Research on the Standardization of Logistics

Research on the Standardization of Logistics
ZHANG Ke
School of Economics and Management, Henan Polytechnic University, P.R.China, 454001
[email protected]
Abstract: Under the promotion of “eleventh five-year plan” programming compendium, the developing
speed of logistics industry is getting faster in every locality and industry, and the basement of
standardization of logistics is more outstanding and gains more considerable concern in every part. This
article talks from the current situations of standardization of logistics in developed countries, and
introduces the basic situations of Canada, Japan and European Communities. Then the article analyzes
the situation of China’s standardization of logistics comparatively, and summarizes the main existing
problems. On the basement of this, the article puts forward the policy to promote the standardization of
logistics of our country. In the end, the article makes a conclusion that the standardization of logistics is
a system project which needs the common efforts of the country, enterprises and trades association, and
the standardization of logistics is also an international problem, we must stand at the development of
ourselves’ standards when we cater to the development of the international standardization of logistics at
the same time.
Keywords: Logistics, Standardization of Logistics, Information of Logistics
1 Introduction
The standardization of logistics means to take the logistics as a big system, make the technology
standard of the inner structure, mechanical instruments, special tools and so on, the working standard of
package, warehouses, load and unload, transportation and so on, and the logistics information standard
which is seeing as the outstanding character of current logistics; then the standardizing system which is
combined with nationwide and nations. With the faster development of global economic integration, the
areas of the standardized work referred to will be more and more extensive. The adoption of
international standards is already very common; the standardization has become the important means for
enterprises to compete. The “eleventh five-year plan” programming compendium which our country
published in the beginning of 2006 had put forward the strategic thinking that we should devote major
efforts to develop the current logistics industry clearly, and taken the standardization as one of the
important mission. Under the promotion of the “eleventh five-year plan” programming compendium of
our country, the developing speed of logistics industry is getting faster in every locality and industry, the
basement of standardization of logistics is more outstanding and gains more considerable concern in
every part. According to the new situation, the nation standardization management committee puts
forward the developing strategic that the standardization work of our country should get faster in
combining with nations, and a serious requires of increasing the speed of building the special committee
branching organization, raising the international standard adoption rate, shortening the reformulate cycle
of technology standard and the administrative workers of international standard committee can’t
occupant in every special standardization technology committee.
The competitions among countries and enterprises appearance as the standardized competition at
present to a big extent. As a part of economic trade and an important rule in product quality arbitrate,
standard own a special stage and function in economic trade activities. Most regional organizations and
countries especially the developed countries make every attempt to fight for the right to lead and speak
in international standardization activities, and make every effort to change their national standard into
international standard. As one important part of international standard, logistics standard gains more
considerable concern among every country. So studying current logistics and standardization of logistics
is helpful to find the ways and means to raise the level of standardization of logistics and the
international competition of the enterprises in our country, which have the important immediate
significance and theoretical price.
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2 The current situation of standardization of logistics in developed countries
Since coming to the 21st century, the European Communities, America and Japan are stressing the
developing strategic research of standardization of logistics.
2.1 Canada: Stress to arrange the system of standardization of logistics
Canada began to develop the current logistics industry in an early time and has built a whole
system of standardization of logistics that including logistics wording, logistics basic infrastructure and
equipments, logistics information and logistics applied technology. There are several standards in
Canada’s standardization of logistics, such as international standard, national standard, trade standard
and enterprise standard. The international standard is the standard system which can go through in every
country. The national standard includes the first standard in union government and province government.
These two kinds of standards must try their best to show no difference, and is transferring into
international standard step by step. The trade standard is made by every trade association, so there have
some differences. It is transferring into national and international standard at present. The enterprise
standard is made by every enterprise itself, so it has a big limitation and restriction. Every enterprise is
revising their standards actively in order to in accordance with the international standard and national
standard.
2.2 Japan: Stress the research and application in logistics information applied standard
In Japan, the enterprises see the conduct means of logistics technology terrace very important.
Almost all of the special logistics enterprises are conducting and controlling the logistics information
and giving the customers omni bearing information services by information management system. In
early 1995, Japan had made the JTRN. In recent years, the logistics standard information electronic data
interchange has become the key point of Japanese Scientific research institution. Through practicing the
logistics industry, not only is it helpful for enterprises’ information system to joggle the data
automatically and avoid mistakes in handling, but also shorten the work time, practice the no-paper
communication among enterprises, decrease the management cost and build a free and efficiency
supplied-link.
2.3 EU: Make every effort to promote the standardization of logistics industry
In the progress of promoting the standardization of logistics industry, what the EU did are as
follows. First, being aimed at the basic infrastructure, they made the basic and current standard such as
unify the pallet, vehicle load bearing and goods’ bar code in order to ensure the logistics activities go on
smoothly. Second, they made the mandatory standard being aimed at the safety and environment, such
as the Clear Air Law and Comprehensive Environment Duty Law. Third, they sustained the trade
association to make trade standard on all kinds of logistics work and service, such as the European
logistics association makes the logistics wording standard and logistics employees’ qualification
standard.[1]
3 The analysis on the development of Chinese standardization of logistics
The national standard which is published in 2001 is the basic standard which has an important
effect on Chinese logistics academic research and concrete practice, and it needs an urgent revise
according to the new need and the development of logistics. The revise work was finished in June, 2006
in the effort of repeatedly revising by the topic group which is made up of almost all the logistics
experts and scholars. The entry amount of new revised Logistics Term national standard increases from
145 articles in 2001 to 249 articles, and 138 articles are newly increased, and articles are deleted, and
the content of 55 articles is revised or replenished in the remaining 111 articles. We can say that, in
recent years, basic standardization of logistics revising work has made an important achievement, but
the problems are still very outstanding.
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3.1 Standardization of logistics lags behind totally
Standardization of logistics is hysteretic than the development of economy logistics and the
standardization. China introduced the concept of logistics in the late of 1970s and mainly made logistics
theory study and made experiments and popularizing work in the late of 1980s. Logistics began to start
in many industries from that time. And it turns to be a hot spot of the development of economy in the
21st century. In the recent one or two years, it begins to put up solving standardization of logistics
problem from the angle of system theory. Our national economy has experienced a high-speed
development for more than 20 years, accumulating rich material basis and the standardization
establishment of the main industries each has formed their own system. However, the form of these
systems isn’t in the consideration of the need of modern logistics development.
3.2 Logistics technological standard and logistics performance standard are not unified
It mainly displays that the incompatibility of equipment standard between transportation effects the
development of our country’s integrative transportation, brings down the logistics rate, and limits the
cost saving space. The logistics appliance standard can’t complete a set, which seriously affects the
mechanism in the process of transportation store and carry the improvement of autoimmunization level,
the harmonious operating of logistics dispatching system. The nick between logistics picking standard
and logistics facility standard seriously affect the load ability of transportation cargo gear load ability
and the space operating factor of storage facilities.[2]
3.3 Lacking of unification and compatibility between related industry standardization
The current standardization system gives priority to department and it limits the unification and
compatibility between the standardization of the related industries of logistics. At present, except the
national unified standard administration transportation railway civil aviation information industry and so
on which stand for the industry department of the government are included in Chinese logistics
administrative departments. However, the industry technological organization and scientific research
involved by logistics industries distribute in every government apartment every industry, and the
government apartments between standard operating lacks of harmonious organization. The
standardization technological organizations and the institution for scientific research make
standardization work in their own industry area according to traditional division of labour, and they
can’t make communication or matching and can’t make unified plan. For example, the organization and
enterprises related to logistics are transferred from the circulation department of traditional enterprises
and distribute in different departments such as railway highway waterway and air transportation, and
they have their own administrative department. For example, railway transportation is managed by
railway ministry, and highway transportation is managed by the Ministry of Communication, and airway
transportation is managed by civil aviation general office. The competent department of logistics
enterprises is separate and administration is divided. On the other hand, although national standard
administration competent department is the state quality monitoring inspection quarantine master office
the standard centralized administration almost in the in the standardization technological committee of
every department , and the logistics standardization work is distributed to different administration
departments. For example, bar code standard is in the charge of Chinese goods code centre container
standard technology is designed by the science research institute of the Ministry of Communications
tray technology is charged by railway ministry science research institute. Unifying standard will affect
the vested interest of some departments and industries in a short time. Therefore, the current
administration system gain the work amount and administration difficulty of standard harmonizing, and
can’t make a unified administration system, and hinder the promotion of the standardization of logistics.
At the same time, the backward standardization administration system can make the standardization of
logistics more dependent on the government department, standard technology organizations and
industrial association can’t play its deserved role when some concrete problems about the
standardization of logistics are put forward , and they are always can’t be solved for a long time.
3.4 The market bass of the standardization of logistics is weak competition
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Therefore, the development of the market should the basic condition for the evolving of the
standardization of logistics. We can conclude from the development prospect of our national economy
that our country’s logistics market is enormous. However, from the administration style view, the small
and complete the big and complete structure and concept of the enterprises also have great effect. From
the production department level view, the material cost and labour cost of the production of our
country’s enterprises all have enormous potential. As the third profit source, logistics hasn’t the main
route or urgent matter for the pursuit of the existing and development of the enterprises normally. Let us
take store unit code as an example, after the country publishing Standard Store Unite Code, the actual
apply rate doesn’t reach to 15%. The actual demand of logistics market is not full and it makes an
enormous contrast to the potential demand of logistics market and the great expansion of logistics. And
it has a direct effect on the application and dissemination of the standardization of logistics. Certainly,
the standardization of logistics which has been made is not perfect, and some are divorced from the
reality of enterprises, and some can’t satisfy the need of enterprises actual operation, the replace cost of
enterprises is high, all the above are an important reason why the demand of the standardization of
logistics for enterprises is not full.[3]
3.5 Information standard which stands for the development of modernization has a serious
lagging
In terms of logistics information, if the nodal enterprises of supply link lack of communication
between each other, and establish their own goods information data bank, and the part style form of it
lack of unify, all above will certainly form self-enclosed information system which can’t realize the
exchange and share of data information. Even, the high-effect modern logistics is impossible. This
situation is very serious in our country at present. Many departments and units establish their own
logistics information data bank, but the part style and length are inconsistent and make one by one
information islet. According to the investigation of Chinese goods code centre, in the 234 industrial and
commercial enterprises which are investigated only six enterprises have the same data with their trade
friends. The different data can’t realize exchange and share and seriously affects the operating of
logistics administration and electric commercial affairs. Even, the most fundamental product
classification can’t be unified. For example, rubber-soled shoes belong to rubber product in the
production area, and they are divided with hose and tape. But they belong to footwear in the field of
circulation and they are divided with leather shoes and cloth shoes. The two are too different from each
other which bring great inconvenience to data exchange. If there is a unified reference standard, the
development cost of our country’s enterprises information system can low down in a wide range, and it
can avoid large amount of low level duplication. The information of logistics need standard to go ahead
and the backward standardization hinder the high-speed development of the information of logistics.
4 The measures of improving China’s standardization of logistics
4.1Bringing the organization and coordination function of the government departments into full
play
The standardization work involves numerous industry fields and government departments; it needs
to carry out a lot of horizontal and vertical coordinate organization work. The governments of the
developed countries have already played an important role in the construction of standardization. The
industry standard survey committee of Japan’s Economy Industry Province had leaded the work of
drawing up Japan’s standardization strategies from June, 1999 to September, and 2001. Moreover, they
founded special office for this reason, the coordination work was efficient and it levelled the road for the
research work. From march , 1998 to September , 2000, in the process of discussing the problem of
formulating the standardizing strategies , America occurred fierce argument many time about the mature
industry and new technology , the organizations , groups and governments which formulate standard and
the consumer . Although every side’s divergence of profits was big, they united to the goal of
formulating the standardizing strategies in accordance with the country’s profits at last. This is because
the NIST leaded the work of formulating the country’s standardization strategies itself and founded the
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lead ship group which consisted of governments chambers of commerce, industry kingdoms , industry
institutes and the other organization at the same time, its coordination and organization work was
efficient.[4]
4.2 Leading the business enterprises to take part in the formulation and performance of the
standardization of logistics actively
The European and American business enterprises think highly of the informational standardization
activities. As the enterprises’ development strategy, many enterprises achieve superiority in the
international standard. For example ,the Siemens company in Germany , there are 1568 employees of
this company who accept 4272 items of appointments in 269 standardization organization , among them
are 192 chairman , 48 secretary-general . Some experience of the developed countries in leading the
business enterprises to take part in the formulation and performance of the standardization of logistics
actively is worthy to take for reference. For example, the governments adopt voluntary standard in
legislation and purchasing. It is an important feature of the developed countries’ standards legalize by
quoting standards in the laws and regulations formulated by the government , then can make the
standards possess law effect , ender the standards to be a section of the laws and regulations and
contracts . The diplomacy memorandum signed by the English government and BSI rules that, from
now on, every department of government won’t formulate standards; they should use the English
country standards formulated by BSI without exception. Especially, the BSI standards should be
adopted in the government’s purchase standards and the laws formulated by the government. The
Germany Ministry of National Defence purchase bureau expressly provide that, the technology in
purchase contract is claimed to use DIN standard first, it is promised to use other standards if there is no
related DIN standard, but it should be authorized. According to our country’s practical situation, firstly,
we should carry out publicity and training to the business enterprises about the importance of
standardization of logistics, to make the enterprises change conceptions and participate the
standardization work on their own initiative. Secondly, the government and the industry association also
can carry out varieties of policies and measures to lead and encounter the enterprises to participate the
standardization work of logistics. Finally, we should apply the achievement gained by the
standardization research to some enterprises ‘practice first, after we get good effects, we can perform
spread to a large scale.[5]
4.3 Stressing on the new information and technology standardization work
Unite to the information and connect with the international ,.The core technology of modern
logistics is the information of logistics system , it means that , with the aid of the computer network and
the information technology to perform unite coordination and control of the original separately logistics
links, such as purchase , transportation , storage , agent and distribution etc .and logistics , information
current , fund current , to achieve perfect supply chain management . Therefore, the logistics
information standard in software standard is especially important; it is the key to the modern
standardization of logistics.
4.4 Formulating the Monitoring mechanism of the logistics system
Nowadays, the development of the science technology, information technology and management
science change with each passing day, the logistics installation, operation process, information system
and management measures also take transform with it. If the logistics standard keeps unalterable, it will
fall behind of the logistics practice and become the obstacle to the development of the logistics system.
Thus, we should take the logistics standard as a part of the entire logistics system from the conception,
maintain the coordination of the logistics standard and the other elements, stick to its service orientation,
and ensure its opening and trends.
4.5 Bringing the industry association and organization’s lead function to full play
From the point of research and practice in internal and external standardization of logistics, the
industry association and organization have played a active role, especially the every country’s
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standardization association and all kinds of logistics association, plays an important lead function in the
process of promoting the standardization of logistics course.
4.6 Researching and learning the foreign standardization of logistics system construction, to
achieve the join to the international
In the process of promoting the standardization of logistics system construction, our country should
take the international standardization organization’s general standard for reference actively, and adopt
the international standard as possible. This can not only speed up our country’s logistics construction
steps, can yet be regarded as the effective means to keep coordinate with the international logistics
standard. What’s more, the standards should put into effect by a lot of developed countries at present are
likely to evolve to international standards progressively, and the governments, industries and business
enterprises should add research dynamics to the developed countries now existing logistics standard.[6]
5 Conclusions
The standardization of logistics stands for a country’s market economy level, it also the need of
China’s market economy to deep development. Undoubtedly, the European and American logistics
standard formulate and revise work achieved important results, but the problems are still sticking out.
For example, the standardization of logistics performs serious stagnant overall; the logistics technology
standard is united to the logistics operation standard; the operation of the standardization of logistics are
still performed under the traditional system structure; the market foundation of the standardization is
relatively frail; the relying extent of the standardization of logistics to the administration force is
relatively high. The author holds that, the standardization of logistics is a systematic project and the
countries should play a decisive role. For example, the governments should promote the standardization
of logistics industry’s construction; the governments should speed up the work of the standardization of
new information technology; the governments should formulate the observe mechanism of the logistics
system, grasp the trends of the logistics standard; the governments should carry out policies of the
logistics industry’s development and create the develop opportunity for the industry etc.. What’s more,
the industry organization should play a role to promote the development of the standardization of
logistics. In the mean time, we should realize that the standardization of logistics is still an international
problem, the internal standard should join with the international standard progressively, especially, and
we should speed up the standardization work of the global electronic business affairs’ main data.
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