Logistics management and its interface with purchasing

There is no doubt that in the past, logistics management and purchasing were considered by many organisations to be chalk and cheese and there are some that still consider them to be so and manage their operations accordingly. However, modern and enlightened organisations see these as very closely related activities: this is reflected in the way the organisation is structured, and in the way the activities are managed. Logistics has always been recognised as a significant activity especially in manufacturing, in construction and in military operations. On the other hand purchasing has been less obvious, sometimes ignored, or at other times seen only as a necessary clerical function to be carried out in the most efficient manner but requiring little management attention and the minimum of resources. In this chapter, the relationship is explored to find that these two important activieties are very closely connected and in some cases difficult to separate.