Why is it that most people have little understanding of the
importance of logistics? The question
comes to mind whenever someone asks me what my profession is. On may different occasions and in meetings,
people have told me they think I am joking when I tell them I love working in
the field of logistics.
Today, anxiety has set in as I exit the mall parking lot and
continue to thin along the road leading to my house, I remember the line of a
Megadeth song that rings in the back of
my mind, “In the dream I cannot see the tangled abstract fallacy?”.
In fact, most Indonesia people are blissfully unaware of the
importance of logistics and supply chain services. If they understood even the most basic
concepts behind logistics, they would know the lower logistics cost leads to
better product distributionand lower prices for them at the checkout
counter. The Indonesian economy is still
very much dependent on local consumers.
Overwhelmingly, it is Indonesian people that are buying Indonesian
products. Imagining a Cibaduyut Shoes and Bally shoes coupled with the festival of world-class lifestyle is not a dream
in broad daylight, with the course followed by an agressive marketing plan.
If more serious attention was given to the logistics
industry, many new jobs would be created, unemployment would be reduced,
business opportunities would expand rapidly, there would be less poverty and
even the crime rates would go down. All
people would enjoy better levels of social security and stability, foreign
investment and foreign tourist would increase and the list goes on while I
enjoy a cup of coffee Luwak in this equatorial emerald. How many more children of this nation need to
continue to suffer needlessy? What if
some of the terrible problems that currently exist in my beloved country could
be solved?
If our local products did indeed lose out to competitors,
this country would become even more
impoverished due to a decline in labor intensive industries. Jobs would be dissapear, social stability
would decrease and crime would soar.
This is why low cost logistcs and supply chain services are so
important.
Imagine if an internet phenomenon such as Justin Bieber were
to come from Indonesia? What if such a
phenomenon was to happen somehow in Indonesia’s logistics and supply chain
industry? What part does Indonesia play
on the world stage? Does the world even
care about Indonesia?
Mike Portnoy, ex-Dream Theater and now Adrenaline Mob,
recently heaped praise on a young Indonesian drummer named JP Milenix on a TV
talent show called Indonesia Mencari Bakat.
His positive comments about the girl and Indonesia can be read online by
thousands of his follower around the world who are part of his online
community.
On Twitter, Slash, ex Guns and Roses guitarist and Michael
Sweet,the lead singer of Stryper, both publicy praised Indonesia as a country
rich with promising innovative musicians.
Slash even personally mentioned on Indonesian Independence Day.
On the other hand, there have cases of Indonesian
celebrities leaking homemade porn videos online. Although this might case a
negative light on Indonesia, regardless of what people may like or dislike
about this country. Indonesia has a
major role to play on the world stage and there is no denying that social media
ant he internet have become powerful tools in that respect.
The use of information technology, especially the internet,
has changed the world enormously.
Through the help of the internet and social networking, such as blogs,
Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and others, the world is literally at your
fingertips. Almost anyone can now afford
to access these tools as the price of using the internet at home, on a hand
phone or at a warnet is insanely cheap. Now the phrase “get connected” truly applies as people can
now so easily communicate via smart phones and other devices.
WMS, TMS, barcode labels, RFID, GPS and tracking/tracing
systems are the most specific ways that the logistics and suppply chain
industries are now “getting connected”.
Just a few years ago, few could imagine how effective and efficient
business would become as all this data can now be accessed through a device as
simple as a relativey inexpensive smart
phone.
One of the reason we use IT is to reduce cost. By minimizing capital, we can maximize
profits, so the relationship between IT and economy is increasingly becoming
more intimate as there are now few business that could fully function without
IT.
Most of us have heard the concepts of a world without
borders. As dividing lines increasingly
blur, minimalism becomes key in almost every field of business. In the past, a person might take pride in the
size of one’s office but now an office can be as simple as a laptop.
In order to maximize sales volume, optimal operational
capacity has becomes more vital than ever before. The limits of space and time have changed
business as they can now easily operate all the time, thanks to computers.
The principle of “you are online or you are out of line” now
applies to everyone. Threre is a little
choice to either people or business to do otherwise or else become irrelevant
or excluded. This may sound dire to
some, but it is actually an amazing gift givent to us by information
technology.
I often hear my friends say things like, “How do I know
anyway ... given BBM (Blackberry Messenger).” Continue to be answered by my
other friend ... “How the heck, right at the BBM Group alreay in the post ... “
Of course we understand that the name can also be change the form of message
into the other Social Media network with different names.
In light of the rapid advancement of information technology,
how is the logistics industry faring? With great candor and humility, we must admit that the
logistics industry has made great strides in a very short time it happens,
thanks to information technology and its associated infrastructure. In particular, social media has helped put
the logistics and supply chain industries firmly in the minds of many more investors.
Many of us in the logistics and supply chain industries
indeed utilize social media and networking as they help us both effectively and
efficiently inform people about the importance of our work.
Just in the last few months, I have started using my online
business profile as channels for the distribution of information about the
logistics and supply chain industries by sharing news, stories and personal
experiences.
With a minimal amount of time time and the trust of my
associates, the steps I have taken have indeed been both effective and
efficient. During breaks in my busy work
routine, I try to popularize the logistics and supply chain industries by
pounding out interesting facts posted in the news. I want my stakeholders to know what is going
on right now in the business.
This type of news is very concerning to me because of the
amount of importerd goods we see on our store shelves is increasing every day
in Indonesia and that could threaten the existence of similar, locally made
products. Surely, this will have a
negative impact on producers and manufacturers in Indonesia. Many of the response obtained from my colleagues who are not
involved in the logistics and supply chain industries have been of interest in
the industry news I give them.
I remember an article stating that it is human nature to
share something that is free and it has been proven in my mind by the explosion
of social media and the power of word of mouth marketing via information
technology.
Frankly, I believe that someday we will meet many people who
do not have a background in the fields of logistics and supply chain, yet they
will have enough basic information about these industries and how they function,
because it is we who are actively making this happen. There is no point in waiting for others
outside of these industries to take the time and effort to popularize them.
I’m waiting for the day when I can leave a mall parking lot,
meet a colleague and with a smile say “It’s part of logistics supply chain,
which function to suppress cost without reducing the quality and quality of a
product” ... and they will understand.
This article also issued at Logistics+ magazine Volume IX Issue No. 47 Feb-Mar 2012
Logistics and Supply Chain regards,
@Didiet_Hidayat
e-Mail/FB/YM/Twitter/Linked-In: didiet.hidayat@yahoo.com
