Identification of the similarities and differences of logistics controller, manager and specialist. A study based on a content analysis

• Pages: 261-283
• Published date: 11 February 2019
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-10-2017-0281
• Date: 11 February 2019
• Author: Justyna Dobroszek,Paulo Mourao,Lena Grzesiak
• Subject Matter: Management science & operations,Logistics

Identification of the similarities

and differences of logistics

controller, manager and specialist

A study based on a content analysis

Justyna Dobroszek

Faculty of Management, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland

Paulo Mourao

Department of Economics, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal, and

Lena Grzesiak

Faculty of Management, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the similarities and differences of occupational

identity among logistics managers, controllers and specialists.

Design/methodology/approach –After a thorough review of the literature, the authors opted for desk

research and content analysis of job advertisements for these three occupations as the major research method,

focusing on a sample of 60 Polish and German advertisements.

Findings –The analysis of these data confirmed that the three occupations have their ownidentity (although

there is a certain closeness between controllers and managers), but, from a holistic perspective of logistics

management considering current trends in logistics, these three occupations should be integrated as a whole.

Originality/value –This has been the first paper comparing ads focused on logistics professionals in two

relevant European economies in terms of logistics development: Poland and Germany.

Keywords Europe, Case study, Logistics industry, Supply chain competences, Logistics competences,

Logistics management, Logistics controller, Logistics manager, Logistics specialist

Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction

Krawczyk (2000, p. 37) defined logistics management (LM) as an activity encompassing

numerous coordinated activities and using appropriate management and control tools to

carry them out, both inside and outside an organization. The feasibility of logistics activities

depends on the availability of tangible and human resources. The latter consists of

employees with adequate work experience and competences, thereby determining the

effectiveness of LM.

LM has recently gained more importance, as business forms and structures increasingly

operate through networks of entities situated all over the world. The prerequisite to the

effective management of such complex organizations is the proper flowof resources, which is

provided by logistics playing an increasingly significant role in contemporary economies.

Nowakowski (2011, pp. 8–11) reported that business volumes in the logistics sectors of EU

economies (mainly in transport) have grown since the beginning of the twenty-first century.

The popularity of the logistics industry in economies (manifested by the growing number of

logistics companies, and the increasing importance of logistics as a business function in

enterprises) has made it more competitive. In addition to these premises, other factors

describing the new trends in logistics should be added, such as innovation, efficient use of

resources, sustainable development, IT solutions, cost reduction pressure, financial

(logistic costs an d profitability) and non-financ ial measurement in logistics, an d

information reporting within supply chains (e.g. Straube and Pfohl, 2008; Fontius, 2013).

The International Journal of

Logistics Management

Vol. 30 No. 1, 2019

pp. 261-283

© Emerald PublishingLimited

0957-4093

DOI 10.1108/IJLM-10-2017-0281

Received 28 October 2017

Revised 30 January 2018

6 April 2018

26 May 2018

29 May 2018

Accepted 29 May 2018

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-4093.htm

261

Logistics

controller,

manager and

specialist

Such components have stimulated the development of specialists operating in logistics and

LM. Among the wide rangeof logistics occupations (Logistik –die wichtigsten Berufe, 2017),

we have considered three logistics occupations for further analysis: logistics controller,

logistics manager, and logistics specialist, all of which are crucial to the management of

logistics processes and systems.

In view of the above, we want to discuss the profiles of these three emerging occupations

in the economies of Eastern Europe. Although each occupational group is separate with its

own characteristics to carry out its own tasks, as a review of the literature will demonstrate,

the specificities demanded by each occupation, as observed in a sample of job

advertisements, might challenge this evidence.

The aim of the paper is to demonstrate the similarities and differences of occupational

identity among logistics managers, controllers, and specialists according to a content

analysis from a sample constructed by analyzing available job advertisements.

The rest of the paper is as follows. The second section discusses the theoretical

background to the development of logistics and LM and its importance in business practice

and the economy. It also presents the profiles of the selected occupations dealing with

logistics in a business context, mainly LM. The third section explains the research

methodology and demonstrates the findings of the analysis and discussion in this regard.

The paper concludes with a fourth section.

2. Theoretical background and motivation of the paper

2.1 Logistics and LM development and their dimensions in the context of selected

occupations

Logistics is variously defined by researchers, and its explanation depends on the

concentration of the development phase and the functions performed. One of the most recent

explanations is that logistics is integrated planning, shaping, and development, as well as

the control of material and information flow from suppliers of an enterprise, through this

enterprise, and then from it to the final customer (Kortschak, 2001). Pfohl (2010) and

Badenhorst-Weiss and Waugh (2014) stated that logistics includes the flow of materials and

goods from supply through production and then the flow of finished products or semi-

finished products for sale, i.e., to the customer. Researchers have emphasized that logistics

consists of all activities related to time and spatial transformation of goods and related

information processes. These descriptions reflect the fourth and current phase of logistics

development (logistics as Supply Chain Management (SCM) specified, for example, in the

approach proposed by Weber, 2012, pp. 6–22).The phases detailed in the German literature

should not only be associated with an organizational perspective of logistics, but also with

management aspects in this regard. According to Weber (2012, pp. 6–22), the first phase of

logistics development refers to a functional specialization behind which the company’s

logistics is understood. This phase consists of transport, repacking, and storage, which are

seen as separate functional areas. The focus is put on the operational provision of material

flow and sales of goods to customers in this framework. Furthermore, many of the logistic

tasks are carried out by specialists operating, for example, in the supply, production, or

sales departments. In the second phase, logistics as a coordinating function goes beyond the

boundaries of the enterprise and combines the sphere of supply and distribution. Logistics

here still refers to the physical coordination of the flow of materials and goods, but

particularly emphasizes planning and production control in the organization. At this stage,

logistics departments have gained an importance in organizational structures with their

responsibility for a coordination of flows. In the third phase, logistics reflects the perspective

of the flow of both physical resources and information, which is important with regard to

current trends in logistics and the needs of customers. In addition, emphasis is placed on

various factors in this phase, such as an optimization of logistics processes; a creation of not

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