Why we need to stop treating logistics as a downstream execution topic?
I am Siggi. I know the chemistry in Asia.
This morning we received information that several shipments from China are delayed. The reason given was temporary administrative and military related restrictions. This is not an exception. It is part of the reality of doing business with Asia.
But the real issue lies elsewhere.
In procurement we negotiate prices, specifications and volumes very consistently. Logistics is often treated as an add on. Yet it has a decisive impact on actual availability, planning reliability and real total cost.
In practice, logistics is frequently ignored where it formally sits with the supplier. The focus remains on price, while transparency on routing, transit time and intermediate stops is limited. The consequences of these decisions usually become visible much later. Regardless of the Incoterm, this approach is too short sighted.
What matters is decided before the order is placed. Which route is used and which vessel is selected. How many intermediate stops are realistically part of that route. Which transit time is contractually agreed and which one only exists on paper.
Forty five or sixty five days of transit time is not a nuance. This difference directly affects working capital, safety stock levels and ultimately delivery reliability towards customers.
Those who steer logistics primarily via the nominally lowest freight rate often buy uncertainty. The calculation looks clean in the short term. The costs of longer lead times and additional handling appear later, spread across other departments and often in the form of operational pressure.
For me, it is clear that these topics must not be renegotiated with every single order. They belong into a fundamental, strategic contractual framework with the supplier. Defined routes, clear transit time corridors and a shared expectation of planning reliability.
A contractual framework does not remove responsibility. Transparency, tracking and active control remain core tasks of professional procurement.
This only works with stable supplier relationships. Those who focus purely on cherry picking decide from order to order and consciously give up reliability. Short term price advantages are often paid for with long term instability.
Professional procurement today means thinking product, price and logistics as one integrated system.
That’s the chemistry.
Siggi.
