Maryam Abbasi
10.1 The Reasons for Storage Inventory 181
10.2 The Role of Distribution Centers and Warehouses in Logistics 181
10.3 Warehouse Location 182
10.4 Warehouse Design 183
Size of Warehouse 183
Storage Policies 183
10.5 Types of Warehouses 184
10.6 Warehouse Components 185
10.7 Warehouse Tasks and Activities 186
Material Flow in Warehouse 186
Order Picking 186
10.8 Inventory Management 188
Types of Inventory 188
Costs of Inventory 188
Inventory Control 189
10.9 Virtual Warehouses 195
11 Customer Service 199
Samira Fallcih
11.1 Customer-Service Definition 199
Customer Service as an Organizational Activity 199
Customer Service as a Process 199
Customer Service from the Customer's Side 199
How Experts Define Customer Service? 200
Defining Customer Service in Logistics Context 200
11.2 What Is Behind the Growing Importance of Customer Service? 200
Customer Service: The Intangible Part of a Product 200
Costs of Attracting New Customers 201
Customer Service, Customer Satisfaction, and Loyalty 201
Customers as a Means of Marketing 201
Customer Service and Organization Excellence 202
Customer Service and Staff Job Satisfaction 202
11.3 Customer-Service Elements 202
Pretransaction Elements 203
Transaction Elements 203
Post transaction Elements 204
11.4 Order-Cycle Time 204
Order Preparation and Transmittal 205
Order Processing 205
Order Picking and Packing 206
Order Transportation and Delivery 206
11.5 Developing a Policy for Customer Service 206 11.5.1 Important Points 206
11.5.2 Steps for Developing Customer-Service Policy 207
11.5.3 A Case Study on Customer Segmentation Based on Customer-Service Elements 209
11.5.4 Setting Customer-Service Level 212 11.6 Measuring Customer-Service Performance 215
Part IV Special Areas and Philosophies 219
12 Logistics System: Information and Communication Technology 221
Shokoofeh Asadi
12.1 The Importance of Information in Logistics 221
12.2 Logistic Information System 222
12.2.1 Information Flow 222
12.2.2 A LISs'Functionality Levels 223
12.2.3 Role of Information in Logistics System Operation
and Performance 224
12.2.4 LIS Structure 227
12.2.5 System Modules 230
12.2.6 LIS Characteristics 232
12.3 Logistics Information and Communication Technology 233
12.3.1 Data-Handling Hardware (Data Collection and
Data Identification) 234
12.3.2 Positioning 237
12.3.3 Communication, Networks, and Data Exchange 238
12.4 Conclusion 244
13 Reverse Logistics 247