The strong growth of national and international trade has created great development opportunities for the logistics profession. With such a tendency logistics More and more people are studying and choosing a career. But each job has its drawbacks, logistics too. To better understand this profession, readers, let’s listen to the difficulties of the Logistics profession through the following article by Ms. UpTalent.
1- What is logistics?
2- Description of the logistics work
3- Difficulties when working in logistics
4- Qualities to succeed in the logistics business
Reference >>>> URGENTLY REQUIRED Supply Chain Jobs
1- What is logistics?
Logistics is simply understood as the service of transporting goods from anywhere to consumers. This is a very developing field and industry in Vietnam.
The logistics professions are very diverse and you have the choice between many different positions. In which the main responsibility of the logistician is to plan, coordinate, verify and control the process of transporting goods, transit time, product information and movement of goods. Logistics services are only truly effective when the company cares about the quality, time and price of the service and must constantly develop its services.
Apart from transportation services, the logistics business is also related to other operations such as shipping, warehousing, storage, packaging, handling of damaged goods, etc. Therefore, the role of logistics is increasingly valued because it can help companies reduce costs, increase costs. competitiveness and profits.
2- Description of the logistics work
Logistics brings together many different trades but can be summarized in three main areas: transportation, warehousing and shipping. These are also the three strongest segments of the logistics industry.
Basically, logistics professionals will perform the following typical tasks:
+ Manage transport procedures, including customs clearance, handling shipping issues, transport planning, managing the loading and unloading of goods.
+ Manage all issues related to maritime, air, road, river and other transport.
Interesting professions
+ Provide warehouse rental and warehousing services.
+ Provision of services for loading and unloading goods from ships, vehicles, containers.
+ Perform the receipt and storage of goods, manage shipping information, manage problems arising, respond to customer requests, manage inventory problems, returns of goods, …
3- Difficulties when working in logistics
3.1- Must meet many KPIs
If you do logistics in multinational companies, you will have to meet many different KPIs. Since these companies often use many different software systems, there will be KPIs for each system.
In addition to KPIs on the separate system, there are also KPIs for separate tasks. With the particularity of having many offices around the world, the requirements for updating information are very strict. If the information is not updated at the right time, the relevant parties will not receive it for implementation, which easily leads to risks.
3.2- Numerous regulations
Logistics companies with offices in many different countries should have a common set of regulations across all offices. If each office follows its own rules, the business will not operate by any rules. The head office is also unable to monitor the activities of branches located in other countries.
3.3- Regularly work overtime
This is a very common thing in the field of logistics. They must ensure that the goods are dispatched on time. Especially during the holidays, the shopping demand is large, so the workload of logistics companies is also extremely large. If they can’t handle that during office hours, they have to work overtime.
3.4- Time zone difference
The partners and customers of logistics companies are often located abroad. Therefore, jet lag is a common difficulty in the logistics business. Usually, office hours in Vietnam are off-duty hours abroad. So you will hardly get sympathy from foreign agents.
3.5- Very competitive
Currently, many logistics units are operating. Therefore, working in this industry, you will face fierce competition. The problem of devaluation is very common. Even after finding a customer, the customer was still lost.
3.6- Must have extensive knowledge and be able to react flexibly
For customers to trust you, cooperate with you, and deliver billions of shipments to you, you need to prove the reliability and quality of your business. There will be no customer who wants to work with a logistics employee who knows nothing and has to wait to ask the boss. Therefore, you will have to learn and acquire the relevant knowledge to convince clients to work with you for a long time.
3.7- Great responsibility
When clients decide to work with you, they see you as an expert. They’ll find you every issue, from documentation to troubleshooting. The responsibility of the logistics staff is therefore very great. You will need to be ready to answer all of your customers’ questions.
3.8- Great working pressure
In the logistics business, speed and deadlines are very important issues. Time is short, the goods must be delivered on time, so the work pressure of this profession is very strong. Therefore, to do logistics, you have to be able to work well under pressure.
>>>> Maybe you are interested: Job Description for Logistics Positions
4- Qualities to succeed in the logistics business
No matter what job you do, you need certain qualities to be successful. For a career in logistics, you will need to possess the following important qualities:
4.1- Capable of complete observation
When doing logistics, you need to anticipate what’s going on, from packaging to shipping to delivery. You have to have an overview from start to finish, plan everything, have a back-up plan to avoid unnecessary risks.
4.2- Ability to adapt quickly
Logistics work is increasingly complex and the market is also constantly changing. Therefore, to succeed in the logistics profession, you must be able to adapt well and be flexible in the face of difficulties at work.
4.3- Stay calm
The working environment in the logistics sector is changing very rapidly. Each depends on whether the previous one was done well or not. Pressure is therefore inevitable. Therefore, as a logistics professional, you need to stay calm to stay alert and wise when making decisions.
4.4- Efficient problem solving
You need to know how to apply many different aspects and information to analyze things and solve problems as efficiently as possible. If you want to be more successful and professional, you need to be able to handle problems well.
4.5- Honesty
Blatant lies about the cause of slow delivery are very common in the logistics industry. But if you keep lying in the long run, you’ll bring the company down. Over time, you will lose the trust of your customers. Therefore, the best way is to always be honest with customers and address existing weaknesses at the root.
4.6- Creativity and innovation
To excel, you must constantly innovate and create. Always focus on professional improvement, technical improvement will help you find many new opportunities. Only by continually improving the process will you continue to grow.
4.7- Management skills
Stressful work environment, heavy workload and high work pressure are the things you will encounter when doing logistics. Therefore, you must have good management skills so that the above stress and pressure does not affect your work productivity.
I hope this article has helped you better understand the difficulties of the logistics profession. Indeed, logistics is a vast field, with many rich job opportunities. So don’t let difficulties slow you down. If you like logistics, make an effort to learn and practice, these difficulties will surely not be able to prevent you from succeeding.
>>>> You can see more: Roadmap to becoming a Logistics Manager within 5 years
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