The tasks of logistics and the logistician are memorably presented with the famous 6 Rs. The 6 Rs of logistics are the so-called “six right ones”:
  1. the right products
  2. in the right quality
  3. in the right quantity
  4. at the right place
  5. at the right time
  6. at the right cost
The core task of logistics is thus brought to the point. The 6 Rs impressively show that the task of logistics is to make goods available. But is this still up to date? Does this view really reflect the requirements of today's markets? Is this perspective at all helpful for the challenges for companies and supply chains in the 21st century? Can this approach be a supportive guiding idea for entrepreneurs, managers and employees in their daily work in a highly competitive environment?

From the 6 Rs to the 7 Rs – a quantum leap

Occasionally, you read or hear about the 7 Rs of logistics. The seventh R is often mentioned as “the right customer”. Some people (including my colleagues) find this unnecessary: isn't the right customer meant by the other Rs anyway? So why the “stupid” seventh R? However, this is precisely where the quantum leap from the classic logistics view to a customer-oriented perspective in the sense of supply chain management becomes apparent. The “right customer” means that every link in a service chain finds a downstream customer. And every link in an internal process chain is itself a customer, as a downstream link for an upstream location. This consistent “internal customer orientation” is the decisive step towards a comprehensive market orientation. How can you create an “internal market” for all process participants? Is this even feasible in practice? Let's take a closer look.

The resonance wave

If every element of a process chain regards the downstream unit as a customer and if units that were previously regarded as “remote from the market” (e.g. production, warehouse) (have to) consistently pursue customer orientation, a resonance wave will result. Thus, in the internal performance chain, each employee is both a supplier and a customer of services, at the same time an (internal) provider and an (internal) customer: “With consistent customer orientation, signals from the market and from external customers propagate in a kind of resonance wave to the furthest corners of the company” (Jochen May). But how can such a resonance wave function, and what environmental influences, transmitters and control units are necessary for it? Are there any models for it?

Learning from nature – the swarm

In the case of ants, the external environmental influence is, for example, a dwindling food source. Hunger is the transmitter and the division of labor in the ant colony is the control unit. In the case of migratory birds, the external environmental influences are possibly adverse wind conditions, so fatigue is the transmitter and the control unit is typically a temporary partnership in the form of a flock of birds. In terms of a company, the decisive environmental influence is typically significantly increased customer requirements, the necessary transmitter is the resonance wave in the sense of “internal, consistent customer orientation” and the necessary control unit for this is the business concept (business model). Thus, the end of the 6 Rs of logistics has long since been heralded. Logistics is now much more than just the optimization of material flows and the associated information flows from the development of a product to its delivery to the end consumer. Logistics is an essential part of a business model, and in the ideal case, it is a business model itself. But more on this in “The end of the 6 Rs of logistics? – Part 2”. You can also find more information about swarm intelligence in the article Swarm intelligence – What we logisticians can learn from ants – Part I.