The kinds of logistics
Home — The kinds of logistics
Fifteen named branches of the trade, and which of them a Malaysian forwarder actually runs.
One word covering fifteen different jobs
“Logistics” is used for everything from a courier van to a naval supply chain, which makes it almost useless as a description of what a company does. The trade divides itself into named branches, and knowing the names is how you tell whether a supplier does the thing you actually need.
Below are the fifteen you will meet, and then the honest part: which of them NL runs, and which are simply other people’s work.
The ones NL actually runs
A list of fifteen is only useful if somebody says which ones they do. These are ours, matched to the service lines on this site.
What we run
Six of the fifteen
Freight
Sea, land and air, FCL and LCL, on the lanes we run regularly.
International
Cross-border movement, clearance and documentation — licence PF0247.
Warehouse
Storage, handling and inventory across our own facilities.
Inbound and outbound
Haulage in from suppliers and out to customers.
Project
Oversized and heavy lifts, and event cargo with a fixed date.
Last-mile
Through M-hantaQ, the group’s own delivery product.
Best for
Each of these has a service page on this site with the detail behind it.
What we do not
The rest of the list
Cold chain
We are JAKIM halal certified for logistics; temperature-controlled carriage is a separate capability.
E-commerce fulfilment
Order-level pick and pack is a different operation from freight.
Reverse logistics
Returns and recycling programmes are not a line we run.
4PL
We manage our own shipments rather than other providers’.
Military and humanitarian
Specialist fields with their own contracting and clearances.
Best for
Saying so is more useful than a list that implies everything.
How the trade divides itself up
These overlap. A single shipment can be international, freight, warehouse and last-mile logistics in turn.
01 Inbound
Movement of raw materials and components from suppliers into manufacturing facilities.
02 Outbound
Delivery of finished goods from warehouses or distribution centres onward to customers.
03 Reverse
Returns, repairs, recycling and the safe disposal of products and packaging.
04 Third-party (3PL)
Outsourced logistics — transport, warehousing and distribution handled by a third party.
05 Fourth-party (4PL)
End-to-end supply chain management, coordinating 3PLs and other service providers.
06 E-commerce
Fulfilment, packing, shipping and returns for online orders.
07 Cold chain
Temperature-controlled storage and transport of perishables — food, pharmaceuticals, vaccines.
08 Freight
Planning and management of cargo moving by sea, air, road or rail.
09 International
Cross-border transport, customs clearance, documentation and global supply chain management.
10 Warehouse
Storage, handling, inventory management and internal movement within a warehouse.
11 Last-mile
Final delivery from a distribution hub to the customer’s door — the most watched mile.
12 Project
Specialised transport and handling of oversized, heavy or complex equipment.
13 Green
Environmentally sustainable practices to cut emissions and waste and conserve resources.
14 Military
Supply chain and logistics support for defence operations and strategic missions.
15 Humanitarian
Movement and distribution of relief supplies during disasters and emergencies.
Why the categories matter when you are buying
The question behind the label
Which branch does this supplier actually operate, and which do they subcontract?
Most shipments cross several of these branches, and a supplier who runs one and subcontracts the rest is not wrong — but you should know which is which before something goes wrong. Ask which parts are theirs, which are bought in, and who answers the phone when a container is stuck. The right strategy lowers cost and builds a supply chain that survives a bad week; the wrong one just moves the risk somewhere you cannot see it.
The kinds of logistics — the one-page version
The whole guide on a single sheet, sized for WhatsApp and for A4. Ours to give away.