To maintain high competitiveness, the logistics chain (LC) must constantly develop and improve. To do this, you need to have a way to determine the following points:

1) how well the LC currently works;

2) in what direction should the LC be improved;

3) how successful is the process of transformation of the LC in the chosen direction.

Answers to all these questions can be obtained by analyzing the indicators of logistics activities, because they reflect in a concise form the state of logistics functioning. Indicators can be direct or indirect, absolute or relative. Indirect metrics are often related to finance, such as profitability or payback period. On the one hand, financial indicators are easily determined, look convincing, allow for comparison of the results obtained, give an overall picture of the current state of the drug, and are popular. But at the same time, they have a number of significant drawbacks: they reflect past results, are slow to respond to changes, depend on a number of accounting techniques, do not take into account important aspects of logistics, and do not show specific problems and ways to eliminate them. Direct indicators are more suitable for analyzing the causes of the current situation and finding management solutions. These include: the weight of delivered goods, the speed of inventory turnover, the distance of cargo transportation, the number of unfulfilled orders, the number of violations of delivery conditions.

Absolute indicators include single(for example, sales volume or availability) and total(balance sheet indicators, income and expense figures) indicators. Relative indicators are divided into specific(the ratio of parameter values ​​to the total number of any objects), interconnected ( ratios of different quantities to each other), indices ( relationships of homogeneous quantities with each other; the denominator contains the base quantity).

The most common indicators of supply chain performance include indicators characterizing LC capacity and productivity.

LC power and power utilization factor

The power of the LC is not a given constant value, as it may seem at first glance, but actually shows the efficiency of the organization of resource use. The fact is that power, firstly, depends on the way resources are used, and secondly, it changes over time. For example, the professionalism or unprofessionalism of managers can respectively increase or decrease the throughput of an enterprise with the same available resources. In addition, during the workday, employee productivity decreases, which leads to a decrease in power. In this regard, design, effective and actual power are distinguished.

In addition to the absolute value of power, it is used to analyze the efficiency of logistics activities. power utilization factor, showing the share of designed capacity actually used.

Performance- one of the most widely used indicators. There are several types of performance:

overall performance- the ratio of the total throughput to the total amount of resources used. Flaws: the use of monetary units of measurement to compare the numerator and denominator, which leads to dependence on accounting techniques; difficulties in accurately determining the values ​​for all components used, especially intangible ones, such as the qualifications of employees, the state of the environment, and the reputation of the company; impossibility of identifying the most important factors;

partial performance- the ratio of the total throughput to the number of units of a specific resource used, namely:

equipment performance: number of van trips; the weight of the cargo transported by the forklift; the distance the plane flew;

labor productivity: number of product deliveries per employee; number of tons transported per shift; number of orders shipped per hour of work;

productivity of capital: the number of stored products for each monetary unit of investment; number of deliveries per unit of capital; throughput for every ruble invested in equipment;

energy performance: number of deliveries per liter of fuel; volume of stored products per kilowatt-hour of electricity; added value for each monetary unit spent on a unit of energy.

Logistics costs (costs) - this is the sum of all costs associated with the implementation of logistics: placing orders for the supply of products, purchasing, warehousing of incoming products, internal transportation, intermediate storage, storage of GP, shipment, external transportation, as well as costs for personnel, equipment, premises, warehouse stocks, transfer data on orders, stocks, deliveries.

The classification of logistics costs is shown in Fig. 6.

Rice. 6.

Direct costs may be directly attributable to a product, service, order, or other specific medium.

Indirect costs can be directly attributed to the carrier only by performing auxiliary calculations.

Regulated costs - costs that can be managed at the responsibility center (division) level.

Unregulated costs - costs that cannot be influenced from the center of responsibility, since these costs are regulated at the level of the company as a whole or in an external link (at another enterprise) of the LC.

Productive costs- costs of work aimed at creating added value that the consumer wants to have and for which he is willing to pay.

Costs of maintaining logistics activities in themselves do not create value, but they are necessary, for example, the costs of transportation, placing orders, checking the work of employees, keeping records of products.

Control costs- costs of activities aimed at preventing undesirable results of customer service.

Unprofitable expenses- costs for work that does not produce useful results (downtime, waiting).

Opportunity costs(lost opportunity costs) characterize lost profits, loss of profit from the fact that resources were used in a certain way, which excluded the use of another possible option.

Partial costs - These are parts of costs attributable to a specific product, order, field of activity, identified according to certain characteristics.

Actual costs- costs actually attributable to a given object in the period under review with the actual volume of orders being completed.

Normal costs- average costs attributable to a given facility in the period under review with the actual volume of service.

Planned costs- costs calculated for a certain object and a certain period with a planned maintenance program and a given technology.

Other indicators. For each functional area of ​​logistics, specific indicators are identified, for example:

· for purchasing logistics - costs of ordering, cost of purchased materials, amount of discounts received, number of operations per employee, number of errors, number of regular suppliers, supplier reliability, possibility of unscheduled deliveries, terms of payment for supplies, supplier ratings, quality of supplied products;

· for transport logistics - reliability of delivery, total time and total distance of delivery, delivery costs, degree of customer satisfaction, frequency of service, number of losses and damages, time for loading and unloading, total weight moved, number of erroneous deliveries, dimensions and carrying capacity of rolling stock , professionalism of drivers;

· for warehousing logistics - inventory turnover, average inventory volume, warehouse space utilization, share of orders satisfied from inventory, share of total demand satisfied from inventory, order lead time, errors in order picking; possibility of special storage conditions.

Increasing competition coupled with slow economic growth in almost all industries is forcing firms to focus more efforts on the logistics activities of the enterprise. As a result, an increasing number of approaches to logistics control by means of assessing logistics performance indicators are emerging. The use of systems for assessing logistics performance in a company solves such basic tasks as monitoring and control of logistics operations and their operational management.

Monitoring indicators make it possible to trace the dynamics of logistics systems in the past. Such indicators include service level indicators, elements of the logistics cost structure and many others.

Control indicators provide data on current performance. These indicators are necessary to adjust the logistics process in case of deviation from established standards. An example of such indicators is tracking damage to cargo during delivery.

The purpose of control indicators is to improve the quality of staff work. An example of the use of such indicators is the introduction of piecework wages at an enterprise.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are measures of a company's performance that help achieve strategic and tactical goals. The use of these indicators gives the company the opportunity to assess its position and help in assessing the implementation of strategies.

A well-developed KPI system will give the company the opportunity to:

• - Carry out strategic logistics planning and monitor the achievement of its goals.
• - Comprehensively evaluate logistics activities, based on constant monitoring of management analysis of the most significant aspects (total logistics costs, customer relations, productivity, product quality and others).
• - Conduct an analysis of the company’s internal business processes.
• - Compare the dynamics of logistics indicators and evaluate the results achieved.
• - Determine the most important factors for the success of the company’s logistics activities and concentrate on them.
• - Increase the speed of making logistics decisions based on formulated priorities.

When developing and implementing a system of logistics indicators, each company should determine the areas of application of these indicators and their range. The range can vary from the overall process as a whole to individual logistics operations.

Evaluation indicators in logistics are divided into external and internal. The evaluation system based on internal indicators helps to compare past and current performance results with each other, as well as with the intended target standards. These internal assessment indicators are often used by enterprises because the sources of information are well known and easy to collect. Internal logistics indicators are divided into:

a) Costs.

The main reflection of the results of logistics activities is in the actual amount of costs associated with the implementation of actual tasks. The efficiency of logistics activities can be judged by comparing the company's actual costs with past and expected ones. The amount of logistics costs in a company is usually represented by the total amount of costs or costs per unit of production (unit costs). The main indicators of logistics costs used at enterprises are the indicators given in table 1 (see table 1)

Table 1 - KPI of company costs

b) Customer service.

These internal indicators can be characterized as service indicators. They make it possible to monitor the company's ability to satisfy the demands and needs of consumers. These indicators include: (see table 2)

Table 2 - KPIs for customer service of the company

c) Asset management.

The subject of asset management assessment is the efficiency of use of the company's capital. This capital is divided into invested in equipment and structures and working capital (invested in inventories). Assessment of asset management makes it possible to monitor the speed of turnover of liquid assets, as well as the success with which fixed assets pay back investments. The main such indicators include: (see table 3)

Table 3 - KPIs for company asset management

d) Productivity.

Internal performance indicators are very important for any company. Productivity is defined as the relationship between the final result of a company's work and the amount of resources consumed to complete an order. Logistics performance indicators include the indicators presented in Table 4 (see Table 4).

Table 4 - Product performance KPIs

d) Quality.

Qualitative indicators determine the effectiveness not of individual operations, but of their set. It is difficult to measure quality indicators due to the heterogeneity of the operations being assessed. Logistic quality indicators include: (see table 5)

Table 5 - Product quality KPIs

Thus, we can conclude that internal evaluation indicators characterize the effectiveness of operations necessary to serve customers. Assessing these indicators and comparing them with standards, as well as the results of previous years, is necessary to improve the company’s performance.

External assessment indicators are most often used only by large logistics companies. These indicators are necessary for researching and identifying consumer expectations, as well as mastering the best practices of other industries.

Since key performance indicators measure results and costs, a company can successfully use them to plan and control logistics activities. Before starting operations, the company develops planned KPI indicators. After carrying out activities, the company must also measure the actual deviation of performance indicators from the planned ones. If the company identifies serious deviations, it is worth conducting an analysis of activities and developing a set of corrective measures.

Thus, we can conclude that logistics activities are very important for any company. As it was revealed, logistics for a company is a tool for increasing competitiveness, an opportunity to reduce company costs, improve the quality of supporting processes, as well as increase the profitability of the organization’s assets.

There is a huge variety and number of indicators that do not need to be used all at once. When using indicators to assess the effectiveness of logistics activities, the problem arises of inconsistency between different indicators, which can give different results. For example, if a truck is driving faster than usual, then the number of kilometers per hour of travel increases, but the number of kilometers per liter of fuel decreases; increasing the degree of warehouse automation increases labor productivity, but reduces capital productivity; An increase in the number of employees leads to an increase in effective power, but may reduce the capacity utilization factor, etc.

To solve this problem, we must remember that performance measurement is not the final task. Measurements only provide important information for the manager, on the basis of which he must draw a conclusion about how well the supply chain is meeting its objectives. Thus, it is necessary to select indicators based on the goals and objectives that the organization has set for itself. If, for example, the task was set to maximize the speed of MP promotion through the LC in a short time, then managers should measure the speed of the MP and not worry too much about productivity; If you have set the task of minimizing costs, then you need to use various cost indicators and worry less about workload. Sometimes managers ignore this approach, using measures that are easier to obtain or more convenient to use, those that have been used before, or those that present the manager's performance in a favorable light. This approach can lead to: hasty, low-quality customer service, if the work is assessed by the number of clients, and not by the quality of services, or, conversely, to long queues and indifference to clients, if the assessment of the work is not made dependent on the total number of clients served; to high-speed freight or passenger transport, if the work of drivers is accordingly assessed by the number of deliveries per day or made strictly dependent on the schedule.

In order to truly reflect the situation in the supply chain, the indicator must:
· be linked to supply chain objectives;
· focus on essential factors;
· be realistically measurable;
· be objective;
· be related to current rather than past results;
· be comparable with other organizations and other time periods;
· be understandable to all interested parties;
· make it difficult to manipulate in order to obtain distorted data.

Logistics performance indicators help managers:
· understand how well the established goals are achieved;
· compare current logistics performance with past ones;
· compare logistics in different organizations;
· compare performance indicators of various parts of the LC;
· make decisions about investments and proposed changes;
· measure the impact of changes on the supply chain;
· identify areas requiring improvement.

The use of indicators, as a rule, makes sense only if they are compared with similar indicators of other enterprises or with the same indicators obtained over a different period of time. The following comparison methods are available:
1) comparison with absolute standards , i.e. ideal results that can generally be achieved;
2) comparison with targets uses difficult but realistic goals to achieve certain indicator values;
3) comparison with past achievements analyzes results obtained in the past;
4) comparison with competitors' standards (benchmarking) is based on the performance of industry-leading competitors. Benchmarking can be external (comparing the performance of competitors) and internal (comparing the performance of individual divisions of one organization).

In addition to analyzing logistics performance indicators, there is an informal way to identify areas where improvements are needed: a survey of employees most closely associated with logistics, a mutual exchange of ideas. In this situation, you can get valuable ideas and concrete suggestions.

8. Logistics performance indicators

8.2. Using logistics performance indicators

8.2.1. Selection of logistics performance indicators

There is a huge variety and number of indicators that do not need to be used all at once. When using indicators to assess the effectiveness of logistics activities, the problem arises of inconsistency between different indicators, which can give different results. For example, if a truck is driving faster than usual, then the number of kilometers per hour of travel increases, but the number of kilometers per liter of fuel decreases; increasing the degree of warehouse automation increases labor productivity, but reduces capital productivity; An increase in the number of employees leads to an increase in effective power, but may reduce the capacity utilization factor, etc.

To solve this problem, we must remember that performance measurement is not the final task. Measurements only provide important information for the manager, on the basis of which he must draw a conclusion about how well the supply chain is meeting its objectives. Thus, it is necessary to select indicators based on the goals and objectives that the organization has set for itself. If, for example, the task was set to maximize the speed of MP promotion through the LC in a short time, then managers should measure the speed of the MP and not worry too much about productivity; If you have set the task of minimizing costs, then you need to use various cost indicators and worry less about workload. Sometimes managers ignore this approach, using measures that are easier to obtain or more convenient to use, those that have been used before, or those that present the manager's performance in a favorable light. This approach can lead to: hasty, low-quality customer service, if the work is assessed by the number of clients, and not by the quality of services, or, conversely, to long queues and indifference to clients, if the assessment of the work is not made dependent on the total number of clients served; to high-speed freight or passenger transport, if the work of drivers is accordingly assessed by the number of deliveries per day or made strictly dependent on the schedule.

In order to truly reflect the situation in the supply chain, the indicator must:
· be linked to supply chain objectives;
· focus on significant factors;
· be realistically measurable;
· be objective;
· be related to current rather than past results;
· be comparable with other organizations and other time periods;
· be understandable to all interested parties;
· make it difficult to manipulate in order to obtain distorted data.

8.2.2. Comparison of logistics performance indicators

Logistics performance indicators help managers:
· understand how well the established goals are achieved;
· compare current logistics performance with past ones;
· compare logistics in different organizations;
· compare performance indicators of various parts of the LC;
· make decisions about investments and proposed changes;
· measure the impact of changes on the supply chain;
· identify areas requiring improvement.

The use of indicators, as a rule, makes sense only if they are compared with similar indicators of other enterprises or with the same indicators obtained over a different period of time. The following comparison methods are available:
1) comparison with absolute standards , i.e. ideal results that can generally be achieved;
2) comparison with targets uses difficult but realistic goals to achieve certain indicator values;
3) comparison with past achievements analyzes results obtained in the past;
4) comparison with competitors' standards (benchmarking) is based on the performance of industry-leading competitors. Benchmarking can be external (comparing the performance of competitors) and internal (comparing the performance of individual divisions of one organization).

Logistics performance indicators

Direct costs can be directly attributed to a product, service, order, or other specific medium. Indirect costs can be directly attributed to the carrier only by performing auxiliary calculations.

Controllable costs are costs that can be controlled at the level of the responsibility center (division). Unregulated costs are costs that cannot be influenced by the center of responsibility, since these costs are regulated at the level of the company as a whole or in an external link (at another enterprise) of the LC.

Productive costs are the costs of work aimed at creating added value that the consumer wants to have and for which he is willing to pay. The costs of maintaining logistics activities do not in themselves create value, but they are necessary, for example, the costs of transportation, placing orders, checking the work of employees, and maintaining product records. Control costs are the costs of activities aimed at preventing undesirable results of customer service.



Rice. 8.1. Classification of logistics costs


Unprofitable costs are costs for work that does not produce useful results (downtime, waiting). Opportunity costs (costs of lost opportunities) characterize lost profits, loss of profit from the fact that resources were used in a certain way, which excluded the use of another possible option. Partial costs are parts of costs attributable to a specific product, order, field of activity, allocated according to certain characteristics.

Actual costs are the costs actually attributable to a given object in the period under review with the actual volume of orders being completed. Normal costs are the average costs attributable to a given facility in the period under review with the actual volume of service. Planned costs are costs calculated for a certain object and a certain period with a planned maintenance program and a given technology.


Other indicators

For each functional area of ​​logistics, specific indicators are identified, for example:
· for purchasing logistics – costs of ordering, cost of purchased materials, amount of discounts received, number of operations per employee, number of errors, number of permanent suppliers, supplier reliability, possibility of unscheduled deliveries, payment terms for supplies, supplier ratings, quality of supplied products, etc. .;
· for transport logistics - reliability of delivery, total time and total distance of delivery, delivery costs, degree of customer satisfaction, frequency of service, number of losses and damages, time for loading and unloading, total weight moved, number of erroneous deliveries, dimensions and carrying capacity of rolling stock , professionalism of drivers, etc.;
· for warehousing logistics – inventory turnover, average inventory volume, warehouse space utilization, share of orders satisfied from inventory, share of total demand satisfied from inventory, order lead time, errors in order picking; possibility of special storage conditions, etc.

8.2. Using logistics performance indicators

8.2.1. Selection of logistics performance indicators

There is a huge variety and number of indicators that do not need to be used all at once. When using indicators to assess the effectiveness of logistics activities, the problem arises of inconsistency between different indicators, which can give different results. For example, if a truck is driving faster than usual, then the number of kilometers per hour of travel increases, but the number of kilometers per liter of fuel decreases; increasing the degree of warehouse automation increases labor productivity, but reduces capital productivity; An increase in the number of employees leads to an increase in effective power, but may reduce the capacity utilization factor, etc.

To solve this problem, we must remember that performance measurement is not the final task. Measurements only provide important information for the manager, on the basis of which he must draw a conclusion about how well the supply chain is meeting its objectives. Thus, it is necessary to select indicators based on the goals and objectives that the organization has set for itself. If, for example, the task was set to maximize the speed of MP promotion through the LC in a short time, then managers should measure the speed of the MP and not worry too much about productivity; If you have set the task of minimizing costs, then you need to use various cost indicators and worry less about workload. Sometimes managers ignore this approach, using measures that are easier to obtain or more convenient to use, those that have been used before, or those that present the manager's performance in a favorable light. This approach can lead to: hasty, low-quality customer service, if the work is assessed by the number of clients, and not by the quality of services, or, conversely, to long queues and indifference to clients, if the assessment of the work is not made dependent on the total number of clients served; to high-speed freight or passenger transport, if the work of drivers is accordingly assessed by the number of deliveries per day or made strictly dependent on the schedule.

In order to truly reflect the situation in the supply chain, the indicator must:
· be linked to supply chain objectives;
· focus on essential factors;
· be realistically measurable;
· be objective;
· be related to current rather than past results;
· be comparable with other organizations and other time periods;
· be understandable to all interested parties;
· make it difficult to manipulate in order to obtain distorted data.

8.2.2. Comparison of logistics performance indicators

Logistics performance indicators help managers:
· understand how well the established goals are achieved;
· compare current logistics performance with past ones;
· compare logistics in different organizations;
· compare performance indicators of various parts of the LC;
· make decisions about investments and proposed changes;
· measure the impact of changes on the supply chain;
· identify areas requiring improvement.

The use of indicators, as a rule, makes sense only if they are compared with similar indicators of other enterprises or with the same indicators obtained over a different period of time. The following comparison methods are available:
1) comparison with absolute standards, i.e. ideal results that can generally be achieved;
2) comparison with target indicators uses difficult-to-realize but realistic goals to achieve certain indicator values;
3) comparison with past achievements analyzes the results obtained in the past;
4) comparison with the standards of competitors (benchmarking) is based on the performance of the best competitors in the industry. Benchmarking can be external (comparing the performance of competitors) and internal (comparing the performance of individual divisions of one organization).

In addition to analyzing logistics performance indicators, there is an informal way to identify areas where improvements are needed: a survey of employees most closely associated with logistics, a mutual exchange of ideas. In this situation, you can get valuable ideas and concrete suggestions.

8.3. Methods for estimating logistics costs and ways to optimize them

8.3.1. Features of cost accounting in logistics

End-to-end business management flows through many different departments, but traditional accounting methods calculate costs for individual functional areas, i.e. we only know how much it costs to implement a particular function (Fig. 8.2, a). This does not allow identifying costs for individual logistics processes, generating information about the most significant costs and the nature of their interaction with each other.

Rice. 8.2. Traditional and logistics approaches to the cost accounting system

For example, to fulfill a customer order, it is necessary to carry out the following operations: order acceptance, order processing, credit check, paperwork, order completion, shipment, delivery, invoicing. Those. costs associated with the order fulfillment process consist of many costs arising in different areas, and it is difficult to integrate them into a single cost item within the framework of functional accounting. In addition, traditionally costs are combined into large aggregates, which does not allow for a detailed analysis of costs of different origins and to take into account in detail all the consequences of management decisions made. As a result, decisions made in one functional area may lead to unexpected results in other adjacent areas.

In contrast to the traditional approach to cost accounting, logistics provides for the introduction of operational cost accounting along the entire path of movement of goods. In logistics, the key event, the object of analysis, is the consumer order and the actions to fulfill this order. Costing should allow you to determine whether a particular order is profitable and how you can reduce the costs of its implementation. Cost accounting by process gives a clear picture of how costs associated with servicing a client are formed, what is the share of each department in them. By summing all costs horizontally, you can determine the costs associated with an individual process, order, service, product, etc. (Fig. 8.2, b).

The main attention should be paid to reducing costs, which occupy the largest shares in the total of all logistics costs. As practice shows, the main components of logistics costs are transportation and procurement costs (up to 60%) and inventory maintenance costs (up to 35%).

Another feature of logistics costs is the sharp increase in their sensitivity to changes in the quality of drug operation, which is illustrated in Fig. 8.3.




Rice. 8.3. Dependence of logistics costs on the quality of drug performance

When the quality of drug operation increases to a certain level, logistics costs grow linearly and then exponentially. For example, if we want to increase the availability of the sales system for deliveries from 78 to 79%, the cost of maintaining safety stock will have to increase by about 5%. If we decide to increase delivery availability from 98 to 99% (also by 1%, but in the area of ​​high quality work), this will require an increase in costs by 13%.

Thus, the specifics of cost accounting in logistics are:
firstly, the need to identify all costs associated with specific logistics processes (the principle of total costs);
secondly, in grouping expenses not around the divisions of the enterprise, but around the work and operations that absorb resources.

A system for assessing logistics costs is needed only by logistics managers, who take it as the basis for PR. No rules or laws require the presentation of process costs in financial statements. The differences between financial reports and reports on logistics costs are presented in table. 8.1.


Comparison of logistics and financial reporting

Requirements for the logistics cost accounting system

Requirements for the logistics cost accounting system

Rules for analyzing logistics costs

Methods for analyzing logistics costs

Ways to reduce logistics costs