Emeka David Okaekwu,

University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

23 July 2013

 Introduction
Logistics

Elements

Integrated
Logistics

Logistics Support Plan - Input

Support Plan - Output

Management

of Logistics Elements, availability, and

life-cycle cost

Logistics engineering is an interesting field. It cuts across different facets

ranging from supply chain (SC) in the commercial sector to what logistics is
now in terms of integrated logistics support as seen in the defense sector. In
the supply chain segment, it involves inbound and outbound logistics
activities. Inbound logistics comprises material flow from suppliers to the
manufacturers and outbound logistics entails the downstream flow of
products from the manufacturers to the end users or customers. There is
also the concept of reverse logistics which refers to the flow of materials
from the end-user site to the manufacturers or a third party representative.
On the one hand, logistics is seen in the light of supply chain as described
above, and on the other hand, logistics also have the side of maintenance
and support activities which is geared towards ensuring that the system or
product which has been designed and developed is fully utilized throughout
its lifecycle. This is the concept of integrated logistic support (ILS). It is an
amalgamation of some of the activities seen in the reverse logistics with
that of the maintenance side. This is largely used in the defense sector as
opposed to the commercial counterpart.
In this paper, we look at logistics wholly from a support perspective. The
content of this paper is primarily based on developing an integrated logistics
support plan (ILSP) for a chosen product, the customer premises equipment
A router to be precise; the ILSP is seen as input to the system; and also
develop a logistic support plan (LSP), seen as the output from the system.

Supply support Spares and repair parts,

Training and training support,
Logistics, maintenance and support
personnel,
Technical data and documentation,
Facilities support and utilities,
Test equipment and support,
Warehousing (Distribution),
Standardization and interoperability.

Basic Logistics Elements (Source: B.S. Blanchard,

Logistics Engineering and Management, 6th Ed.,
Prentice Hall, NJ, 2004, Figure 1.5).

 To

ensure effective support of the product

(CPE), we develop an integrated logistics
support plan (ILSP) for the full life-cycle of
the product. This is achieved through
developing the logistics element plan. Figure
below shows the ILSP development as
exemplified by Blanchard (2004).

Product
Product Requirements
Requirements

Integrated
Integrated Logistics
Logistics Support
Support Plan
Plan

Maintenance
Maintenance Planning
Planning

Management
Management Planning
Planning

Technical requirements

Management requirements

Training
Training plan
plan

Facilities
Facilities and
and
utilities
plan
utilities plan

Supply
Supply
support
support plan
plan

Technical
Technical data
data and
and
documentation
documentation plan
plan

Handling
Handling // storage
storage
plan
plan

Test
Test equipment
equipment
and
support
and support plan
plan
Distribution
Distribution and
and
Customer
Customer Support
Support
plan
plan

Development of integrated logistics support plan

(Source: B.S. Blanchard, Logistics Engineering and
Management, 6th Ed., Prentice Hall, NJ, 2004).

The logistics support plan is the output from

the logistics support infrastructure. At this
juncture, the product and the logistics
support has been developed and the product
has been deployed at user site. To support
this product (CPE), we develop a logistics
support plan as shown in the diagram below

LOGISTICS SUPPORT PLAN - CONT

Product
Product Ready
Ready and
and in
in use
use

Logistics
Logistics Support
Support Plan
Plan

Maintenance
Maintenance Planning
Planning
Training
Training plan
plan

Facilities
Facilities and
and
utilities
utilities plan
plan

Management
Management Planning
Planning
Supply
Supply support
support
plan
plan

Total
Total Quality
Quality
Management
Management Plan
Plan
Test
Test equipment
equipment and
and
support
support plan
plan

Technical
Technical data
data and
and
documentation
documentation plan
plan

Customer
Customer Support
Support plan
plan

Logistics support plan (LSP) development

Reporting
Reporting plan
plan
Configuration
Configuration
Management
Management plan
plan

Logistics elements are managed through:

Configuration management,
Total quality management,
Project management,
Acquisition of the right resources for support
Availability and life-cycle cost are managed thorough:
Proper planning for logistics support in all phases,
Incorporation of appropriate supportability characteristics
during the support phase,
Identification, and timely acquisition of support elements
required for product operation and maintenance,
Continuous assessment of the overall effectiveness of the
product throughout its life-cycle, and initiation of
modifications for corrective action or product
improvement
as stipulated Blanchard (2004).