A concept for evaluating logistics management in a micro-trading enterprise

Abstract

The scientific literature only makes available a few publications focused on micro, small, and medium‐sized trading enterprises management, including logistics management. The scarcity of content in the described thematic context may reduce the organization’s competitive ability; therefore, aiming to increase the competitiveness of micro‐trading enterprises, it is necessary to analyze the processes in them, evaluate their functioning and support their development. In this article, the concept of evaluating logistics management in a micro‐trading enterprise consists of two stages: process mapping and evaluating logistics management in the system of decision‐making problems specific to micro‐ trading enterprises.

Process mapping, as one of the methods to analyze all the activities and relationships occurring in a micro‐trading enterprise, is the beginning of a development identified with improvement and the implementation of new optimization solutions. Relationships between trade functions and trade decision‐making problems, complemented by a semistructured interview, help to identify problematic elements in the process. On this basis, logistics management can be evaluated, and similar solutions can be proposed to suport the entire process. The proposed concept for evaluating logistics management in a micro‐trading company includes: process analysis, semi‐structured interview, and analysis of answers obtained during the interview with the respondent.