The term logistics comes from the
late 19th century: from French logistique, from loger 'to lodge
Logistics is considered to have
originated in the military's need to supply itself with arms, ammunition, and
rations as it moved from a base to a forward position. In the ancient Greek,
Roman, andByzantine Empires, military officers with the title Logistikas were
responsible for financial and supply distribution matters.{{Citation
needed|date=March 2011}
The Oxford English Dictionary
defines logistics as "the branch of military science relating to
procuring, maintaining and transporting material, personnel and
facilities." However, the New Oxford American Dictionary defines logistics
as "the detailed coordination of a complex operation involving many
people, facilities, or supplies", and the Oxford Dictionary online defines
it as "the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation
Another dictionary definition is "the time-related positioning of
resources." As such, logistics is commonly seen as a branch ofengineering
that creates "people systems" rather than "machine
systems".
According to the Council of
Logistics Management, logistics includes the integrated planning, control,
realization, and monitoring of all internal and network-wide material, part,
and product flow, including the necessary information flow, in industrial and
trading companies along the complete value-added chain (and product life cycle)
for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements.
Logistics is the process of
planning, implementing, and controlling the effective and efficient flow
