Chemical logistics - Going beyond intra-plant excellence

Abstract

While intra-plant logistics is critical to the effective function of a chemical plant, extraplant logistics is pivotal to the survival and competence of a chemical supply chain. For years, the chemical companies overlooked the latter, assuming it just a fixed cost. Growing pressures of competition, globalization, integration, outsourcing, and resilience are making a sea change. Most chemical companies are now discovering that logistics is more than just a line-item charge. Producers and (service) providers alike are taking a fresh look at the art, science, and cost of chemical logistics. While the logistics for dry goods and merchandise has received the lion's share of attention in the open literature, the same for chemicals has not. In the pursuit of lean, integrated, and excellent enterprises and supply chains, some PSE researchers have rightly begun to study a variety of unaddressed issues and challenges in chemical logistics. This paper describes selected novel applications of PSE in maritime chemical logistics. © 2009 Elsevier BV. All rights reserved.