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logistics

luh-JISS-tiks /ləˈdʒɪstɪks/

nounB2GREGMATIELTS

professionalbusiness

The detailed organization and execution of a complex operation involving the movement of materials, personnel, and equipment.

Refers specifically to the movement, storage, and timely delivery of resources across a timeline.

The story behind the word. Adopted into French military vocabulary as 'logistique' by Baron de Jomini in the 19th century, referring to the quartermaster's duty of lodging and moving troops. It entered civil engineering to describe the complex choreography of materials and machinery on site.

Word relationships

coordination: Broader term for bringing elements together, whereas logistics specifically emphasizes physical transport and resources.
distribution: Focuses primarily on delivering goods out to locations, rather than total site setup.

disorganization: Complete chaos and lack of structured movement or planning.

Commonly confused with

logic: Logic is clear reasoning; logistics is physical planning and resource transport.

Word family

logistical (adjective): Relating to logistics or site organization.
logistically (adverb): In a manner pertaining to logistics.

Collocations

site logistics
logistics management
supply chain logistics
complex logistics

Idioms & expressions

a logistical nightmare

Example sentences

"The site manager handled the logistics of getting fifty tons of steel through downtown city streets at dawn." Site Planning

Memory hook

LOGistics moves heavy LOGS and material on trucks to the site. Moving tools, trucks, and trades right on time.

When not to use

Avoid using logistics to refer to general abstract ideas; it implies concrete items, transport, and scheduling.

Fun facts

Military forces in WWII elevated logistics to a science, which was later adopted wholesale by modern mega-construction firms.