The management of logistical (物流的) operation is about movement and storage of materials and finished products. Logistical operations start with the initial shipment of a material or component part from a supplier and are finished when a manufactured or processed product is delivered to a customer. From the initial purchase of a material or component, the logistical process adds value by moving inventory (移动库存) when and where needed. If all goes well, a material gains value at each step of its transformation into finished inventory. In other words, an individual part has greater value after it is put into a machine. Likewise, the machine has greater value once it is delivered to a buyer. To support manufacturing, work-in-process inventory must be moved to support final assembly. The cost of each component and its movement becomes part of the value-added process. The final or meaningful value that is added occurs only with final ownership transfer of products to customers when and where specified. For a large manufacturer, logistical operations may consist of thousands of movements, which finally develop into the delivery of products to an industrial user, retailer, wholesaler, dealer, or other customer. For a large retailer, logistical operations may start with gaining products for resale and may finish with consumer pickup or delivery. For a hospital, logistics starts with purchasing and ends with full support of patient surgery and recovery. The significant point is that regardless of the size and type of enterprise, logistics is essential and requires continuous management attention. For better understanding it is useful to divide logistical operations into three areas: physical distribution, manufacturing support, and procurement(筹措、采购) . Logistical operations are concerned with______.