IV. Speaking Practice

1. Read the interview below, give its Russian interpretation.

A.	There are so many people discussing Logistics functions in the corporate setting. It’s obvious. Mr. Braun, are you ready to explain the reason of it?
B.	Well, this is attributed to the fact that a company’s material management system plays a huge role towards corporate success.
A.	It’s well-known that logistics has been used throughout history. Military campaigns sparked the first need for logistics management. But about business?
B.	Logistics as a business concept evolved only in the 1950s. This was mainly due to the increasing complexity of supplying one’s business with materials and shipping out products in an increasingly globalized supply chain, calling for experts in the field who are called Supply Chain Logisticians.
A.	Am I right to define it roughly as having the right item in the right quantity at the right time at the right place for the right price in the right condition to the right customer?
B.	You are right, well done. Logistics is the science of process and incorporates all industry sectors.
A.	So much it encompasses! Is it possible to state the final aim of logistics?
B.	Well, I’d say, the goal of logistics work is to manage the fruition of project life cycles, supply chains and resultant efficiencies.
A.	What about people and their personal touch? One would not say it is easy to manage all you’ve just mentioned.
B.	It’s not easy at all. A logistician is a professional logistics practitioner. Professional logisticians are often certified by professional associations. Some universities and academic institutions train students as logisticians, by offering undergraduate and postgraduate programs. As for personal characteristics, a logistician is supposed to be well-organized sober-minded, intent, level-headed, practical, rational and… oh, yes, logical.
A.	One more thing to add a logistician should have computer brains. Well, and what are the main functions of this computer?
B.	The main functions of a qualified logistician include inventory management, purchasing, transportation, warehousing, consultation and the organizing and planning of these activities. Logisticians combine a professional knowledge of each of these functions so that there is a coordination of resources in an organization.
A.	As there are so many functions of logistics, I’d suppose there should be some subdivision within business logistics itself. Am I right?
B.	Yes, you are. To put it briefly, in business, logistics may have either internal focus (inbound logistics), or external focus (outbound logistics) covering the flow and storage of materials from point of origin to point of consumption. And one more thing to say here: there are two fundamentally different forms of logistics. One optimizes a steady flow of material through a network of transport links and storage nodes. The other coordinates a sequence of resources to carry out some project.
A.	Mr. Braun, thank you very much for the profound lecture on logistics you gave us.
B.	You are welcome. And thank you for being good company.