As a result of the developments in the business sphere, the ultimate consumers create high expectations with respect to what the companies can offer them in relation to high-quality products, good prices and better services, including the after-sales ones. To attend to these expectations, the companies must invest in research and technology, in order to develop the respective competitive advantages, which guarantee that they will keep the clients and, consequently, continue or improve their market participation. Logistics has been one useful tool in this process. It has also improved and become one of the most important strategic activities within a supply chain, since logistics is present in the entire process of the chain, from the moment of raw material acquisition to the delivery of the finished product to the ultimate consumer. The success of the companies that obtain client satisfaction lies in the way they do things, that is, obtaining or manufacturing the right products, in the right place, at the right time and at the right cost. The total cost along the supply chain is the main variable to be considered and analyzed by the different participants that make up the chain: purchasers, suppliers and logistics staff. In the same way, the decision-making process determines the design of a decision model through which the following objectives are achieved: satisfied ultimate clients and low total costs. Finally, logistics within the supply chain is defined as the process of planning, implementing and controlling efficiency in the flow of cost, material, products and information, from the origin until the consumption. More and more, it involves a series of situations and participants that amplify its level of complexity to the extent that its effort increases in order to attend and satisfy the demands of the ultimate consumers.
logistics; total cost; supply chain; outsourcing; model; management; decision making
