Etextbook 978 0132953467 contemporary logistics

eTextbook 978-0132953467 Contemporary Logistics Visit to download the full and correct content document: https://ebookmass.com/product/etextbook-978-0132953467-contemporary-logistics/

Eleventh Edition

Contemporary Logistics

This page intentionally left blank

Eleventh Edition

Contemporary Logistics Paul R. Murphy, Jr. A. Michael Knemeyer

Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore Taipei Tokyo

Editor in Chief: Stephanie Wall Acquisitions Editor: Mark Gaffney Program Manager Team Lead: Ashley Santora Executive Marketing Manager: Anne Fahlgren Project Manager Team Lead: Judy Leale Project Manager: Tom Benfatti Operations Specialist: Nacy Maneri Creative Director: Jayne Conte

Cover Designer: Suzanne Behnke Digital Production Project Manager: Lisa Rinaldi Full-Service Project Management: Abinaya Rajendran, Integra Software Solutions.

Printer/Binder: Courier Cover Printer: Lehigh-Phoenix Color/Hagerstown Text Font: 10/12 Minion Pro

Credits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on appropriate page within text.

Copyright © 2015, 2011, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. This publication is ­protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458.

Many of the designations by manufacturers and seller to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks.

Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initial caps or all caps.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Murphy, Paul Regis.

Contemporary logistics / Paul Murphy, Michael Knemeyer.—Eleventh edition. p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978-0-13-295346-7 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-13-295346-3 (alk. paper) 1. Physical distribution of goods. 2. Business logistics. I. Title.

HF5415.5.J6M87 2014 658.5—dc23 2013028876

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN 10: 0-13-295346-3 ISBN 13: 978-0-13-295346-7

Brief Contents Preface xv

Part 1 Overview of Logistics Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

1

An Overview of Logistics 2 Logistics and Information Technology 23 Strategic and Financial Logistics 41 Organizational and Managerial Issues in Logistics

Part 2 Supply Chain Management Chapter 5 Chapter 6

75

The Supply Chain Management Concept 76 Procurement 94

Part 3 Elements of Logistics Systems Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14

54

109

Demand Management, Order Management, and Customer Service 110 Inventory Management 131 Facility Location 152 Warehousing Management 172 Packaging and Materials Handling 190 Transportation 210 Transportation Management 231 International Logistics 251

Glossary 278 Name Index 286 Subject Index

291

v

This page intentionally left blank

Contents Preface xv

Part I

Overview of Logistics

1

Chapter 1 An Overview of Logistics

2

Economic Impacts of Logistics 2 Logistics: What It Is 4 The Increased Importance of Logistics 6 A Reduction in Economic Regulation 6 Changes in Consumer Behavior 6 Technological Advances 7 The Growing Power of Retailers 8 Globalization of Trade 9 The Systems and Total Cost Approaches to Logistics 9 Logistical Relationships within the Firm 11 Finance 11 Production 11 Marketing 12 Marketing Channels 14 Activities in the Logistical Channel 16 Customer Service 16 Demand Forecasting 17 Facility Location Decisions 17 International Logistics 17 Inventory Management 17 Materials Handling 17 Order Management 17 Packaging 17 Procurement 17 Reverse Logistics 18 Transportation Management 18 Warehousing Management 18 Logistics Careers 18 Summary 19 • Questions for Discussion and Review 19 • Suggested Readings 19 ▶ case 1.1 KiddieLand and the Super Gym

20

Appendix 1 Logistics Professional Organizations 21

vii

viii

Contents

Chapter 2 Logistics and Information Technology General Types of Information Management Systems 24 Office Automation Systems 25 Communication Systems 26 Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) 27 Management Information Systems (MIS) and Executive Information Systems (EIS) 29 Decision Support Systems (DSS) 30 Enterprise Systems 32 The Internet’s Influence on Logistics 33 Online Retailing 33 Cloud Computing 35 Information Technology Challenges 36 Summary 37 • Questions for Discussion and Review 37 • Suggested Readings 38 ▶ case 2.1 Just-in-Time in Kalamazoo

38

Chapter 3 Strategic and Financial Logistics 41 Connecting Strategy to Financial Performance 42 Basic Financial Terminology 44 Income Statement 44 Balance Sheet 45 Strategic Profit Model 46 Logistics Connections to Net Profit Margin 47 Logistics Connections to Asset Turnover 48 Balanced Scorecard 48 Logistics Activity Measures 48 Transportation Measures 49 Warehousing Measures 49 Inventory Measures 50 Design and Implementation of Measures 50 Summary 50 • Questions for Discussion and Review 51 • Suggested Readings 51 ▶ case 3.1 Brant Freezer Company

52

Chapter 4 Organizational and managerial issues in logistics 54 Organizing Logistics Within the Firm 54 Organizational Structure for Logistics 55 Organizational Design for Logistics 57 Managerial Issues in Logistics 58 Productivity 58 Quality 60

23

Contents

Risk 61 Sustainability 67 Complexity 69 Summary 69 • Questions for Discussion and Review 70 • Suggested Readings 70 ▶ case 4.1 Red Spot Markets Company

Part II Supply Chain Management

71

75

Chapter 5 The Supply Chain Management ­ Concept 76 Evolution of Supply Chain Management 77 Supply Chain Management Process Frameworks 78 Enablers of SCM Implementation 80 Understanding the Implications of Increased Customer Power 80 Establishing Appropriate Relationship Structures 82 Leveraging Technology for Enhanced Visibility and Communication 83 Use of Supply Chain Facilitators 84 Barriers to SCM Implementation 86 Regulatory and Political Considerations 86 Lack of Top Management Commitment 86 Reluctance to Share, or Use, Relevant Information 87 Incompatible Information Systems 87 Incompatible Corporate Cultures 88 Globalization Challenges 88 Supply Chain Integration 88 Summary 89 • Questions for Discussion and Review 90 • Suggested Readings 90 ▶ case 5.1 Johnson Toy Company

Chapter 6 Procurement

91

94

Procurement Objectives 95 Supplier Selection and Evaluation 96 Procurement Portfolio Approach 98 Supplier Development (Reverse Marketing) 99 Global Procurement (Sourcing) 99 Sustainable Procurement 101 Social Responsibility 101 Investment Recovery 102 Summary 103 • Questions for Discussion and Review 103 • Suggested Readings 104 ▶ case 6.1 Tempo Ltd.

104

ix

x

Contents

Part III Elements of Logistics Systems 109 Chapter 7 Demand Management, Order ­Management, and Customer Service 110 Demand Management 111 Demand Forecasting Models 111 Demand Forecasting Issues 112 Order Management 113 Order Transmittal 114 Order Processing 114 Order Picking and Assembly 116 Order Delivery 117 Customer Service 118 Time 119 Dependability 119 Communication 119 Convenience 120 Managing Customer Service 120 Establishing Customer Service Objectives 121 Measuring Customer Service 122 Customer Profitability Analysis 124 Service Failure and Service Recovery 125 Summary 126 • Questions for Discussion and Review 126 • Suggested Readings 126 ▶ case 7.1 Handy Andy, Inc.

127

Appendix 7 129

Chapter 8 Inventory Management

131

Inventory Classifications 132 Inventory Costs 133 Inventory Carrying Costs 133 Ordering Costs 134 Trade-Off Between Carrying and Ordering Costs 135 Stockout Costs 135 Trade-Off Between Carrying and Stockout Costs 137 When to Order 137 How Much to Order 138 Economic Order Quantity 138 Conditions of Uncertainty 140 Inventory Flows 140 Inventory Management: Special Concerns 142 ABC Analysis of Inventory 142 Dead Inventory 142

Contents

Inventory Turnover 143 Complementary and Substitute Products 144 Contemporary Issues with Managing Inventory 145 Lean Manufacturing (Lean) 145 Service Parts Logistics 146 Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI) 147 Summary 149 • Questions for Discussion and Review 149 • Suggested Readings 150 ▶ case 8.1 Low Nail Company

Chapter 9 Facility Location

150

152

The Strategic Importance of Facility Location 153 Cost Considerations 153 Customer Service Expectations 154 Location of Customer or Supply Markets 154 Determining the Number of Facilities 155 General Factors Influencing Facility Location 155 Natural Resources 157 Population Characteristics—Market for Goods 157 Population Characteristics—Labor 158 Taxes and Incentives 159 Transportation Considerations 160 Proximity to Industry Clusters 160 Trade Patterns 161 Quality-of-Life Considerations 162 Locating in Other Countries 162 Specialized Location Characteristics 163 Free Trade Zones 164 Finding the Lowest-Cost Location 164 Grid Systems 164 Facility Relocation and Facility Closing 167 Summary 168 • Questions for Discussion and Review 168 • Suggested Readings 169 ▶ case 9.1 All-Indian Logistics Services

Chapter 10 Warehousing Management

169

172

The Role of Warehousing in a Logistics System 173 Public, Private, Contract, and Multiclient Warehousing 175 Public Warehousing 175 Private Warehousing 176 Contract Warehousing 177 Multiclient Warehousing 178

xi

xii

Contents

Design Considerations in Warehousing 178 General Considerations 178 Trade-offs 179 Fixed versus Variable Slot Locations for Merchandise 179 Build Out (Horizontal) versus Build Up (Vertical) 179 Order-Picking versus Stock-Replenishing Functions 180 Two-Dock versus Single-Dock Layout 180 Conventional, Narrow, or Very Narrow Aisles 180 Degree of Warehouse Automation 180 Other Space Needs 181 Warehousing Operations 181 Warehousing Productivity Analysis 182 Safety Considerations 182 Hazardous Materials 184 Warehousing Security 185 Cleanliness and Sanitation Issues 186 Summary 187 • Questions for Discussion and Review 187 • Suggested Readings 187 ▶ case 10.1 Minnetonka Warehouse

188

Chapter 11 Packaging and Materials Handling Product Characteristics 191 Packaging Fundamentals 192 Functional Trade-offs 193 Package Testing and Monitoring 193 Labeling 194 Issues in Packaging 196 Environmental Protection 196 Metric System 197 Identifying Packaging Inefficiencies 198 Packaging’s Influence on Transportation Considerations 199 Unit Loads in Materials Handling 200 The Unit Load Platform 201 Beyond the Unit Load 203 Materials Handling 204 Materials Handling Principles 205 Materials Handling Equipment 206 Summary 207 • Questions for Discussion and Review 207 • Suggested Readings 208 ▶ case 11.1 Let There Be Light Lamp Shade Company 208

190

Contents

Chapter 12 Transportation 210 Comparing and Contrasting Transportation Infrastructure 211 Transportation Modes 212 Airfreight 213 Motor Carriers 214 Pipelines 215 Railroads 216 Water 217 Intermodal Transportation 218 Transportation Specialists 220 Transportation Regulation 222 Environmental Regulation 222 Safety Regulation 222 Economic Regulation 223 Legal Classification of Carriers 224 Summary 226 • Questions for Discussion and Review 226 • Suggested Readings 227 ▶ case 12.1 Truck Company

227

Chapter 13 Transportation Management

231

Contemporary Transportation Management 231 Rate (Pricing) Considerations 232 Rate Determination 232 Rate and Service Negotiations 238 Modal and Carrier Selection 239 Documentation 240 Bill of Lading 240 Freight Bill 241 Freight Claims 242 Making and Receiving Shipments 244 Consolidating Small Shipments 244 Demurrage and Detention 245 Routing 247 Tracking and Expediting 247 Transportation Service Quality 248 Summary 249 • Questions for Discussion and Review 249 • Suggested Readings 249 ▶ case 13.1 Chippy Potato Chip Company

Chapter 14 International Logistics

250

251

Macroenvironmental Influences on International Logistics 252 Political Factors 252 Economic Factors 254 Cultural Factors 255

xiii

xiv

Contents

International Documentation 257 Terms of Sale 258 Group 1: Terms that Apply to Any Mode of Transport 259 EXW (ExWorks) 259 FCA (Free Carrier) 259 CPT (Carriage Paid To) 259 CIP (Carriage and Insurance Paid To) 259 DAT (Delivered at Terminal) 259 DAP (Delivered at Place) 259 DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) 260 Group 2: Terms that Apply to Sea and Inland Waterway Transport Only 260 FAS (Free Alongside Ship) 260 FOB (Free on Board) 260 CFR (Cost and Freight) 260 CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) 260 Methods of Payment 260 International Trade Specialists 261 International Freight Forwarders 261 Nonvessel-Operating Common Carriers 263 Export Management Companies 265 Export Packers 266 Transportation Considerations in International Logistics 266 Ocean Shipping 266 Shipping Conferences and Alliances 268 International Airfreight 269 Surface Transport Considerations 270 International Trade Inventories 271 Logistics Performance Index 272 Summary 273 • Questions for Discussion and Review 273 • Suggested Readings 273 ▶ case 14.1 Nürnberg Augsburg Maschinenwerke (N.A.M.) Glossary

278

Name Index

286

Subject Index

291

274

Preface This edition of Contemporary Logistics reflects a business landscape that is characterized by ­geopolitical tensions in various parts of the world, steadily increasing trade among countries and across continents, supply chain vulnerabilities caused by severe natural disasters, and an unabated pace of technological advancement. Although these and other events present both c­ hallenges and opportunities for logistics managers, the logistics discipline still remains fun, exciting, and dynamic—characteristics that are reflected in our revision.

What’s New In This Edition?

This edition reflects input from reviewers, adopters, and other interested parties in terms of structure, presentation, and content. Specific modifications include the following: • This edition welcomes a new coauthor, A. Michael Knemeyer, currently Associate Professor of Logistics at the Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. Mike’s impressive blend of practical, academic, and consulting experience in logistics and supply chain management provides this edition with fresh insights and perspectives.

• This edition contains one new end-of-chapter case, Case 9-1 (“All-Indian Logistics Services”), and modifications of several other cases. For example, some case content, as well as several discussion questions, have been changed in Cases 7-1 (“Handy Andy, Inc.”), 11-1 (“Let There Be Light Lamp Shade Company”), and 14-1 (“Nürnberg Augsburg Maschinenwerke (N.A.M.)”).

• Each chapter in this edition has been revised and incorporates new examples and references. For example, Chapter 1’s discussion of the globalization of trade reports the average growth rate of world trade between 1991 and 2011 (as opposed to between 1997 and 2007 in the tenth edition). As another example, Chapter 14’s discussion of Incoterms reflects the revisions associated with Incoterms 2010, which were effective at the beginning of 2011.

• New content has been added throughout this edition. For example, Chapter 1 now includes a discussion of the rapidly emerging topic of humanitarian logistics. In addition, the “Logistics Activity Measures” section in Chapter 3 contains an expanded discussion of warehousing and inventory management performance measurements. Chapter 6 has added a subsection, “Procurement Portfolio Approach,” that highlights Kraljic’s Portfolio Matrix.

• Tables and figures containing country and industry data have been either revised or updated.

Examples include Table 1-1, “The Cost of the Business Logistics System in Relation to a Country’s Gross Domestic Product”; Figure 10-3, “2012 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index Findings”; and Table 12-1, “Infrastructure Statistics in Several Countries.”

• The list of Key Terms at the beginning of each chapter has been modified in the eleventh edition, and each key term is defined in the Glossary. New Key Terms in this edition include humanitarian logistics, big data, Logistics Uncertainty Pyramid Model, near-sourcing, and total cost of ownership, among others.

• The end-of-chapter Suggested Readings in the eleventh edition have been revised and over 60 percent of them have been published since 2009.

Instructor Supplements Supplements are available for adopting instructors to download at www.pearsonhighered.com/ irc. Registration is simple and gives the instructor immediate access to new titles and new editions. Pearson’s dedicated technical support team is ready to help instructors with the media

xv

xvi

Preface

supplements that accompany this text. The instructor should visit http://247.pearsoned.com/ for answers to frequently asked questions and for toll-free user support phone numbers. Supplements include the following: • Instructor’s Manual • PowerPoint Slides The current edition of Contemporary Logistics has been prepared by Paul Murphy and Mike Knemeyer, and they welcome your comments and suggestions at drmurphy@jcu.edu (Paul) and knemeyer_4@fisher.osu.edu (Mike). Paul and Mike gratefully acknowledge the important contributions that the late Donald F. Wood, James C. Johnson, and Daniel L. Wardlow made to earlier editions.

Part

I

Overview of Logistics

P

art 1 of Contemporary Logistics introduces the many dimensions of the complex and ­dynamic s­ ubject of logistics. Chapter 1 presents an overview of logistics and introduces you to what l­ogistics is and why it is important. The chapter covers the economic impact of logistics and ­discusses how logistics interacts with other functions, such as marketing, in an organization.

Chapter 2 provides an overview of the general types of information management systems that are applicable across each business function, and it provides examples of how these general types of information systems are specifically applied in logistics management. Chapter 2 also explores the Internet’s influence on logistics and looks at some of the challenges associated with information technology.

Chapter 3 discusses the strategic financial outcomes influenced by logistics decisions. It uses the strategic profit model to highlight how logistics activities influence the key corporate financial measures of net income, capital employed, and return on capital employed.

Chapter 4 examines organizational and managerial issues in logistics. The chapter begins by looking at organizational structure and organizational design for logistics. Chapter 4 also discusses select managerial issues in logistics such as productivity, theft and pilferage, and the impact of terrorism on logistics systems.

1

1

An Overview of Logistics

Key Terms ◾ Big-box retailer ◾ Co-branding ◾ Container ◾ Cost trade-offs ◾ Disintermediation ◾ Economic utility ◾ Form utility ◾ Humanitarian logistics ◾ Landed costs

◾ Logistics ◾ Marketing channels ◾ Mass logistics ◾ Materials management ◾ Physical distribution ◾ Place utility ◾ Possession utility ◾ Postponement ◾ Sorting function

◾ Stock-keeping units (SKUs) ◾ Stockouts ◾ Sustainable products ◾ Systems approach ◾ Tailored logistics ◾ Time utility ◾ Total cost approach

Learning Objectives ◾ To discuss the economic impacts of logistics ◾ To define what logistics is ◾ To analyze the increased importance of logistics ◾ To discuss the systems and total cost approaches to logistics

◾ To expose you to logistical relationships within the firm ◾ To introduce you to marketing channels ◾ To provide a brief overview of activities in the logistics channel ◾ To familiarize you with logistics careers

Economic Impacts of Logistics Although the logistics discipline today is vastly different than when the first edition of this book was published in the 1970s, one thing that remains constant is the economic impact of logistics.

Before defining what logistics is, we believe that it’s important to discuss the economic aspects of logistics and you might be surprised at its significant economic impact. From a macroeconomic perspective, Table 1.1 presents logistics costs in relation to gross domestic product (GDP) for a select group of countries. Although absolute and relative logistics costs in relation to GDP vary from country to country, logistics is most definitely an important component in any country’s economy.

More specifically, logistics can play an important role in a nation’s economic growth and development. For example, a poor transportation infrastructure and high levels of inventory are two key drawbacks that have limited the expansion of Vietnam’s economy.1 In a similar fashion,

1

2

No author. “High Logistics Costs Stifle Vietnam’s Economic Growth,” eyeforTransport, February 24, 2009.

Chapter 1 • An Overview of Logistics

Table 1.1 The Cost of the Business Logistics System in

Relation to a Country’s Gross Domestic Product

Country United States South Africa India Thailand Brazil People’s Republic of China Finland Vietnam

Logistics as a Percentage of GDP 8.5 12.7 13.0 15.2 15.4 17.8 19.0 22.5

Sources: “South Africa: Logistics costs as percentage of GDP improves,” TradeMark SA; http://siteresources.worldbank.org/BRAZILINPOREXTN/ Resources/3817166-1323121030855/FreightLogistics.pdf?resourceurlname=FreightLo gistics.pdf; “Heavy logistics costs weigh on China’s economy: report—Xinhua,” English. news.cn; Autocar Professional; “Logistics cost to GDP declines,” The Nation; “Vietnam high logistics costs lower businesses’ competitiveness,” TalkVietnam; http://www. panostaja.fi/index.php?id=150; 24th Annual State of Logistics Report, Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, 2013.

relatively high logistics costs (as a percentage of GDP) in the People’s Republic of China (China) continue to restrict the country’s economic development, and in particular the high costs of highway transportation have severely constrained the growth of China’s e-commerce market.2 Apart from the previous examples of macro-level economic impacts, the economic impacts of logistics can affect individual consumers such as you. These impacts can be illustrated through the concept of economic utility, which is the value or usefulness of a product in fulfilling customer needs or wants. The four general types of economic utility are possession, form, time, and place, and logistics clearly contributes to time and place utilities.

Possession utility refers to the value or usefulness that comes from a customer being able to take possession of a product. Possession utility can be influenced by the payment terms associated with a product. Credit and debit cards, for example, facilitate possession utility by allowing the customer to purchase products without having to produce cash or a cash equivalent. Likewise, automotive leases allow customers to take possession of a more desirable model than would be possible with conventional automotive loans.

Form utility refers to a product’s being in a form that (1) can be used by the customer and (2) is of value to the customer. Although form utility has generally been associated with production and manufacturing, logistics can also contribute to form utility. For example, to achieve production economies (i.e., lower cost per unit), a soft drink company may produce thousands of cases of a certain type of soft drink (e.g., diet cola). You’re not likely to purchase diet cola by the thousands of cases (unless you’re having a really big social event!) but rather in smaller lot sizes, such as a six- or twelve-pack. Through allocation, logistics can break the thousands of cases of diet cola into the smaller quantities that are desired by customers.

Place utility refers to having products available where they are needed by customers; products are moved from points of lesser value to points of greater value. Continuing with the diet cola example, place utility is increased by moving the soda from a point of lesser value (e.g., stored in a warehouse) to a point of greater value (e.g., on a supermarket shelf).

Closely related to place utility is time utility, which refers to having products available when they are needed by customers. It’s important to recognize that different products have 2

Hua Wang, “High Logistics Cost, Toll Road and Institutional Factors Countermeasure in China,” Journal of Modern Accounting and Auditing 7, no. 11 (2011): 1301–1306.

3

4

Part I • Overview of Logistics

different sensitivities to time; three-day late delivery of perishable items likely has more serious consequences than three-day late delivery of nonperishable items.

Simultaneously achieving possession, form, place, and time utility goes a long way toward facilitating—but not guaranteeing—customer satisfaction. Consider the experience of a former student who placed an online order of Valentine’s Day flowers for his out-of-state girlfriend.

The seller facilitated possession utility by allowing the student to pay by credit card, and a healthy arrangement of the correct bouquet (form utility) arrived at the girlfriend’s residence on Valentine’s Day (place and time utility). Although the seller provided possession, form, place, and time utility, the buyer was quite unsatisfied with his purchase. The problem: The greeting card that accompanied the flowers had a wrong name for the girlfriend (but the right name for the boyfriend)!

Logistics: What It Is Now that you have been introduced to select economic impacts of logistics, it’s important to define what logistics is. This book adopts the current definition promulgated by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), one of the world’s most prominent organizations for logistics professionals. According to the CSCMP, “Logistics management is 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.”3 Let’s analyze this definition in closer detail. First, logistics is part of supply chain management. We’ll talk about supply chains and supply chain management in greater detail in Chapter 5, but the key point for now is that logistics is part of a bigger picture in the sense that the supply chain focuses on coordination among business functions (such as marketing, production, and finance) within and across organizations. The fact that logistics is explicitly recognized as part of supply chain management means that logistics can affect how well (or how poorly) an individual firm— and its associated supply chain(s)—can achieve goals and objectives.

The CSCMP definition also indicates that logistics “plans, implements, and controls.” Of particular importance is the word and, which suggests that logistics should be involved in all three activities—planning, implementing, controlling—and not just one or two. Some suggest, however, that logistics is more involved in the implementation than in the planning of certain logistical policies.4 Note that the CSCMP definition also refers to “efficient and effective forward and reverse flows and storage.” Broadly speaking, effectiveness can be thought of as, “How well does a company do what it says it’s going to do?” For example, if a company promises that all orders will be shipped within 24 hours of receipt, what percentage of orders are actually shipped within 24 hours of receipt? In contrast, efficiency can be thought of as how well (or poorly) company resources are used to achieve what a company promises it can do. For instance, some companies use premium or expedited transportation services—which cost more money—to cover for shortcomings in other parts of their logistics systems.

With respect to forward and reverse flows and storage, for many years logistics focused only on forward flows and storage, that is, those directed toward the point of consumption.

Increasingly, however, the logistics discipline has recognized the importance of reverse flows and storage (reverse logistics), that is, those that originate at the point of consumption. Although the majority of the discussion in this book focuses on forward logistics, many companies today recognize the tactical and strategic implications of reverse logistics.5 Indeed, reverse logistics 3

www.cscmp.org Paul R. Murphy and Richard F. Poist, “Socially Responsible Logistics: An Exploratory Study,” Transportation Journal 41, no. 4 (2002): 23–35.

5 M. Jose Alvarez-Gil, Pascual Berrone, F. Javier Husillos, and Nora Lado, “Reverse Logistics, Stakeholders’ Influence, Organizational Slack, and Managers’ Posture,” Journal of Business Research 60, no. 5 (2007): 463–473.

4

Chapter 1 • An Overview of Logistics

continues to grow in importance as individual companies, and select supply chains, recognize it as an opportunity for competitive advantage.6 The CSCMP definition also indicates that logistics involves the flow and storage of “goods, services, and related information.” Indeed, in the contemporary business environment, logistics is as much about the flow and storage of information as it is about the flow and storage of goods.

The importance of information in contemporary logistics is captured by Fred Smith, CEO and chairman of FedEx (a leading logistics service provider), who believes that “information about the package is as important as the package itself.”7 Furthermore, social media such as Facebook (launched in 2004), Twitter (launched in 2006), and LinkedIn (launched in 2007) are becoming key informational tools in contemporary logistics management.

Finally, the CSCMP definition indicates that the purpose of logistics is “to meet customer requirements.” This is important for several reasons, with one being that logistics strategies and activities should be based on customer wants and needs, rather than the wants, needs, and capabilities of manufacturers or retailers. Advances in information technology have facilitated, and continue to facilitate, an understanding of customer wants and needs, and these technological advances increasingly allow for interactive communication with customers—a key to meeting customer requirements.

A second reason for the importance of meeting customer requirements is the notion that because different customers have different logistical needs and wants, a one-size-fits-all logistics approach (mass logistics)—in which every customer gets the same type and levels of logistics service—will result in some customers being overserved while others are underserved. Rather, companies should consider tailored logistics approaches, in which groups of customers with similar logistical needs and wants are provided with logistics service appropriate to these needs and wants.8 The principles in this textbook are generally applicable not only to for-profit situations, but also to governmental and not-for-profit situations. From a governmental perspective, logistics is quite germane to the armed forces, which shouldn’t be surprising, given that logistics was first associated with the military. Consider, for example, the potential consequences of a supply chain disruption—a challenge faced by many for-profit organizations—in a war zone. For example, the United States military has been forced to shift supply routes to support its troops in Afghanistan whenever Pakistan closes its border crossings into Afghanistan.9 A community food bank provides one example of the relevance of logistics to not-for-profit situations. As an example, the Food Bank of New York City is responsible for delivering nearly 75 ­million pounds of food annually to more than 1,000 food assistance programs such as homeless shelters and food pantries. From a logistical perspective, the Food Bank of New York City is responsible for collecting, storing, repacking, and distributing food from its 90,000 square-foot warehouse.10 Furthermore, humanitarian logistics represents an emerging application of logistics to not-for-profit situations. Briefly, humanitarian logistics can be defined as the process and systems involved in mobilizing people, resources, skills, and knowledge to help people who have been affected by either a natural or a human-made disaster.11 For example, natural disasters such as a catastrophic earthquake require food and medicinal supplies to be located, collected, transported, and distributed—and sooner, rather than later. Because of the increasing frequency (and severity) of disasters over the past 50 years, humanitarian logistics is likely to be an important topic into the foreseeable future.

6 C. Clifford Defee, Terry Esper, and Diane Mollenkopf, “Leveraging Closed-Loop Orientation and Leadership for Environmental Sustainability,” Supply Chain Management: An International Journal 14, no. 2 (2010): 87–98.

7 Jonathan Reiskin, “Carriers Invest in Web Sites, Software, Networks,” Transport Topics, May 8, 2006, 10.

8 Joseph B. Fuller, James O’Conor, and Richard Rawlinson, “Tailored Logistics: The Next Advantage,” Harvard Business Review 71, no. 3 (1993): 87–98.

9 Agency Group 09, “Military Logistics Strained, but Healthy, Official Says,” FDCH Regulatory Intelligence Database, January 10, 2012.

10 www.foodbanknyc.org 11 Luk N. Van Wassenhove, “Humanitarian Aid Logistics: Supply Chain Management in High Gear,” Journal of the Operational Research Society 57 (2006): 475–489.

5

6

Part I • Overview of Logistics

The Increased Importance of Logistics The formal study of business logistics, and predecessor concepts such as traffic management and physical distribution, has existed since the second half of the twentieth century. Quite frankly, from approximately 1950 to 1980, limited appreciation was shown for the importance of the l­ogistics discipline. Since 1980, however, increasing recognition has been given to business ­logistics, in part because of tremendous—and rapid—changes in the discipline and several key reasons are discussed next.

A Reduction in Economic Regulation During the 1970s and the 1980s, widespread reductions in economic regulation (commonly ­referred to as deregulation) relaxed government control of carriers’ rates and fares, entry and exit, mergers and acquisitions, and more. These controls were particularly onerous in the U.S. transportation industry in the sense that price competition was essentially nonexistent, and customers were pretty much forced to accept whatever service the carriers chose to provide. This meant that logistics managers had relatively little control over one of the most important cost components in a logistics system.

Reductions in economic regulation in the U.S. airfreight, railroad, and trucking industries allowed individual carriers flexibility in pricing and service. This flexibility was important to ­logistics for several reasons. First, it provided companies with the ability to implement the ­tailored logistics approach discussed earlier, in the sense that companies could specify different logistics service levels, and prices could be adjusted accordingly. Second, the increased pricing flexibility allowed large buyers of transportation services to reduce their transportation costs by leveraging large amounts of freight with a limited number of carriers.

Although the preceding discussion has focused on lessened economic regulation in the United States, it appears that deregulation has had similar effects in other countries. For example, lessened economic regulation of transportation among European countries has resulted in lower prices for truck shipments in these countries.12 Likewise, privatization of commercial airports has been found to improve their operational efficiency relative to government owned and/or operated airports.13 Changes in Consumer Behavior A common business adage suggests that “change is the only constant.” Although changes in consumer behavior are commonly the purview of the psychology and marketing disciplines, such changes have important logistical implications as well. Several examples of changes in consumer behavior (customized customer, changing family roles, and rising customer expectations) and their possible logistical implications are discussed next.

The customized customer signifies that the customer desires a product offering that is highly tailored to the customer’s exact preferences. One approach for addressing the customized ­customer is through mass customization, which refers to the ability of a company to ­d eliver highly customized products and services that are designed to meet the needs and wants of individual segments or customers. The customized customer will not accept a “one size fits all” approach, and this means that logistics systems must be flexible rather than rigid. As an example, logistics service providers such as FedEx and UPS offer a variety of delivery options to prospective customers. FedEx and UPS customers can choose same-day delivery, next-day delivery by noon, next-day delivery by the close of business, 12 Francine LaFontaine and Laura Malaguzzi Valeri, “The Deregulation of International Trucking in the European Union: Form and Effect,” Journal of Regional Economics 35, no. 1 (2009): 19–44.

13 Tae H. Oum, Jia Yan, and Chunyan Yu, “Ownership Forms Matter for Airport Efficiency: A Stochastic Frontier Investigation of Worldwide Airports,” Journal of Urban Economics 64, no. 2 (2008): 422–435.

Chapter 1 • An Overview of Logistics

second-day delivery by noon, among others. As a general rule, the earlier the delivery time, the more expensive the transportation cost.

In terms of changing family roles, 40 years ago less than 45 percent of U.S. adult women were in the workforce; today, by contrast, approximately 60 percent are in the working world.14 Moreover, approximately 30 percent of U.S. children live in a single-parent household. One consequence of these changing family roles has been an increasing emphasis on the convenience ­associated with a family’s grocery shopping experiences. This convenience is manifested in ­various ways to include extended store hours, home delivery of purchased items, and ready-toeat/ready-to-cook foods, and each of these has logistics-related implications. With extended store hours—some stores are now open 24 hours—retailers must address issues such as the optimal delivery times for replenishment trucks and when to replenish merchandise. For example, it wouldn’t be a good idea for a 24-hour grocery store to replenish the shelves when its stores are crowded with customers.

Although home delivery could be convenient to the purchaser, the time-sensitive nature of grocery products means that delivery should be made when the purchaser is at home. As such, scheduling home deliveries to coincide with the purchaser’s availability is paramount to avoiding dissatisfied customers.15 Finally, the growth in ready-to-eat/ready-to-cook foods means that some food processors have added high-volume cooking systems at their production facilities.

From a logistics perspective, food processors continue to experiment with packaging alternatives that will extend the shelf life of ready-to-cook foods.

As for rising customer expectations, it should come as no surprise that customer expectations tend to increase through time, which means that a satisfactory level of performance in the past might not be considered as so today. An excellent example of rising customer expectations is provided by Toyota Motor Company’s North American Parts Operations. In an effort to retain customers and to reduce losing customers to other automotive repair facilities, Toyota now offers same-day delivery (rather than one-day delivery) of automotive parts to certain Toyota dealerships located in major metropolitan areas. This same-day delivery has been facilitated by a ­redesign of Toyota’s automotive parts distribution network.16 Technological Advances Prior to the start of every academic year, Beloit College in Wisconsin releases its annual Mindset list that details the worldview of incoming first-year college students.17 The class of 2017, which assumes a 1995 birth date, is particularly noteworthy because it has never lived in the non-Internet world. Tremendous technological advances during the course of your lifetime—from desktop ­computers to tablets, from second-generation mobile phones to fourth-generation mobile phones—have ­profoundly influenced business management and, by extension, business logistics.

The following paragraphs will discuss several examples of the logistical impacts of technological advances.

Technological advances have influenced channel design by allowing companies to offer an alternate distribution channel (or alternate distribution channels) to already existing channels. In some cases, this alternate channel is direct (i.e., no intermediaries between the p ­ roducer and final customer) in nature because the final customer orders directly from the producer rather than through an intermediary. The removal of intermediaries between producer and consumer—called disintermediation—can clearly affect the design of logistics systems in the sense that there could be changes in both the number and location of fixed facilities such as

14 http://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2011/women/pdf/women_bls_spotlight.pdf 15

Jane Hiback, “Alternative Retailing Strategies,” Natural Food Merchandiser, August 2011, 18–19. http://toyotadriverseat.com/pr/tds/same-day-parts-deliveries-help-230692.aspx 17 http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/ 16

7

8

Part I • Overview of Logistics

warehouses and distribution centers. In addition, the logistical considerations of a retailer’s online store (e.g., orders from numerous customers; orders for small quantities) are quite different from that retailer’s brick-and-mortar stores (e.g., orders from a defined customer base; orders in larger quantities).18 Technological advances can also improve the productivity of the order picking process, which we’ll discuss in greater detail in Chapter 7. Order picking traditionally involved paper pick tickets that listed the particular item(s) and quantity to be picked—and not necessarily the item’s location in a facility. Locating the items to be picked could be quite time consuming, and paper picking often resulted in picking errors in part because of illegible pick orders. Today, by contrast, order picking can utilize radio frequency (RF) devices, voice-directed picking, as well as robotic picking. Although these technological picking advances are more costly than paper picking, they can lead to substantial improvements in picking efficiency. For example, RF terminals can reduce pick errors by approximately 60 percent compared to paper picking.19 Shipment tracking provides another example of how technological advances have impacted logistics management. When one of the authors worked for a U.S. trucking company in the early 1980s, shipment tracking was a time-consuming, labor-intensive process that sometimes did not yield a location for the shipment in question. If we fast-forward to today, global positioning systems can provide real-time location information about a shipment (sometimes to within 10 feet of its exact location), as well as providing information about the vehicle’s temperature, humidity, and vibrations. Such information can be especially important to pharmaceutical and health-care companies.20 The Growing Power of Retailers Another influence on logistics involves the growing power of retailers relative to manufacturers in channels of distribution. Indeed, a 2011 study indicated that both manufacturers and retailers agree that retailers wield greater power in the manufacturer–retailer arrangement, and both parties agree that the retailers’ power will increase in the future.21 So-called b ­ ig-box retailers— stores with large amounts of both floor space and products for sale—such as Walmart, Costco, and Dick’s Sporting Goods provide an excellent example of the growing power of retailers.

Many big-box retailers explicitly recognize superior logistics as an essential component of their corporate strategies, and because of this, their logistical practices are often viewed as a barometer for emerging logistics trends. In the 1990s, for example, Walmart and Warner-Lambert were the first two companies to explore collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment (CPFR), a practice in which trading partners share planning and forecasting data to better match up supply and demand. Since then, there have been hundreds of successful (e.g., increased sales, reduced inventory levels) CPFR initiatives, although, to be fair, not all CPFR initiatives have been successful.

Big-box retailers have also been trendsetters with respect to environmental and social issues in logistics. For example, Target is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and does so with transportation by choosing the proper transport modes, reducing the number of transportation miles that freight is moved, and improving vehicle loading practices by maximizing space utilization.22 In a similar fashion, two of Best Buy’s sustainability goals for 2020 are to recycle one billion pounds of consumer goods and reduce its carbon footprint by 20 percent (relative to 2009 performance).23

18

Shelly Banjo, “Wal-Mart’s E-Stumble with Amazon,” The Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2013, B1.

Kristi Montgomery, “Tips for Quicker Product Picking,” Multichannel Merchant, December/January 2012, 28–29.

20 Ian Putzger, “Apps Mania,” CT&L, April 2012, 32–33.

21 No author, “Kantor Study Dissects Category Management,” Drug Store News, June 27, 2011, 30–34.

22 http://hereforgood.target.com/environment/efficient-operations/ 23 http://sustainability.bby.com/management-approach/product-stewardship 19

Another random document with no related content on Scribd:

DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI

Newala, too, suffers from the distance of its water-supply—at least the Newala of to-day does; there was once another Newala in a lovely valley at the foot of the plateau. I visited it and found scarcely a trace of houses, only a Christian cemetery, with the graves of several missionaries and their converts, remaining as a monument of its former glories. But the surroundings are wonderfully beautiful. A thick grove of splendid mango-trees closes in the weather-worn crosses and headstones; behind them, combining the useful and the agreeable, is a whole plantation of lemon-trees covered with ripe fruit; not the small African kind, but a much larger and also juicier imported variety, which drops into the hands of the passing traveller, without calling for any exertion on his part. Old Newala is now under the jurisdiction of the native pastor, Daudi, at Chingulungulu, who, as I am on very friendly terms with him, allows me, as a matter of course, the use of this lemon-grove during my stay at Newala.

FEET MUTILATED BY THE RAVAGES OF THE “JIGGER” (Sarcopsylla penetrans)

The water-supply of New Newala is in the bottom of the valley, some 1,600 feet lower down. The way is not only long and fatiguing, but the water, when we get it, is thoroughly bad. We are suffering not only from this, but from the fact that the arrangements at Newala are nothing short of luxurious. We have a separate kitchen—a hut built against the boma palisade on the right of the baraza, the interior of which is not visible from our usual position. Our two cooks were not long in finding this out, and they consequently do—or rather neglect to do—what they please. In any case they do not seem to be very particular about the boiling of our drinking-water—at least I can attribute to no other cause certain attacks of a dysenteric nature, from which both Knudsen and I have suffered for some time. If a man like Omari has to be left unwatched for a moment, he is capable of anything. Besides this complaint, we are inconvenienced by the state of our nails, which have become as hard as glass, and crack on the slightest provocation, and I have the additional infliction of pimples all over me. As if all this were not enough, we have also, for the last week been waging war against the jigger, who has found his Eldorado in the hot sand of the Makonde plateau. Our men are seen all day long—whenever their chronic colds and the dysentery likewise raging among them permit—occupied in removing this scourge of Africa from their feet and trying to prevent the disastrous consequences of its presence. It is quite common to see natives of this place with one or two toes missing; many have lost all their toes,

or even the whole front part of the foot, so that a well-formed leg ends in a shapeless stump. These ravages are caused by the female of Sarcopsylla penetrans, which bores its way under the skin and there develops an egg-sac the size of a pea. In all books on the subject, it is stated that one’s attention is called to the presence of this parasite by an intolerable itching. This agrees very well with my experience, so far as the softer parts of the sole, the spaces between and under the toes, and the side of the foot are concerned, but if the creature penetrates through the harder parts of the heel or ball of the foot, it may escape even the most careful search till it has reached maturity.

Then there is no time to be lost, if the horrible ulceration, of which we see cases by the dozen every day, is to be prevented. It is much easier, by the way, to discover the insect on the white skin of a European than on that of a native, on which the dark speck scarcely shows. The four or five jiggers which, in spite of the fact that I constantly wore high laced boots, chose my feet to settle in, were taken out for me by the all-accomplished Knudsen, after which I thought it advisable to wash out the cavities with corrosive sublimate. The natives have a different sort of disinfectant—they fill the hole with scraped roots. In a tiny Makua village on the slope of the plateau south of Newala, we saw an old woman who had filled all the spaces under her toe-nails with powdered roots by way of prophylactic treatment. What will be the result, if any, who can say?

The rest of the many trifling ills which trouble our existence are really more comic than serious. In the absence of anything else to smoke, Knudsen and I at last opened a box of cigars procured from the Indian store-keeper at Lindi, and tried them, with the most distressing results. Whether they contain opium or some other narcotic, neither of us can say, but after the tenth puff we were both “off,” three-quarters stupefied and unspeakably wretched. Slowly we recovered—and what happened next? Half-an-hour later we were once more smoking these poisonous concoctions—so insatiable is the craving for tobacco in the tropics.

Even my present attacks of fever scarcely deserve to be taken seriously. I have had no less than three here at Newala, all of which have run their course in an incredibly short time. In the early afternoon, I am busy with my old natives, asking questions and making notes. The strong midday coffee has stimulated my spirits to

an extraordinary degree, the brain is active and vigorous, and work progresses rapidly, while a pleasant warmth pervades the whole body. Suddenly this gives place to a violent chill, forcing me to put on my overcoat, though it is only half-past three and the afternoon sun is at its hottest. Now the brain no longer works with such acuteness and logical precision; more especially does it fail me in trying to establish the syntax of the difficult Makua language on which I have ventured, as if I had not enough to do without it. Under the circumstances it seems advisable to take my temperature, and I do so, to save trouble, without leaving my seat, and while going on with my work. On examination, I find it to be 101·48°. My tutors are abruptly dismissed and my bed set up in the baraza; a few minutes later I am in it and treating myself internally with hot water and lemon-juice.

Three hours later, the thermometer marks nearly 104°, and I make them carry me back into the tent, bed and all, as I am now perspiring heavily, and exposure to the cold wind just beginning to blow might mean a fatal chill. I lie still for a little while, and then find, to my great relief, that the temperature is not rising, but rather falling. This is about 7.30 p.m. At 8 p.m. I find, to my unbounded astonishment, that it has fallen below 98·6°, and I feel perfectly well. I read for an hour or two, and could very well enjoy a smoke, if I had the wherewithal—Indian cigars being out of the question.

Having no medical training, I am at a loss to account for this state of things. It is impossible that these transitory attacks of high fever should be malarial; it seems more probable that they are due to a kind of sunstroke. On consulting my note-book, I become more and more inclined to think this is the case, for these attacks regularly follow extreme fatigue and long exposure to strong sunshine. They at least have the advantage of being only short interruptions to my work, as on the following morning I am always quite fresh and fit.

My treasure of a cook is suffering from an enormous hydrocele which makes it difficult for him to get up, and Moritz is obliged to keep in the dark on account of his inflamed eyes. Knudsen’s cook, a raw boy from somewhere in the bush, knows still less of cooking than Omari; consequently Nils Knudsen himself has been promoted to the vacant post. Finding that we had come to the end of our supplies, he began by sending to Chingulungulu for the four sucking-pigs which we had

bought from Matola and temporarily left in his charge; and when they came up, neatly packed in a large crate, he callously slaughtered the biggest of them. The first joint we were thoughtless enough to entrust for roasting to Knudsen’s mshenzi cook, and it was consequently uneatable; but we made the rest of the animal into a jelly which we ate with great relish after weeks of underfeeding, consuming incredible helpings of it at both midday and evening meals. The only drawback is a certain want of variety in the tinned vegetables. Dr. Jäger, to whom the Geographical Commission entrusted the provisioning of the expeditions—mine as well as his own—because he had more time on his hands than the rest of us, seems to have laid in a huge stock of Teltow turnips,[46] an article of food which is all very well for occasional use, but which quickly palls when set before one every day; and we seem to have no other tins left. There is no help for it—we must put up with the turnips; but I am certain that, once I am home again, I shall not touch them for ten years to come.

Amid all these minor evils, which, after all, go to make up the genuine flavour of Africa, there is at least one cheering touch: Knudsen has, with the dexterity of a skilled mechanic, repaired my 9 × 12 cm. camera, at least so far that I can use it with a little care.

How, in the absence of finger-nails, he was able to accomplish such a ticklish piece of work, having no tool but a clumsy screw-driver for taking to pieces and putting together again the complicated mechanism of the instantaneous shutter, is still a mystery to me; but he did it successfully. The loss of his finger-nails shows him in a light contrasting curiously enough with the intelligence evinced by the above operation; though, after all, it is scarcely surprising after his ten years’ residence in the bush. One day, at Lindi, he had occasion to wash a dog, which must have been in need of very thorough cleansing, for the bottle handed to our friend for the purpose had an extremely strong smell. Having performed his task in the most conscientious manner, he perceived with some surprise that the dog did not appear much the better for it, and was further surprised by finding his own nails ulcerating away in the course of the next few days. “How was I to know that carbolic acid has to be diluted?” he mutters indignantly, from time to time, with a troubled gaze at his mutilated finger-tips.

Since we came to Newala we have been making excursions in all directions through the surrounding country, in accordance with old habit, and also because the akida Sefu did not get together the tribal elders from whom I wanted information so speedily as he had promised. There is, however, no harm done, as, even if seen only from the outside, the country and people are interesting enough.

The Makonde plateau is like a large rectangular table rounded off at the corners. Measured from the Indian Ocean to Newala, it is about seventy-five miles long, and between the Rovuma and the Lukuledi it averages fifty miles in breadth, so that its superficial area is about two-thirds of that of the kingdom of Saxony. The surface, however, is not level, but uniformly inclined from its south-western edge to the ocean. From the upper edge, on which Newala lies, the eye ranges for many miles east and north-east, without encountering any obstacle, over the Makonde bush. It is a green sea, from which here and there thick clouds of smoke rise, to show that it, too, is inhabited by men who carry on their tillage like so many other primitive peoples, by cutting down and burning the bush, and manuring with the ashes. Even in the radiant light of a tropical day such a fire is a grand sight.

Much less effective is the impression produced just now by the great western plain as seen from the edge of the plateau. As often as time permits, I stroll along this edge, sometimes in one direction, sometimes in another, in the hope of finding the air clear enough to let me enjoy the view; but I have always been disappointed.

Wherever one looks, clouds of smoke rise from the burning bush, and the air is full of smoke and vapour. It is a pity, for under more favourable circumstances the panorama of the whole country up to the distant Majeje hills must be truly magnificent. It is of little use taking photographs now, and an outline sketch gives a very poor idea of the scenery. In one of these excursions I went out of my way to make a personal attempt on the Makonde bush. The present edge of the plateau is the result of a far-reaching process of destruction through erosion and denudation. The Makonde strata are everywhere cut into by ravines, which, though short, are hundreds of yards in depth. In consequence of the loose stratification of these beds, not only are the walls of these ravines nearly vertical, but their upper end is closed by an equally steep escarpment, so that the

western edge of the Makonde plateau is hemmed in by a series of deep, basin-like valleys. In order to get from one side of such a ravine to the other, I cut my way through the bush with a dozen of my men.

It was a very open part, with more grass than scrub, but even so the short stretch of less than two hundred yards was very hard work; at the end of it the men’s calicoes were in rags and they themselves bleeding from hundreds of scratches, while even our strong khaki suits had not escaped scatheless.

NATIVE PATH THROUGH THE MAKONDE BUSH, NEAR MAHUTA

I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process

may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe— not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more, between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them— cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes, perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.

This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the secondary bush.

After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact, receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains, where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were accustomed to rule.

But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and

lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible, impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and come back to his starting point.

The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.

According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast, to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however, correct.

The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau, instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks and springs of the low country.

“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.

He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a stillborn child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which

was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In course of time, the couple had many more children, and called themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams, for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest wateringplace; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”

The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?

Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short, woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood, ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia, Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably) would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded

by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.

The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.

Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.

This knowledge is crystallized in the ancestral warning against settling in the valleys and near the great waters, the dwelling-places of disease and death. At the same time, for security against the hostile Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted that every settlement must be not less than a certain distance from the southern edge of the plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the present day. It is not such a bad one, and certainly they are both safer and more comfortable than the Makua, the recent intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain, especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the

most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.

The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.

It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding out how the back door is fastened.

MAKONDE LOCK AND KEY AT JUMBE CHAURO

This is the general way of closing a house. The Makonde at Jumbe Chauro, however, have a much more complicated, solid and original one. Here, too, the door is as already described, except that there is only one post on the inside, standing by itself about six inches from one side of the doorway. Opposite this post is a hole in the wall just large enough to admit a man’s arm. The door is closed inside by a large wooden bolt passing through a hole in this post and pressing with its free end against the door. The other end has three holes into which fit three pegs running in vertical grooves inside the post. The door is opened with a wooden key about a foot long, somewhat curved and sloped off at the butt; the other end has three pegs corresponding to the holes, in the bolt, so that, when it is thrust through the hole in the wall and inserted into the rectangular opening in the post, the pegs can be lifted and the bolt drawn out.[50]

MODE OF INSERTING THE KEY

With no small pride first one householder and then a second showed me on the spot the action of this greatest invention of the Makonde Highlands. To both with an admiring exclamation of “Vizuri sana!” (“Very fine!”). I expressed the wish to take back these marvels with me to Ulaya, to show the Wazungu what clever fellows the Makonde are. Scarcely five minutes after my return to camp at Newala, the two men came up sweating under the weight of two heavy logs which they laid down at my feet, handing over at the same time the keys of the fallen fortress. Arguing, logically enough, that if the key was wanted, the lock would be wanted with it, they had taken their axes and chopped down the posts—as it never occurred to them to dig them out of the ground and so bring them intact. Thus I have

two badly damaged specimens, and the owners, instead of praise, come in for a blowing-up.

The Makua huts in the environs of Newala are especially miserable; their more than slovenly construction reminds one of the temporary erections of the Makua at Hatia’s, though the people here have not been concerned in a war. It must therefore be due to congenital idleness, or else to the absence of a powerful chief. Even the baraza at Mlipa’s, a short hour’s walk south-east of Newala, shares in this general neglect. While public buildings in this country are usually looked after more or less carefully, this is in evident danger of being blown over by the first strong easterly gale. The only attractive object in this whole district is the grave of the late chief Mlipa. I visited it in the morning, while the sun was still trying with partial success to break through the rolling mists, and the circular grove of tall euphorbias, which, with a broken pot, is all that marks the old king’s resting-place, impressed one with a touch of pathos.

Even my very materially-minded carriers seemed to feel something of the sort, for instead of their usual ribald songs, they chanted solemnly, as we marched on through the dense green of the Makonde bush:—

“We shall arrive with the great master; we stand in a row and have no fear about getting our food and our money from the Serkali (the Government). We are not afraid; we are going along with the great master, the lion; we are going down to the coast and back.”

With regard to the characteristic features of the various tribes here on the western edge of the plateau, I can arrive at no other conclusion than the one already come to in the plain, viz., that it is impossible for anyone but a trained anthropologist to assign any given individual at once to his proper tribe. In fact, I think that even an anthropological specialist, after the most careful examination, might find it a difficult task to decide. The whole congeries of peoples collected in the region bounded on the west by the great Central African rift, Tanganyika and Nyasa, and on the east by the Indian Ocean, are closely related to each other—some of their languages are only distinguished from one another as dialects of the same speech, and no doubt all the tribes present the same shape of skull and structure of skeleton. Thus, surely, there can be no very striking differences in outward appearance.

Even did such exist, I should have no time to concern myself with them, for day after day, I have to see or hear, as the case may be—in any case to grasp and record—an extraordinary number of ethnographic phenomena. I am almost disposed to think it fortunate that some departments of inquiry, at least, are barred by external circumstances.

Chief among these is the subject of ironworking. We are apt to think of Africa as a country where iron ore is everywhere, so to speak, to be picked up by the roadside, and where it would be quite surprising if the inhabitants had not learnt to smelt the material ready to their hand. In fact, the knowledge of this art ranges all over the continent, from the Kabyles in the north to the Kafirs in the south. Here between the Rovuma and the Lukuledi the conditions are not so favourable. According to the statements of the Makonde, neither ironstone nor any other form of iron ore is known to them. They have not therefore advanced to the art of smelting the metal, but have hitherto bought all their THE ANCESTRESS OF iron implements from neighbouring tribes.

THE MAKONDE Even in the plain the inhabitants are not much better off. Only one man now living is said to understand the art of smelting iron. This old fundi lives close to Huwe, that isolated, steep-sided block of granite which rises out of the green solitude between Masasi and Chingulungulu, and whose jagged and splintered top meets the traveller’s eye everywhere. While still at Masasi I wished to see this man at work, but was told that, frightened by the rising, he had retired across the Rovuma, though he would soon return. All subsequent inquiries as to whether the fundi had come back met with the genuine African answer, “Bado” (“Not yet”).

BRAZIER

Some consolation was afforded me by a brassfounder, whom I came across in the bush near Akundonde’s. This man is the favourite of women, and therefore no doubt of the gods; he welds the glittering brass rods purchased at the coast into those massive, heavy rings which, on the wrists and ankles of the local fair ones, continually give me fresh food for admiration. Like every decent master-craftsman he had all his tools with him, consisting of a pair of bellows, three crucibles and a hammer—nothing more, apparently. He was quite willing to show his skill, and in a twinkling had fixed his bellows on the ground. They are simply two goat-skins, taken off whole, the four legs being closed by knots, while the upper opening, intended to admit the air, is kept stretched by two pieces of wood. At the lower end of the skin a smaller opening is left into which a wooden tube is stuck. The fundi has quickly borrowed a heap of wood-embers from the nearest hut; he then fixes the free ends of the two tubes into an earthen pipe, and clamps them to the ground by means of a bent piece of wood. Now he fills one of his small clay crucibles, the dross on which shows that they have been long in use, with the yellow material, places it in the midst of the embers, which, at present are only faintly glimmering, and begins his work. In quick alternation

the smith’s two hands move up and down with the open ends of the bellows; as he raises his hand he holds the slit wide open, so as to let the air enter the skin bag unhindered. In pressing it down he closes the bag, and the air puffs through the bamboo tube and clay pipe into the fire, which quickly burns up. The smith, however, does not keep on with this work, but beckons to another man, who relieves him at the bellows, while he takes some more tools out of a large skin pouch carried on his back. I look on in wonder as, with a smooth round stick about the thickness of a finger, he bores a few vertical holes into the clean sand of the soil. This should not be difficult, yet the man seems to be taking great pains over it. Then he fastens down to the ground, with a couple of wooden clamps, a neat little trough made by splitting a joint of bamboo in half, so that the ends are closed by the two knots. At last the yellow metal has attained the right consistency, and the fundi lifts the crucible from the fire by means of two sticks split at the end to serve as tongs. A short swift turn to the left—a tilting of the crucible—and the molten brass, hissing and giving forth clouds of smoke, flows first into the bamboo mould and then into the holes in the ground.

The technique of this backwoods craftsman may not be very far advanced, but it cannot be denied that he knows how to obtain an adequate result by the simplest means. The ladies of highest rank in this country—that is to say, those who can afford it, wear two kinds of these massive brass rings, one cylindrical, the other semicircular in section. The latter are cast in the most ingenious way in the bamboo mould, the former in the circular hole in the sand. It is quite a simple matter for the fundi to fit these bars to the limbs of his fair customers; with a few light strokes of his hammer he bends the pliable brass round arm or ankle without further inconvenience to the wearer.