Previously, the purpose of implementing logistics management was to achieve the established customer service level at the lowest possible total cost, that is, to seek a dynamic balance between service advantage and cost advantage, and thus create a strategic advantage in the competition. According to this goal, the basic problem of logistics management is to provide the right products to customers at the right time and place at the right quantity and price.

Logistics management emphasizes the use of systematic methods to solve problems. Modern logistics is generally considered to be composed of transportation, storage, packaging, loading and unloading, circulation and processing, distribution and information. Each link originally has its own functions, interests and concepts. The system method is to use modern management methods and modern technology to make all links share the overall information, and organize and manage all links as an integrated system, so that the system can provide competitive customer service at the lowest possible total cost. The system method believes that the benefits of the system are not simply the sum of the benefits of each local link. Systematic method means that for a certain aspect of the problem, all the influencing factors should be analyzed and evaluated. Starting from this idea, the logistics system does not simply pursue the lowest cost in each link, because the benefits of each link of logistics tend to affect and restrict each other, and there is an alternating vulnerable relationship. For example, overemphasizing the saving of packaging materials may lead to an increase in transportation and handling costs due to their easy damage. Therefore, the systematic approach emphasizes the analysis of the total cost and the application of avoiding the second best effect and cost tradeoff, so as to achieve the lowest total cost and meet the established customer service level.