Logistics Services
Logistics, it can be termed as the groundbreaking strategic method that can manage the scarce resources. These days. The whole world seems to be highly depending on logistics and its associated services in order to fulfill the daily life needs. During the World War strategies One and Two the need of logistics was highly felt. During that period logistics services was going high on demand due to the supply of men and materials for the battle grounds.
Logistics, it can be termed as the groundbreaking strategic method that can manage the scarce resources. These days. The whole world seems to be highly depending on logistics and its associated services in order to fulfill the daily life needs. During the World War strategies One and Two the need of logistics was highly felt. During that period logistics services was going high on demand due to the supply of men and materials for the battle grounds. However, after that period the whole world came to know about the real importance behind logistics services and now many researches have been done to keep the whole topic up and strong. Now days logistics services are comprises of different branch of management strategiesand more number of researches are going on to boost the strength for these kind of unique services.
However, the prime elements of logistics comprises of inventory management strategiesthat are based on scientific methods. There are also some key parts of logistics like warehousing, transportation and distribution and all of these elements can truly form an effective logistics service when merged together. The main purpose behind logistics service is to move the goods and services from the point of manufacturing or origin to the point of consumption and for such transportation the logistics service needs to be adopting the least possible cost! Well, this seems to be a tough business for other transportation departments but logistics services are making this possible throughout the world.
If you will look for the most advanced country in the world that is USA, the total business created by the logistics industry is summed up around $700 billion. However, the vigorous growth in the technological department is certainly offering more help for the logistics service providers. Now these service providers can look for several software systems that will allow them to automatically generate the data thus they can maintain a quality course of action for the future.
There are several logistics service providers that are managing logistics system on their own and some of them are now looking for the third party logistics service provider, as the demand and needs are going too high. These third party logistics service providers are doing an excellent job by offering support for some of the prime branches for logistics services like warehousing, transportation and distribution. These are the services that the manufacturers of products are exactly requiring these days to move their products for several part of the world. In this way logistics services are offering a great mode for product manufacturers that are looking for the globalization of their business.
At the dawn of the millennium, the first tsunami of the commodity cycle is slated to top out by the late 2010s. Under normal conditions, the upswing would then be followed by a bear market spanning a stretch of 17 years or so.
On the other hand, we do not live in normal times. The industrialization of the planet is gobbling up huge amounts of raw materials ranging from copper and iron to zinc and oil. The upswell is compounded by the groundswell of prosperity as billions of consumers enter the global market for the first time and demand their share of the goodies ranging from gold and silver to coffee and beef.
The tidal wave of newborn demand for natural resources will tower above any upsurge that the world has seen in the past. In the absence of a global catastrophe - such as nuclear war, doomsday plague, or killer asteroid - the industrialization of the planet will continue apace during the first half of the 21st century.
For this reason, the next couple of bear markets in natural resources will be short and shallow as never before in the history of the planet. In that case, the downswing will be far shorter and milder.
As a guideline, the downswings are apt to last only a decade or so. The takedowns will swiftly be overtaken by a resurgence of demand for natural resources as the global economy takes flight once more.
A Selection of Tips
The tidal wave of the gold market is closely tied to the fortunes of natural resources in general. The commodity complex as a whole is subject to recurrent patterns in the marketplace. These factors are discussed in greater depth in a set of articles titled Market Cycles. A link to the collection is provided below in the Resources section.
A write-up at Wikipedia provides an introduction to gold, including a brief sketch of industrial applications for the metal. The article - simply called “Gold” - is linked below.
Another article at Wikipedia provides an introduction to gold as a target for investment. A link to the primer is given below.
There are several ways to invest in gold. One approach is to own the metal directly by taking possession of bullion or coin.
The traditional form of bullion is lump in the form of a bar or a brick. However, the sizable weight and hefty cost of each block are deterrents against ownership for the small investor.
A variation on the theme is a small chip which is less than the size of a credit card. The weight of a single foil is usually 1 gram or more in metric units. Starting from the high end of the scale, the bulk of a single leaf might be 1 ounce (about 28 grams) or less.
The second mode of ownership is indirect. An investor may obtain exposure to the metal by way of a financial instrument.
For the vast majority of participants in the marketplace, the first exposure to investing takes the form of stocks in a variety of industries ranging from computers and retailing to hotels and utilities. Given this backdrop, the stock market is a fitting point of departure for a sally into the gold market.
For this purpose, a convenient vehicle is an exchange traded fund (ETF) which holds a stake in a stockpile of gold. The stalwart in this domain is the Gold Shares fund which forms part of the product family known as the Standard & Poor's Depository Receipts (SPDR). The shares in the fund may be bought and sold like any other stock in the U.S. The ticker symbol for the equity is GLD.
Another approach is to buy financial derivatives based on the metal. An obvious instrument is a futures contract or an option on a contract. On the downside, the futures market is a complex arena which is completely unsuitable for many investors.
One of the most popular schemes is to buy shares in companies that have a stake in the industry. An example in this vein is a prospector or miner of gold.
On the other hand, buying a stake in individual firms is a risky proposition. The prospect of bankruptcy is especially high in the mining segment. For this reason, only a full-time player who is willing to spend half a decade or more working in the industry, and paying personal visits to hundreds or thousands of mines should consider investing in the equities of individual firms.
For the vast majority of investors, the sensible approach is to buy a small stake in an exchange traded fund that owns shares of dozens of companies in the gold industry. The standard bearer in this arena is a pool known as the Market Vectors Gold Miners. The shares of the fund are traded in the U.S. under the ticker symbol of GDX.
A Smattering of Caveats
Raw materials are subject to wild swings in price. Moreover, the equities of companies in the commodity sector - ranging from explorers and miners to smelters and wholesalers - tend to thrash even more than the metal itself.
An extreme example lies in a sudden change in outlook for a prospector. If the company happens to hit the jackpot, then its stock could jump in price by a factor of a thousand or more.
On the other hand, the small fry are far more likely to end up going bankrupt than to reap a bonanza. According to some estimates, only 1 out of 5,000 projects turn out to be profitable. Given the flimsy odds of success, buying a ticket for the state lottery would make more sense for the vast majority of potential investors.
Even in the case of the major players in the mining industry, the investor has to take care to investigate the field thoroughly before committing any funds. Moreover, the potential returns have to be traded off with the risk of stupendous volatility in the value of the stock as well as the sizable chance of complete ruin.
In nearly all cases, investors who wish to get some exposure to equities in the gold market ought to spring for index funds rather than the stocks of individual companies. An index fund, preferably in the form of an exchange traded fund, would protect the investor to a large degree from the risk of a complete wipeout even if a number of companies in the index were to go bankrupt.
Given the risks at hand, a stake in the gold market - whether by way of bullion, coinage, equities or other modes - the investor ought to allocate only a modest amount of their portfolio to the arena. Most of all, the gamer should make sure that they do not lose any sleep over the maelstrom in the marketplace.
Looking at the larger picture, long-range planning is a challenging task beset by a slew of of blunders. One way to reduce the frequency and severity of goofs is to keep in mind the ways in which predictions can go awry.
These issues are examined in a set of articles titled, Strategic Planning. A link to the resource is provided below.
Moving Forward
This article has presented a set of pointers for a coherent approach to the gold market. Depending on the circumstances of the investor, the next step is to investigate a variety of topics in greater detail. The results of the probe will serve as the backdrop for matching the external environment of the gold market against the individual circumstances of the planner in order to thrash out a compelling course of investment strategy.
Resources on the Web
Gold - Article at Wikipedia.
Gold as an Investment - Article at Wikipedia.
How to Invest in Gold: Top 3 Exchange Traded Funds - Article at eHow.
Market Cycles - Collection at Knol.
Rosia Montana - Article at Wikipedia.
Strategic Planning - Collection at Knol.
Trends in Gold: Guidelines and Top Videos for Investment Planning - Article at HubPages.
