Page 182 - DMGT546_INTERNATIONAL_TRADE_PROCEDURE_AND_DOCUMENTATION

Unit 8: International Transport System

Notes
Figure 8.2: Process involved in Physical Distribution System

Recycling Returns and Waste Disposal: Even when the products have been delivered to
the customers, the work of logistics may not be finished. There might, for example, be
problems with delivered materials – perhaps they were faulty, or too many were delivered,
or they were of the wrong type – and they have to be collected and brought back. Sometimes
there are associated materials such as pallets, delivery boxes, cable reels and containers
which are returned to the suppliers for reuse. Some materials are not reused, but are
brought back for recycling, such as metals, glass, paper, plastics and oils. Activities that
return materials back to an organization are called reverse logistics or reverse distribution.

Figure 8.3: Waste Management Hierarchy

Location: Some of the logistics activities can be done in different locations. Stocks of
finished goods, for example, can be held at the end of production, moved to nearby
warehouses, put into stores nearer to the customers, passed on to be managed by other
organizations, or a range of alternatives. Logistics has to find the best solutions for these

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