UK: IT DRIVES THE CHAIN.

Transport and Distribution - IT could easily absorb as much as 30% of the logistics budget for any organisation that is setting up from scratch.

Exciting new technologies in logistics were once to do with physical distribution: racking systems, trucks and automated warehouses. These days, the buzz surrounds the use of IT in logistics. While the development partly reflects diminishing marginal returns in the physical handling technologies, it also illustrates IT's emergence as a tool for both data handling and communication. With today's emphasis on logistics within the entire supply chain, communication of pieces of information as diverse as demand patterns, vehicle locations and inventory quantities is vital.