Shipping and Logistics is the management of the flow of goods from their point of origin to their point of distribution and / or consumption. It involves the integration of transportation, warehousing, inventory, information, packaging and material handling (and often security). Shipping and Logistics is part of the supply chain, adding the value of time and place utility. The complexity of production shipping and logistics can be analyzed, modeled, and optimized by third party companies or plant simulation software.
Any company whose business is affected by actual products, from electronics retailers to grocery stores, has a need for shipping and logistics, and those whose systems are the most efficient, nimble and robust are those that will out-perform their competitors.