Logistics is a unique global “pipeline”that operates 24 hours a day,seven days a week and 52 weeks a year ,planning and coordinating the transport and delivery of products and service to customers the world over.

(物流作为一种独特的全球“输送管道”，一天24小时、一周7天，一年52周、不间断地运营着，计划和协调全球产品和服务的运输和交付。)

Coming into being with the advent of civilization,logistics is anything but a newborn baby.However ,when it comes to modern logistics,most professionals in the business consider it one of the most challenging and exciting jobs,invisible as it is.

(文明伊始，物流就已经存在，因而不是新鲜事。但是，说到现代物流，业内专业人士认为尽管看不见摸不着，它是富有挑战性和最激动人心的工作。)

Modern logistics is related to the effective and efficient flow of materials and information that are of vital importance to customers and clients in various sectors of the economic society, which may include but by no means is limited to:packaging\ warehousing \material handling\inventory\transport\forecasting\strategic planning and customer service.

(现代物流与物资及信息的及时有效流动相关，而物资和信息的及时有效流动对经济社会的不同领域的顾客和客户有着极其重要的意义。现代物流包括但不限于下列方面：包装、仓储、材料搬运、存货、运输、预测、战略规划、客户服务。

Packing is the outer wrapping of a product . It is the intended purpose of the packaging to make a product readily sellable as well as to protect it against damage and prevent it from deterioration when in stock.Furthermore,packaging is often the most relevant element of a trade mark and coduces to advertising or communication.

(包装是指产品的外部包装。包装是为了使产品方便销售，同时储存时也免受损坏或变质。再者，包装通常是和商标最直接相关的因素，利于广告或者信息传递。)

Warehousing is sometimes needed,and can be provided,to complement inbound and outbound transportation services. There are 4 distinct types of warehousing available,depending upon load content:for finished goods ;for raw materials;for consumer fulfillment;and for vendor-managed inventory(VMI)

(仓储可以作为上游物流和下游物流运输服务的补充。根据货物的种类，仓库有四种类型；成品仓库，原材料仓库，待售后产品仓库和销售商管理仓库（VMI）

Material handling is any kind of methods for moving material.Material can be moved directly by people lifting the items or using hand carts,slings,and other handling accessories(manual lifting and handling).Material can also be moved by people using machines such as cranes,forklift trucks,and other lifting fixtures (mechanical lifting).

(物资操作是指转移物资的方式。可以用手推车、吊索或其他的附件（手提或手操作）由人直接把东西抬起来，也可以用起重机、铲车和其他的起重装置来移动物资（机械提升。）

Inventory is a detailed list of all the items in stock,such as a company’s merchandise,raw materials,and finished and unfinished products which have not yet been sold.

(存货是库存里所有的产品的详细清单，例如公司的商品、原材料以及还没有售出的成品和半成品)

Transport is the movement of people,poods,signals and information from one place to another.

(运输是指将人、货物、信号和信息从一个地方转移到另一个地方)

Forecasting is to estimate the likelihood of an event taking place in the future ,based on available data from the past.

(预测是基于过去获得的数据来推测今后可能发生的事件。)

Strategic planning is planning which focuses on longer range objectives and goals.Tt is essentially direction-setting and often focuses on new products and new markets.

(战略规划是着眼于更长的目标而制定的计划，基本上是制定政策，通常是在新产品和新市场两个方面。)

Customer service is the set of behaviors that a business undertakes during its interaction with its customers. It can also refer to a specific person or desk which is set up to provide general assistance to customers

(客户服务是商家与客户交往时承担的一整套行为，也可以用来指为客户提供帮助的特定的人或办公桌)

A systematic definition of logistics is supplied by the Council of Logistics Management :“Logistics is that part of the supply chain process that plans,implements and controls the efficient,effective and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption to meet customers’ requirements.”Although this definition fails to incorporate all specific terms used in the study of logistics,it does reflect the need for total movement management from point of material procurement to location tof finished product distribution

(以下是物流管理协会对物流下的一个系统的定义：“物流是供应链的一部分，计划、执行和控制产品、服务及相关信息人原产地到消费地的及时有效流动和存储以满足客户要求。”虽然此定义不能覆盖物流研究的所有方面，但是它的确反映了从原料获得到成品配送的完整流动过程的需要。)