Since the early 1980’s, supply chain management has developed rapidly as companies have been seeking to improve their competitiveness in respect of cost and service levels, and to attain sustainable growth. Supply chain management has gained in creasing recognition in European business, both as a function in its own right and as a crossfunctional discipline. At the same time, supply chain management has moved from operational level to board level within the corporate organisation. Never before has supply chain management played such an important role in the corporate strategy of many companies as it does today. This development has led to a much broader scope in supply chain management in the 1990’s compared to that of the 1970’s. Given the growing importance of supply chain management and logistics, IRU has asked KPMG Transportation & Distribution to: * Determine how the calculation of transport and logistics costs has changed over the last decades as a consequence of improved supply chain management and the increasing significance of supply chain management * Assess to what extent this has led to a shift in the relative significance of transport and logistics costs compared to production/manufacturing * Evaluate whether and how transport and logistics costs can be reduced in Europe * Determine what the consequences of in-action could be for European business * Assess how this would influence the competitiveness of European business. This study has focused on the transport and logistics part of today’s supply chain management. (Author/publisher)
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