Creating the Logistics Vision Nowadays,most companies are familiar with the idea of "mission statement"as an expression of setting a vision for the business.The mission statement seeks to define the pur-pose of the business,its boundaries and its aspirations.It is now common for organizations to have such statement for the business as a whole and for key constituent components.What some companies have found is that there can be significant benefits to defining the lo-gistics vision of the firm. The purpose of the logistics vision statement is to give a clear indication which business intends to build a position of advantage through closer customer relationship.Such state-ment is never easy to construct.There is always the danger that they will publish the ener-getic and encouraging declaration that give everyone a warm feeling but provide no guideline for action. Ideally the logistics vision should be built around the simple issue of"How do we intend to use logistics and supply chain management to create value for our customers?"To realize this idea will necessitate a detailed understanding of how customer value is created and deliv-ered in the market in which the business competes.Value chain analysis will be a fundamen-tal element in this investigation as will the definition of the core competencies and capabilities of the organization.Asking the question"What activities dowe excel in?"and"What is it that differentiates us from our competitors?"is the starting point for creating the logistics vision statement. Earlier,it was suggested that the three words"Better,Faster,Cheaper"summarizes the ways in which logistics vision statement can provide value for customers.The criterion for good logistics vision statement is that it should provide the road map for how these three goals are to be achieved． Questions:

Logistics System A logistics system consists of different functions and activities,such as the following: 1.Customer service is a core function in the logistics process.Each business entity should have a customer service department to handle complaints,special orders,loss and damage claims,returns,bills problem,and etc．This function becomes crucial because any dissatisfaction can lead to failure to retain customers. 2.Inventory management is to maintain the stock of raw materials and half-finished products.In order to satisfy the customers＇demand and minimize costs,a company should establish an optimal level of inventory to meet the market demand that exceeds our expecta-tions,and at the same time,minimize your inventory holding costs and inventory write-down costs. 3.Transportation has taken a great role in many logistics systems for two reasons.First of all,globalization and importing-exporting activities make most products necessary to be transferred from one country to another.Secondly,information revolution has propelled the manufacturing process and consumer behaviors to be changed drastically.Traditional trans-portation methods need to be upgraded to accommodate modern transportation demand,therefore,containerization and usage of information sharing system emerge. 4.Storage is needed to manage the materials and store ready-for-market products in warehouses.There is new technology applied in the storage,for example,automatic ware-house.Old-fashioned warehouse has become the distribution center where container trucks deliver and pick up the goods. 5.Information system links all logistics processes and integrates all information to en-sure all the handling of large quantity of goods are delivered in an efficient,cost-effective and accurate manner. Questions: