TAJUK 77: FAMOUS LOGISTICS QUOTATION

LOGISTICS

Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations.  Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and often security. Today the complexity of production logistics can be modeled, analyzed, visualized and optimized by plant simulation software, but is constantly changing. This can involve anything from consumer goods such as food, to IT materials, to aerospace and defense equipment.

Origins and Definition

The term logistics comes from the Greek logos (λόγος), meaning "speech, reason, ratio, rationality, language, phrase", and more specifically from the Greek word logistiki (λογιστική), meaning accounting and financial organization. Logistics is considered to have originated in the military's need to supply themselves with arms, ammunition and rations as they moved from their base to a forward position. In ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine empires, military officers with the title Logistikas were responsible for financial and supply distribution matters.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines logistics as "the branch of military science relating to procuring, maintaining and transporting material, personnel and facilities." However, the New Oxford American Dictionary defines logistics as "the detailed coordination of a complex operation involving many people, facilities, or supplies" and the Oxford Dictionary online defines it as, "the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation:" Another dictionary definition is "the time-related positioning of resources." As such, logistics is commonly seen as a branch of engineering that creates "people systems" rather than "machine systems". When talking in terms of human resources management, logistics means giving inputs, i.e. "recruiting manpowers", which ultimately work for the final consumer or to delivery.

According to the Council of Logistics Management, logistics contains the integrated planning, control, realization and monitoring of all internal and network-wide material-, part- and product flow including the necessary information flow in industrial and trading companies along the complete value-added chain (and product life cycle) for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements.

Main Logistics Targets

Logistics is one of the main functions within a company. The main targets of logistics can be divided into performance related and cost related. They are high due date reliability, short delivery times, low inventory level and high capacity utilization. But when decisions need to be made, there is always a trade off between these targets. This is what makes being a logistician challenging and interesting.

Logistics Viewpoints

Inbound logistics is one of the primary processes and it concentrates on purchasing and arranging inbound movement of materials, parts and/or finished inventory from suppliers to manufacturing or assembly plants, warehouses or retail stores. Outbound logistics is the process related to the storage and movement of the final product and the related information flows from the end of the production line to the end user.

Logistics Fields

Given the services performed by logistics, one can distinguish the main fields of it as it follows:

• Procurement Logistics
• Production Logistics
• Distribution Logistics
• After Sales Logistics
• Disposal Logistics

Procurement Logistics consists of activities such as market research, requirements planning, make or buy decisions, supplier management, ordering, and order controlling. The targets in procurement logistics might be contradictory - maximize the efficiency by concentrating on core competences, outsourcing while maintaining the autonomy of the company, and minimization of procurement costs while maximizing the security within the supply process.

Production Logistics connects procurement to distribution logistics. The main function of production logistics is to use the available production capacities to produce the products needed in distribution logistics. Production logistics activities are related to organizational concepts, layout planning, production planning, and control.

Distribution Logistics has, as main tasks, the delivery of the finished products to the customer. It consists of order processing, warehousing, and transportation. Distribution logistics is necessary because the time, place, and quantity of production differs with the time, place, and quantity of consumption.

Disposal Logistics' main function is to reduce logistics cost(s), enhance service(s), and save natural resources.

Military Logistics

In military science, maintaining one's supply lines while disrupting those of the enemy is a crucial—some would say the most crucial - element of military strategy, since an armed force without resources and transportation is defenseless. The defeat of the British in the American War of Independence and the defeat of the Axis in the African theatre of World War II are attributed to logistical failure. The historical leaders Hannibal Barca, Alexander the Great, and the Duke of Wellington are considered to have been logistical geniuses.

Militaries have a significant need for logistics solutions, and so have developed advanced implementations.  Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) is a discipline used in military industries to ensure an easily supportable system with a robust customer service (logistic) concept at the lowest cost and in line with (often high) reliability, availability, maintainability and other requirements as defined for the project.

In military logistics, logistics officers manage how and when to move resources to the places they are needed.

Supply chain management in military logistics often deals with a number of variables in predicting cost, deterioration, consumption, and future demand. The US Military's categorical supply classification was developed in such a way that categories of supply with similar consumption variables are grouped together for planning purposes. For instance, peacetime consumption of ammunition and fuel will be considerably less than wartime consumption of these items, whereas other classes of supply such as subsistence and clothing have a relatively consistent consumption rate regardless of war or peace. Troops will always require uniform and food. More troops will require more uniforms and food.

Some classes of supply have a linear demand relationship - as more troops are added more supply items are needed—as more equipment is used more fuel and ammunition is consumed. Other classes of supply must consider a third variable besides usage and quantity: time. As equipment ages more and more repair parts are needed over time, even when usage and quantity stays consistent. By recording and analyzing these trends over time and applying to future scenarios, the US Military can accurately supply troops with the items necessary at the precise moment they are needed. History has shown that good logistical planning creates a lean and efficient fighting force. Lack thereof can lead to a clunky, slow, and ill-equipped force with too much or too little supply.

Business Logistics

A logistics provider's warehouse of goods being stacked on pallets with a forklift. Logistics as a business concept evolved in the 1950s due to the increasing complexity of supplying businesses with materials and shipping out products in an increasingly globalized supply chain, leading to a call for experts called supply chain logisticians. Business logistics can be defined as "having the right item in the right quantity at the right time at the right place for the right price in the right condition to the right customer", and is the science of process and incorporates all industry sectors. The goal of logistics work is to manage the fruition of project life cycles, supply chains and resultant efficiencies.

In business, logistics may have either internal focus (inbound logistics), or external focus (outbound logistics) covering the flow and storage of materials from point of origin to point of consumption. The main functions of a qualified logistician include inventory management, purchasing, transportation, warehousing, consultation and the organizing and planning of these activities. Logisticians combine a professional knowledge of each of these functions to coordinate resources in an organization. There are two fundamentally different forms of logistics: one optimizes a steady flow of material through a network of transport links and storage nodes; the other coordinates a sequence of resources to carry out some project.

Production Logistics

The term production logistics is used to describe logistic processes within an industry. The purpose of production logistics is to ensure that each machine and workstation is being fed with the right product in the right quantity and quality at the right time. The concern is not the transportation itself, but to streamline and control the flow through value-adding processes and eliminate non–value-adding ones. Production logistics can be applied to existing as well as new plants. Manufacturing in an existing plant is a constantly changing process. Machines are exchanged and new ones added, which gives the opportunity to improve the production logistics system accordingly. Production logistics provides the means to achieve customer response and capital efficiency.

Production logistics is becoming more important with decreasing batch sizes. In many industries (e.g. mobile phones), a batch size of one is the short-term aim, allowing even a single customer's demand to be fulfilled efficiently. Track and tracing, which is an essential part of production logistics—due to product safety and product reliability issues—is also gaining importance, especially in the automotive and medical industries.

Logistics Management

Logistics is that part of the supply chain which plans, implements and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet customer and legal requirements. A professional working in the field of logistics management is called a logistician.

Logistics management is known by many names, the most common are as follows:

• Materials Management
• Channel Management
• Distribution (or Physical Distribution)
• Business or Logistics Management or
• Supply Chain Management

The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) was established in the United Kingdom in 1919 and was granted a Royal Charter in 1926. The Chartered Institute is one of the professional bodies or institutions, for the logistics and transport sectors, that offers professional qualifications or degrees in logistics management.

WMS and WCS

Although there is some functionality overlap, the differences between warehouse management systems (WMS) and warehouse control systems (WCS) can be significant. Simply put, a WMS plans a weekly activity forecast based on such factors as statistics and trends, whereas a WCS acts like a floor supervisor, working in real time to get the job done by the most effective means. For instance, a WMS can tell the system it is going to need five of stock-keeping unit (SKU) A and five of SKU B hours in advance, but by the time it acts, other considerations may have come into play or there could be a logjam on a conveyor. A WCS can prevent that problem by working in real time and adapting to the situation by making a last-minute decision based on current activity and operational status. Working synergistically, WMS and WCS can resolve these issues and maximize efficiency for companies that rely on the effective operation of their warehouse or distribution center.

Logistics Outsourcing

Logistics outsourcing involves a relationship between a company and an LSP which, compared with basic logistics services, has more customized offerings, encompasses a broad number of service activities, is characterized by a long-term orientation, and, thus, has a rather strategic nature.

Third-party Logistics

Third-party logistics (3PL) involves using external organizations to execute logistics activities that have traditionally been performed within an organization itself. According to this definition, third-party logistics includes any form of outsourcing of logistics activities previously performed in-house. If, for example, a company with its own warehousing facilities decides to employ external transportation, this would be an example of third-party logistics. Logistics is an emerging business area in many countries.

Fourth-party Logistics

The concept of Fourth-Party Logistics (4PL) provider was first defined by Andersen Consulting (Now Accenture) as an integrator that assembles the resources, capabilities and technology of its own organization and other organizations to design, build, and run comprehensive supply chain solutions. Whereas a third party logistics (3PL) service provider targets a function, a 4PL targets management of the entire process. Some have described a 4PL as a general contractor who manages other 3PLs, truckers, forwarders, custom house agents, and others, essentially taking responsibility of a complete process for the customer.

Emergency Logistics

Emergency logistics is a term used by the logistics, supply chain and manufacturing industries to denote specific time critical modes of transport used to move goods or objects rapidly in the event of an emergency. The reason for enlisting emergency logistics services could be a production delay or anticipated production delay, or it could be that specialist equipment is needed urgently to prevent instances such as aircraft being grounded (also known as "aircraft on ground"-AOG), ships being delayed, or telecommunications failure. Emergency logistics services are typically sourced from a specialist provider.
Source: wikipedia.com

 LOGISTICS QUOTATION 

“Because of my wartime experience, I am insistent on the point that logistics know-how must be maintained, that logistic is second to nothing in importance in warfare, that logistic training must be widespread and thorough, and that it is folly to waste time on mediocre talent.” -VAdm Robert B. Carney, USN

“Logistic considerations belong not only in the highest echelons of military planning during the process of preparation for war and for specific wartime operations, but may well become the controlling element with relation to timing and successful operation.” -VAdm Oscar C. Badger, USN

"I don't know what the hell this ‘logistics’ is that Marshall is always talking about, but I want some of it." -Adm E. J. King: To a staff officer. (1942) 

“Underway replenishment was the U.S. Navy’s secret weapon of World War II.” - Adm Chester Nimitz, USN 

“… the basic design and the control of the area logistic system must be in the hands of the commander who will design, shift, and control the task forces in accordance with the strategic and tactical needs of the situation.” -RAdm Henry C. Eccles, USN

“… in its relationship to strategy, logistics assumes the character of a dynamic force, without which the strategic conception is simply a paper plan.” -Cdr C. Theo Vogelsang, USN

“Logistics is the stuff that if you don’t have enough of, the war will not be won as soon as.” -Gen Nathaniel Green, Quartermaster, American Revolutionary Army 

“During the last war, eighty percent of our problems were of a logistical nature.” -Field Marshall Montgomery

“Strategy and tactics provide the scheme for the conduct of military operations, logistics the means therefore.” -Lt Col George C. Thorpe, USMC 

“It is no great matter to change tactical plans in a hurry and to send troops off in new directions. But adjusting supply plans to the altered tactical scheme is far more difficult.” -Gen Walter Bedell Smith 

“Clearly, logistics is the hard part of fighting a war.” -Lt Gen E. T. Cook, USMC, November 1990 

“The history of war proves that nine out of ten times an army has been destroyed because its supply lines have been cut off…. We shall land at Inchon, and I shall crush them.” -Gen Douglas MacArthur 

“Every unit that is not supported is a defeated unit.” -Maurice de Saxe, Mes Reveries, XIII, 1732 

“Gentlemen, the officer who doesn’t know his communications and supply as well as his tactics is totally useless.” -Gen George S. Patton, USA 

“Bitter experience in war has taught the maxim that the art of war is the art of the logistically feasible.” - Adm Hyman Rickover, USN 

“Forget logistics, you lose.” -Lt Gen Franks, USA, 7th Corps Commander, Desert Storm 

“Amateurs think about tactics, but professionals think about logistics.” - Gen Robert H. Barrow, USMC (Commandant of the Marine Corps) noted  in 1980

"Victory is the beautiful, bright colored flower. Transport is the stem without which it could never have blossomed.” -Sir Winston S. Churchill, The River War, vii (1899) 

“Sound logistics forms the foundation for the development of strategic flexibility and mobility. If such flexibility is to be exercised and exploited, military command must have adequate control of its logistic support.” - RAdm Henry E. Eccles, Logistics in the National Defense (1959) 

“The more I see of war, the more I realize how it all depends on administration and transportation . . . It takes little skill or imagination to see where you would like your army to be and when; it takes much more knowledge and hard work to know where you can place your forces and whether you can maintain them there." - Gen A. C. P. Wavell, Martin Van Creveld’s Supply War, Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton (1977)

“When you do battle, even if you are winning, if you continue for a long time it will dull your forces and blunt you edge…If you keep your armies out in the field for a long time, your supplies will be insufficient.  Transportation of provisions itself consumes 20 times the amount transported.” - Sun Tzu 

“I am tempted to make a slightly exaggerated statement: that logistics is all of war-making, except shooting the guns, releasing the bombs, and firing the torpedoes.” - Adm Lynde D. McCormick, USN 

“Logistics is all or almost all of the field of military activities except combat.  It is the province of not merely staffs, but also of Generals-in-Chief.” - Baron de Jomini 

“Only a commander who understand logistics can push the military machine to the limits without risking total breakdown.” - Julian Thompson 

“There is nothing more common than to find considerations of supply affecting the strategic lines of a campaign and a war.” - Carl von Clausevitz

“The sounder theory, which accords more closely with the facts of modern warfare, is that logistics is not something distinct from strategy and tactics, but rather an integral part of both; that an understanding of the problems inherent in creating and, even more important, in maintaining naval forces in fighting condition in the theater of operations is essential to high naval command.” - Duncan S. Ballantine  

“In modern time is a poorly qualified strategist or naval commander who is not equipped by training and experience to evaluate logistic factors or to superintend logistic operations.” - Duncan S. Ballantine, 1947 

“It will not suffice merely to make a specialist of the logistician, for logistics is part of the exercise of command…the record of the Second World War suggests that the naval commander must be indoctrinated in the problems of providing as well as making use of the means of warfare.” - Duncan S. Ballantine 

“The war has been variously termed a war of production and a war of machines.  Whatever else it is, so far as the United States is concerned, it is a war of logistics.” - Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, in a 1946 report to the Secretary of the Navy 

“American logistics in World War II was big by just about any measure one can devise.  There is no question that it played a dominant role in the allied victory and thereby shaped the history of the rest of the century.” - Commandant of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, 1997 

“A sound logistics plan is the foundation upon which a war operation should be based.  If the necessary minimum of logistics support cannot be given to the combatant forces involved, the operation may fail, or at best be only partially successful.” - Adm Raymond A. Spruance 

“Factors in the art of warfare are: First, calculations; second, quantities; third, logistics; fourth, the balance of power; and fifth, the possibility of victory is based on the balance of power.” - Sun Tzu 

"The line between disorder and order lies in logistics…” - Sun Tzu 

“And regulation entails organizational effectiveness, a chain of command, and a structure for logistical support.” - Sun Tzu 

“There are five kinds of incendiary attack: The first is called setting fire to personnel; the second, to stores; the third, to transport vehicles and equipment; the fourth, to munitions; the fifth, to supply installations…In all cases an army must understand the changes induced by the five kinds of incendiary attack, and make use of logistical calculations to address them.” - Sun Tzu 

“Strategy is to war what the plot is to the play; Tactics is represented by the role of the players; Logistics furnishes the stage management, accessories, and maintenance. The audience, thrilled by the action of the play and the art of the performers, overlooks all of the cleverly hidden details of stage management.” - Lt. Col George C. Thorpe: Pure Logistics (1917)

“International logistic coordination must always involve some invasion of the economic rights, independence, and sovereignty of each nation of the alliance.” - RAdm Henry E. Eccles: Logistics in the National Defense (1959) 

"In order to make assured conquests it is necessary always to proceed within the rules: to advance, to establish yourself solidly, to advance and establish yourself again, and always prepare to have within reach of your army your resources and your requirements." - Frederick the Great: Instructions for His Generals, ii, (1747)

"Logistics comprises the means and arrangements which work out the plans of strategy and tactics. Strategy decides where to act; logistics brings the troops to this point." - Jomini: Precis de l' Art de la Guerre. (1838)

"Logistics sets the campaign's operational limits. The lead time needed to arrange logistics support and resolve logistics concerns requires continuous integration of logistic considerations into the operational planning process. This is especially critical when available planning time is short. Constant coordination and cooperation between the combatant command and component staffs and with other combatant commands--is a prerequisite for ensuring timely command awareness and oversight of deployment, readiness, and sustainment issues in the theater of war." - Joint Pub 1: Joint Warfare of the Armed Forces of the United States

"Mobility is the true test of a supply system." - Captain Sir Basil Liddell Hart: Thoughts on War, (1944) 

“You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics.” - Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower

"As the link between the war front and the home front, the logistic process is at once the military element in the nation’s economy and the economic element in its military operations." - Duncan Ballantine 

"He conquers who endures." - Aulus Persius Flaccus, 34-62 A.D. 

"There is nothing more common than to find consideration of supply affecting the strategic lines of a campaign and a war." - Carl Von Clauswitz

"If your sword is too short, take one step forward." - Adm Togo Heihachiro, Commander of the Japanese Fleet at the Battle of Tsushima

"Modern war is a death grapple between peoples and economic systems, rather than a conflict of armies alone." - Bernard M. Baruch, 1870-1965 

“Logistics is the ‘practical art of moving armies.’” - Gen Antoine Henri Jomini 

“To wage war, you need first of all money; second, you need money, and third, you also need money.” - Prince Montecuccoli

Logistics..."embraces not merely the traditional functions of supply and transportation in the field, but also war finance, ship construction, munitions manufacture and other aspects of war economy." - Lt Col George C. Thorpe, Pure Logistics, 1917

“You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics.” - Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Logistics comprises the means and arrangements which work out the plans of strategy and tactics. Strategy decides where to act; logistics brings the troops to this point.” - Gen Antoine Henri Jomini, Precis de l'Art de la Guerre (The Art of  War), 1838

“Experience has taught me that manufacturers are now as necessary to our independence as to our comfort.” - Thomas Jefferson

“A little neglect may breed mischief: for want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost.” - Benjamin Franklin 

“Seldom will all logistics principles exert equal influence; usually one or two will dominate in any given situation. Identifying those principles that have priority in a specific situation is essential to establishing effective support.” - Joint Pub 4-0, Doctrine for Logistics Support of Joint Operations, Sep 25, 1992

“You realize when shoeing the horse that the shoe may be thrown -possibly causing the horse to run, so you have a mule on standby to get the rider to the war.” - Capt John P. Laverdure, Scott Air Force Base, HQ Air Mobility Command, 1996 

“Logistics Planning - The wisdom to realize when working on plan A, you'll run into conflicts in executing plan B and being properly prepared, and successfully executing plan E.” - Capt John P. Laverdure, Scott Air Force Base, HQ Air Mobility Command, 1996 

“Behind every great leader there was an even greater logistician.” - M. Cox 

“The programs of training and exercises form the final test of logistics readiness. Since the majority of junior officers and enlisted men in the logistics services are specialized in a technical field, sound technical training is their fundamental preparation for war. In addition, however, specific attention must be paid to the development of fundamental discipline, leadership, and personal versatility which are so vital to efficient logistics service under wartime conditions.” - RAdm Henry E. Eccles, USN, Log in the National Defense, 1959

“Logistics...in the broadest sense, the three big M's of warfare--material, movement, and maintenance. If international politics is 'the art of the possible,' and war is its instrument, logistics is the art of defining and extending the possible. It provides the substance that physically permits an army to live and move and have its being.” - James A. Huston, The Sinews of War: Army Logistics 1775-1953, 1966 

“Logistics...as vital to military success as daily food is to daily work.” - Capt Alfred Thayer Mahan, Armaments and Arbitration, 1912

“The ideal for all military forces is to reduce their logistical requirements to necessities only.” 
- Air Force Manual 1-1, Basic Aerospace Doctrine of the United States Air Force, Essay T, March 1992 

“Logistics sets the campaign's operational limits.” - Joint Pub 1, Joint Warfare of the U.S. Armed Forces, November 1991 

“The essence of flexibility is in the mind of the commander; the substance of flexibility is in logistics.” - RAdm Henry Eccles, U.S. Navy 

“Logistics must be simple--everyone thinks they're an expert.” - Anonymous 

“My logisticians are a humorless lot...they know if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay.” - Alexander 

“Logistics: The Profession - As a business professional with a vested career interest in the field of logistics, you are a part of a highly dynamic profession: current global developments and technological innovations are impacting logistics today as never before. While the logistics function's contributions to a firm's competitive strength have often been "invisible" in the past, many factors have coalesced to heighten its importance and visibility in the 1990s and beyond.” - CLM-National What It's All About 

“Throughout the struggle, it was in his logistic inability to maintain his armies in the field that the enemy's fatal weakness lay. Courage his forces had in full measure, but courage was not enough. Reinforcements failed to arrive, weapons, ammunition and food alike ran short, and the dearth of fuel caused their powers of tactical mobility to dwindle to the vanishing point. In the last stages of the campaign they could do little more than wait for the Allied advance to sweep over them.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower, British Army Doctrine Publication, Volume 3,  
Logistics (June 1996) p. 1-2 

“As we select our forces and plan our operations,....(w)e must understand how logistics can impact on our concepts of operation...Commanders must base all their concepts of operations on what they know they can do logistically.” - Lt Gen Alfred M. Gray, Jr., Marine Corps Gazette (July 1987)  

“Logistics comprises the means and arrangements which work out the plans of strategy and tactics. Strategy decides where to act; logistics brings the troops to this point. “ - General Antoine Henri Jomini, Summary of the Art of War 

“Logistics is the ball and chain of armoured warfare.” - Guderian 

“Above all, petrol governed every movement.” - Winston Churchill, on Allied operations during World War II

“It was a war begun as a fight for oil and ended by the lack of it.” - Asahi Shimbun, regarding World War II 

“In the long drawn out campaigns in Western Asia, with long marches and operations in barren desert or mountain, the generals had to re-learn the logistical lessons that Alexander had learned from his father fourteen centuries before the Crusades: plan properly, or die.” 
- Julian Thompson, Lifeblood of War, p. 26.

“…any commander with three months to prepare before he is besieged, who lays in only six days stocks of ammunition deserves to be censured in the strongest terms.” - Julian Thompson, Lifeblood of War, concerning the French debacle at Dien Bien Phu

“All comments and lessons from the logistics of campaigns should be leavened with the fact that this must be one of the few campaigns fought by a regular force since the internal combustion engine became generally available, where the widespread use of wheeled transport was not possible.  This, combined with the speed with which it was necessary to put the whole act together, and the enemy’s efforts to disrupt the act, makes it arguable that we were fortunate to have any logistics at all!” - I. Gardiner, British rifle company commander, Falklands Campaign

“He who owns the oil will own the world, for he will rule the sea by means of the heavy oils, the air by means of the ultra-refined oils, and the land by means of gasoline and the illuminating oils.” - Henri Berenger, French diplomat, 1921 

“To fight, we must have oil for our machine.” - Adolph Hitler

“No matter how well fed, equipped, or officered, without oil and gasoline the modern army is a hopeless monster, mire and marked for destruction.” - T.H. Vail Motter, U.S. Army Historian

“The primary cause of our failure was a shortage of fuel.” - General Paul von Kleist,    Commander, Panzer Forces, Army Group A in Russia

“Our ships sailed on water, but they moved on oil, and the demand never ceased.” - Rear Admiral W.R. Carter, U.S.N. Beans, Bullets and Black Oil

“The raids of the Allied air fleets on the German fuel supply installations were the most important of the combined factors which brought about the collapse of Germany.” - General Adolf Galland, Commander, German Fighter Force

“A plentiful and reliable supply of petroleum products was probably the single most vital factor in establishing Allied logistical superiority over the German Army.” - The Quartermaster Corps

“It was a war begun as a fight for oil and ended by the lack of it.” - Asahi Shimbun, on the Allied victory in the Pacific in World War II

"Forget logistics, you lose." - Lt. Gen. Fredrick Franks, USA, 7th Corps Commander, Desert Storm

"Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics." - Gen. Robert H. Barrow, USMC (Commandant of the Marine Corps) noted in 1980

"I am tempted to make a slightly exaggerated statement: that logistics is all of war-making, except shooting the guns, releasing the bombs, and firing the torpedoes."
- ADM Lynde D. McCormick, USN

"Logistics ... as vital to military success as daily food is to daily work."- Capt. Alfred Thayer Mahan, Armaments and Arbitration, 1912