European Logistics

Based on five years fieldwork it is a timely analysis of the current status of logistics and its future role in European business. Acknowledgements.

List of Abbreviations.

1. Introduction.

2. European Logistics in Context.

PART 1 DEMAND-SIDE LOGISTICS.

3. European Manufacturing.

4. Innovation in Manufacturing Logistics.

5. European Retailing.

6. Innovation in Retail Logistics.

7. Improving Logistics Efficiency.

PART 2 SUPPLY-SIDE LOGISTICS.

8. Logistic as a Business.

9. Patterns of Logistics Services.

10. The Rise of the Mega-Carrier.

11. Information Technology: Competitive Advantage or Necessity?.

PART 3 THE FUTURE.

12. Will Transport Prices Fall?.

13. Green Logistics.

14. Into the Twenty-First Century.

Notes.

References.

Glossary.

Index.

'in terms of its breadth, authority and readability ... Cooper, Browne and Peters is by far the best.' -- International Journal of Distribution and Logistics Management

' ... warmly recommended.' -- Overseas Trade

DR James Cooper is Director of the Cranfield Centre for Logistics and Transportation, where he specializes in intetnational logistics.

Michael Browne is BRS Professor of Transport at the Transport Studies Group, University of Westminster, where he teaches freight transport and logistics on the Master's programme.

Melvyn Peters is a Teaching Fellow in the Cranfield Centre for Logistics and Transportation.

Highly successful in hardcover, this analysis of both the current status of logistic and its future role in European business is now available in paperback for students of logistic, distribution, strategy and international business.

Logistic in Europe is undergoing a period of unprecedented change. The Single European Market, German unification and reform in eastern Europe have together had a major impact on the continent, with inevitable consequences for logistics. At company level, there is also increasing petition from the newly industrialized countries of the Pacific Rim, not to mention the dismantle of trade barriers within Europe which have so far afforded considerable protection to some European industries.

The two main sections of the book consider demand and supply the market place for logistic services. In analyzing demand, the authors focus on the changing needs on manufacturers and retailers, the two principles users of logistics in advanced economies. On the supply side they examine a number of different kinds of provider of the logistics services, including carriers, freight forwarders and information technology companies. These providers are both responding to the needs on users, and initiating developments of their own. The rise of the mega-carrier is an especially important development, and one chapter is devoted to examining their prospects for success.