Managing Materials Flow
An integral part of the logistics management process is materials management, which encompasses the administration of raw materials, subassemblies, manufactured parts, packing materials, and in-process inventory. In a formal sense, implementation of a materials management organization will have "a single manager responsible for the planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling of all those activities and principally concerned with the flow of materials into an organization."
Materials management is critical to the total logistics process. Although materials management does not directly interface with the final customer, decisions made in its portion of the logistics process will directly affect the level of customer service offered. The ability of the firm to compete with other companies, and the level of sales and profits the firm is able to achieve in the marketplace.