According to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), logistics management can be defined as, "that part of supply chain management that plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet customers' requirements."

The history of logistics is rooted in its military application. Since WWII it has developed into an important function of business as it became evident that logistics and transportation add place and time value to products and enhance the form and possession value added by manufacturing and marketing.

The concept of logistics as a business discipline began to appear in the business-related literature in the 1960s when it was called physical distribution. At that time its focus was on the outbound side of the logistics system...