write a conclusion for the following research findings

2. Explain the Inbound and Outbound Logistics

Logistics

It is every business goal to gain and maintain competitive advantage over their competitors. It helps the business organisation to increase its profits, also strengthens brand identity and attracts customers. A positive customer experience can translate into customer retention, indirect marketing for the business and customer loyalty.

According to Malindk, (2015), he defines logistics as movement coordination, storage of resources like inventory, goods and equipment. SAA is a big corporation, therefore they outsource their logistics through the tender system and the company that renders their logistics section would be responsible for ensuring that they follow the SAA technical division policies and principles.

The outsourced company has to ensure they receive supplies, hand it to the production line, then proceed to the distribution centre, manage the inventory and ship them to the customer. For companies like SAA, there are two aspects to their logistics, inbound and outbound. This involves a process of purchasing, accepting inbound delivery, storage, packaging, outbound transportation, management of inventory, shipping and delivery.

Inbound Logistics focuses on the inflow of input material from different suppliers to the input process of the business. The process involves sourcing and acquiring raw materials, warehousing and delivery of materials for the production process (Ndungu 2022). In the airline business inbound logistics includes route selection, passengers & passenger yield, management systems, airplane fuel, flight and crew scheduling, facilities planning and aircraft acquisition (Kansal 2016).

Outbound Logistics focuses on the outflow of final products from the company to the customers. The activities involved in outbound logistics are packaging, distribution and supply, transportation and customer service (Ndungu 2022). In the airline business outbound logistics include baggage system, flight connections, rental car, and hotel reservation system (Kansal 2016).

The key difference between inbound logistics and outbound logistics is that with inbound the relationship is between the supplier and the business while with outbound the relationship is based on the business and its customers. Inbound logistics core operations are concerned with material management and production while outbound logistics are concerned with the distribution of final products and customer interaction with the company (Ndungu 2022).