This document summarizes a survey of logistics experts on their perspectives of the relationship between logistics and supply chain management (SCM). There are four perspectives identified: traditionalist, relabelling, unionist, and intersectionist. The survey results show that 34 items were viewed as more important for SCM, 16 items more important for logistics, and 38 items with no significant difference. Cluster analysis identified groups that aligned with the four perspectives. The conclusions discuss implications for logistics educators, researchers, and practitioners based on the different perspectives.

1. Logistics Versus Supply Chain
Management : An International
Survey
PAUL D.LARSON & ARNI HALLDORSSON

2. ABSTRACT
This paper opens by describing four unique
perspectives on the relationship between
logistics and SCM.
Four perspectives: traditionalist , relabelling ,
unionist , inter-sectionist
The result of an international survey of
logistics / SCM experts are reported.
For logistics educators, researchers and
practitioners

3. Four unique perspectives –
Traditionalist
SCM is one small part of logistics.

4. Four unique perspectives –
Traditionalist
Educators can easily accomplish this by
adding a SCM lecture to the logistics
management course, or by inserting a SCM
chapter into a logistics textbook.
SCM analysts would broaden the scope of
logistics analysis

5. Four unique perspectives –
Relabelling
The relabelling perspective simply renames
logistics; what was logistics is now SCM.

6. Four unique perspectives –
Relabelling
More recently, Simchi-Levi et al. (2000)
confessed that they ‘‘do not distinguish
between logistics and supply chain
management’’.
Relabelling narrows the scope of SCM, since
SCM equals logistics.

7. Four unique perspectives –
Unionist
This perspective treats logistics as a part of
SCM; SCM completely subsumes logistics.

8. Four unique perspectives –
Unionist
Stock & Lambert (2001) suggest ‘‘supply chain
management is the management of eight key
business processes:(1) customer relationship
management, (2) customer service management, (3)
demand management, (4) order fulfillment,
(5)manufacturing flow management, (6)
procurement, (7) product development and
commercialization, and (8) returns’’. These
processes subsume or include much of logistics,
purchasing, marketing and operations management.

9. Four unique perspectives –
Inter-sectionist
The intersection concept suggests SCM is not
the union of logistics, marketing, operations
management purchasing and other functional
areas.

10. Four unique perspectives –
Inter-sectionist
The supply chain manager would be involved
in the negotiations,but not the purchase order
transmission.
At the intersection, SCM co-ordinates cross-
functional efforts across multiple firms. SCM
is strategic, not tactical.

11. International Survey of Experts
– Method
Researchers created lists of topic/technique
items.
Combining these lists yielded over 120 items.
This list was trimmed to 88 survey items,.

12. International Survey of Experts
– Method
The 88 Survey Items:
Strategic management
Supplier development
Supply chain management (SCM)
Information technology
…..

13. International Survey of Experts
– Method
Respondents were asked to rate the
importance of each of these items twice , on
scales from zero (no importance) to five (very
high importance).
The Questionnaire

14. International Survey of Experts
– Method
Total sample = 208(logistics educators)
via fax
All members of the CLM
(Council of Logistics Management).
total of 98 usable surveys was received.
response rate of 47.1%
Survey recipients were from North America,
Europe, South America and Asia.

15. International Survey of Experts
–Results
34 survey items, significantly more important
for SCM compared to logistics.
(SCM>Logistics)
16 items, significantly more important
for logistics compared to SCM.
(Logistics>SCM)
38 survey items, there were no significant
differences in importance between logistics
and SCM.

16. International Survey of Experts
–Results
the top 10 lists, share seven common items
common items:
Customer service
Logistics management
Inventory management
Information technology
Cycle time reduction
e-commerce
Supply chain management

17. Classifying Logisticians
–Cluster analysis
The first index , abs = sum| SCMi - logisticsi |,
for i=1 to 88
The second index , raw = sum(SCMi-
logisticsi), for i=1 to 88
Identified 50 relabellers, 22 unionists, 16
traditionalists and seven inter-sectionists

18. Classifying Logisticians
–Results

19. Research Interests and Methods
The most prevalent research interests were
SCM, e-business, transportation,customer
service and relationships.
usefulness of various methods for conducting
their research, on a scale of one to five.
Europeans rated qualitative (case study and
interview) methods significantly more useful
than their North American counterparts.

20. Conclusions
– Implications for Logistics Educators
Relabellers:
under a new name: ‘‘SCM’’.
Unionists:
remove logistics management, cover the essentials
of logistics
Inter-sectionists:
champion an interdisciplinary SCM major
Traditionalists:
add a SCM lecture to the logistics management
course.

21. Conclusions
– Implications for Logistics Researchers
Among the researcher’s challenges in SCM
is to put boundaries on the study.
relabelling and traditionalism imply narrow
definitions of SCM.
unionism and inter-sectionism suggest broad
definitions.
focus group discussions , could uncover
intuitive and/or theoretical arguments
supporting the various perspectives.

22. Conclusions
– Implications for Logistics Rractitioners
Logistics practitioners must define ‘‘SCM’’
and adopt a perspective on SCM versus
logistics.
Relabellers can implement SCM
Unionists have the challenging task of
creating a SCM line organisation and
changing many reporting relationships within
the firm.
Inter-sectionists can start small, adding a
SCM staff function available

23. The End.
Thanks for your listening!!