production materials, information, finished and semi-finished goods. This entails the storage of various materials, processing of orders, management of various production materials, and transportation of goods to various destinations. The order processing stage in logistics management in Unilever Company relates to the information and operations of various goods and sales.

The Interfaces

Logistics management interferes with various aspects of the production, marketing, accounting, and finance of Unilever Company. Logistics management is mostly the management of tangible goods and products, materials, equipment, and supplies that are involved in the production process. Ghoumrassi & Țigu, (2017) llogistics management ensures that various materials, goods, and products are moved and stored in a good condition. Production of goods requires the availability of raw materials, machines, and equipment that will help add value to the raw materials. The production stage of the logistics management ensures that there is the availability of production products in the right proportion and time in order to facilitate production. The materials that will help increase the quality and value of various products of Unilever Company should be available at the right time and in the right condition. The production of goods associates the testing of the product, transportation, storage, and supply of these products. The company replaces old and damaged machines with new ones in order to enhance the production of goods. The materials needed for production are received from suppliers, the resources and materials are distributed to the right departments (Ghoumrassi & Țigu, 2017).

Gimenez & Ventura, (2005) Marketing logistics is another logistics concept in logistics management that deals with the techniques for enhancing the market interest towards the goods produced for the public. The marketing of goods provides the public with the benefits and importance of the products produced. There is information flow from the organization to the public relating to the various goods produced. The planning for the increase in sales and movement of goods to the market is done during the marketing stage. The organization will promote the product by persuading consumers to buy products from the organization. Also, the goods produced should be able to meet customer satisfaction and increase the profit of the organization. The prices of goods are also set regards to the external and internal factors in order to ensure a high purchase and profitability of the organization. Discounts can also be set on goods in order to encourage purchases, promotions should be implemented in order to get the interest of the public and the market.

The accounting aspect of logistics management entails the various transactions involved in logistics management. The transactions of the company should be managed properly in order to avoid losses. The management of the finances of the organization consists of the various sales, purchases, and expenditures incurred. The account should be up-to-date and is very important in various decisions made for the company (Grabara, 2013).

Financial logistics involves the use of various monetary aspects of the organization to make the organization run smoothly. The financial aspect of the organization will help in solving any problem that might be faced in the organization. The investments made, financial resources and inputs are all relevant to the production of the company. The financial resources and all investments should be utilized effectively to increase the profit and development of the organization (Ming, 2008).

Grabara, (2013).

Logistics covers the material management which entails all materials for production of goods. Logistics also entails the distribution of goods which consists of marketing, transportation and storage of goods in order to be distributed to consumers. In all these stages, the various financial activities are recorded up to date. The finance is used throughout the various stages to the sales of goods.

Order Cycle

The order cycle is the route of orders from customers to the company, the order cycle ranges how the company receives orders and responds to these orders in order to satisfy customers. Receival of product orders from the market to the delivery of products or goods ordered to various clients or destinations. The way in which customers request goods, and how these requested goods are made and sent in order to provide satisfaction to these customers. The processing of orders includes picking goods, sorting for the right products, tracking the products, and shipping these products to customers’ destinations. There is a need for approval in each processing stage till the goods are packed and shipped to the market. The various approvals and orders processed should be recorded, this will help in any future reference.

Burns, (2019) order received should be in the first stage of the order processing cycle, the process starts when a customer purchases a product. The order is selected and delivered to the customer. Some orders can be returned due to some errors or mistakes. The orders made are from different locations, times, and through varied ways. There are designs and implementation of tools to channel multiple orders made through varied ways and channels. This information is received by the order processing department of the logistics management. There are inputs of order details, shipping, address, and other relevant information that will help improve the accurate delivery of goods to customers. This system is managed properly in order to ensure that each and every order is delivered on time and to the right location.

Orders received are identified by the fulfillment center of the organization, Unilever Company has several fulfillment centers across the globe and enables the easy supply of inventories across different locations. The use of order management software skubana software, in the company, will help determine fulfilled orders and orders yet to be fulfilled. This software will include all relevant information about the customers, including their address, specifications of ordered products, among other relevant information. All costs entailed in transporting and delivering orders are included in the software.

The picking of order is done depending on the kind of goods or products ordered. The picking is when ordered products are selected among available goods in order to send them various packing and pick-up stations. The team dedicated to picking products will select the right products for delivery. The warehouse should arrange products in the correct order in order to make picking easier and faster.

Sarder, (2021) products selected or picked are packaged to make them secured and easy to transport. The goods are packaged in a suitable way and put together for transportation. After the packaging of orders, the products are shifted to various customers. The software and tracker can be used to track the situation of each product being transported. After products have been delivered, a time duration is given for customers to return the product in case it had any problem. There is a feedback request sent to every customer to check their satisfaction level with the products. Customers who return goods can be given discounts or returns of money depending on the circumstance of the product. There is transit available for picking all returning products.

Burns, (2019)

Order is placed by customers and Unilever Company receives the order, then the product ordered is picked, packaged, shipped, and delivered to customers. Feedback and returns are sent from the customers to the organization.

Inventory Management

Ganesha & Aithal, (2020) inventory management of Unilever Company is involved raw materials inventory, work-in-progress inventory, and finished good inventory in the various production process of the organization. The various goods, merchandise, materials, and other items that are used during the production of goods till customers receive these goods are managed in order to facilitate their performance. The management of inventories in the organization ensures that various inventories and materials used for production are functioning well. This is to ensure the effective and efficient utilization of various materials or items during production. The management of inventories entails risks involved in various operations, costs of production, facilities for production, and the various ways to improve the level of stocks for sales. There should be the availability of enough resources, inputs, and production materials to enhance production and customer satisfaction (Oluwaseyi et al., 2017).

Inventory management in logistics management ensures that there are plans set to receives, produce, and store goods, materials, and information related to the production of goods. The company can use data and information available to streamline the production process of the business. Inventory management of Unilever Company should enable the availability of enough storage spaces for the keeping of various materials and stocks of the organization. Materials that need to be processed into high-quality products are transported to the production area. Finished products are moved into warehouses and storage locations (Ming, 2008). The available goods that are ready to be sold are checked properly and tested in order to meet customer satisfaction.

The various equipment, materials, resources, and items that are used for production should be properly maintained, renewed, and repaired often to avoid the high cost of damages. Inventory management involves planning and controlling of materials to enhance production and customer satisfaction. The storage of all production materials should be placed in the right location and condition. All expenditures incurred during the production or storage of goods should be recorded. The various expenditures should be minimized as possible and enhance the revenue level of production in order to increase the profit of the business. The use of good inventory management in the organization will help reduce the costs of resources or efforts of production (Singh & Verma, 2018).

Different production technologies can be used to manage, track, and control inventory management and production Unilever Company. Qu et al., (2016) technologies like real-time data collection, tracking robotics, RFID tracking, among others can be used for managing inventories in the organization. This will help in keeping records of movement, tracking, and performance of various inventories for production. Inventory management will be able to ensure the production of high-quality products and services to customers. Inventory management also ensures good demand forecasting, the flow of goods in-and-out of the warehouse, and movement of products during production (Qu et al., 2016).

Ganesha & Aithal, (2020)

Raw materials inventories are primary inventory of Unilever Company, these materials are acquired and used for production. Work in progress inventory is the actual production period, when materials are used for production of goods and new products. The finished good inventories are the management of produced goods that are stored and ready to be shipped to the market.

Conclusion

Logistics management is a very important aspect of Unilever Company, to ensure that all materials and resources are available in the organization, the management of logistics will enable the supply of materials, resources, and all efforts for production. The company will manage information related to every aspect of the business and set up plans that will guide the management department in controlling the business. Raw materials and resources are received from suppliers, these materials should be in the right condition and delivered at the right time. The various materials and resources, including the effort of human resources, are used at the work-in-progress stage. The production of finished products is stored in a safe and secured warehouse of the company.

The logistics management of the organization involves the arrangement of production strategies, marketing of goods, and keeping records of various activities. The business will generate accounting and financial information which should be recorded and updated always. The various items bought, the products sold, and all other financial information are recorded. This will help in future planning and knowing the performance of the business. Also, orders received from customers are monitored and managed using special software like skubana software, and during delivery of products, there should be tracking of these products. Return of products from customers should pass through separate pickups, products should be replaced for customers who return wrong products. Moreover, there should be secured management of all inventories used for production, renewal of production materials, and replacement of old machines and production materials. This will help improve the production level of the organization.

References

Burns, R. (2019, January 28). Order Management and Order Processing: Why They’re So Important for Business. Retrieved from ShipBob: https://www.shipbob.com/blog/order-management/#:~:text=Order%20processing%20is%20the%20process,%2C%20sorting%2C%20tracking%20and%20shipping.

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Ghoumrassi, A., & Țigu, G. (2017). The impact of the logistics management in customer satisfaction. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, 11(1), 292-301.

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Oluwaseyi, J. A., Onifade, M. K., & Odeyinka, O. F. (2017). Evaluation of the role of inventory management in logistics chain of an organisation. LOGI–Scientific Journal on Transport and Logistics, 8(2), 1-11.

Qu, T., Lei, S. P., Wang, Z. Z., Nie, D. X., Chen, X., & Huang, G. Q. (2016). IoT-based real-time production logistics synchronization system under smart cloud manufacturing. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 84(1-4), 147-164.

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Singh, D., & Verma, A. (2018). Inventory management in supply chain. Materials Today: Proceedings, 5(2), 3867-3872.