Logistics Network Design learning path: everything to study, topic by topic

How a distribution network strategy supports business goals, the link between network design and customer service, and why network structure drives logistics cost and speed

The echelons of a distribution network, from plants and central warehouses to regional and local facilities, and how the number of tiers shapes inventory, cost, and reach

The cost-to-serve concept, how the true cost of serving a customer or channel is built up from logistics activities, and how cost-to-serve analysis guides network and service decisions

The competing objectives that a network design must balance, including service level, total cost, flexibility, and risk, and how the chosen objective set frames every later design decision

The choice between greenfield analysis, which finds ideal locations with no constraints, and brownfield analysis, which works within existing sites, and when each approach fits a network project

The factors that drive distribution center site selection, including proximity to demand, transport access, labor availability, and land and operating cost, and how they are weighed against each other

Center-of-gravity modeling for locating a facility near weighted demand, how demand volumes and distances feed the calculation, and the limits of the method as a first-pass siting tool

Designing the distribution center footprint, deciding how many DCs to operate and where, and how the number and placement of DCs trades off outbound transport cost against facility and inventory cost

Push and pull flow strategies across a network, where the push-pull boundary sits, and how forecast-driven push and demand-driven pull are combined in a hybrid flow design

Inventory placement across the echelons of a network, choosing between centralized and decentralized stock, and how multi-echelon inventory positioning balances service against holding cost

Postponement strategy, delaying final product configuration until demand is known, the role of the decoupling point, and how postponement reduces inventory risk in a variable-demand network

The basics of network optimization, framing a design as an objective function with constraints, the role of mixed-integer modeling, and how an optimizer searches for a least-cost feasible network

Scenario modeling for network design, building baseline and what-if scenarios, running sensitivity analysis on key assumptions, and comparing scenarios to choose a robust network design

The tools and data behind network modeling, the role of network design software and a clean data model, and how data quality and the right granularity determine the credibility of a study

Designing the transport mode mix in a network, balancing road, rail, ocean, and air against cost and speed, and how the mode mix interacts with DC placement and service commitments

Hub-and-spoke network structures, how a hub consolidates flow before distribution to spokes, and how hub-and-spoke trades route efficiency against transit time and handling

Freight consolidation in network design, combining shipments to raise load fill, using cross-docking and pooling, and how consolidation lowers cost while protecting service

Total landed cost in network design, building up product, transport, warehousing, inventory, and duty costs, and using landed cost to compare network options on a like-for-like basis

Setting service-level targets in network design, defining lead-time and fill-rate goals, segmenting service by customer and product, and how higher service usually raises network cost

Capacity planning in network design, sizing facilities and transport for peak and average demand, building in buffer capacity, and trading capacity cost against the risk of capacity shortfall

The cost-service frontier in network design, mapping the efficient trade-off curve between total cost and service, identifying dominated options, and choosing a point that fits the strategy

Network risk and redundancy, identifying single points of failure, designing in redundant capacity and alternate routes, and balancing the cost of redundancy against disruption exposure

Carbon footprint and sustainability in network design, measuring emissions from transport and facilities, designing a lower-carbon network, and balancing carbon goals against cost and service

Nearshoring and global footprint strategy, weighing offshore cost advantage against resilience and speed, deciding when to nearshore or regionalize, and how footprint strategy reshapes the whole network