China federation of logistics and purchasing after four years of hard work, organize the experts to write the national standard "logistics term", on August 1, 2001, general administration of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine has been officially released. According to the national standard "logistics term", the logistics is: "the goods from the supplier to accept the entity flow process. According to the actual need, transportation, storage, loading and unloading, handling, packaging, circulation processing, distribution, information processing basic function such as organic combination of implementation." Here include the following contents:

First, the logistics is a process, is a kind of new flow operation mode. In order to guarantee continuous production and reproduction, guarantee the need of people's life, there is a all of the goods from supplier to accept the flow of the process, regardless of the supplier and accept in any parts of the earth. Formed the local, regional and global logistics system.

Second, the logistics is a kind of integration. Is in addition to the production of goods flow form all necessary elements of logistics resources integration through the market. This resource including transportation, storage, loading and unloading, handling, packaging, circulation processing, distribution, information processing, etc., transport also includes railways, highways, waterways, aviation and pipeline in five aspects.

Third, the logistics is a kind of management. All goods to flowing, and to form supply chains, and to achieve the lowest cost, here is not only to use information technology, to realize optimization management.

Fourth, the logistics is a service. Here refers to the "actual need" is in fact the logistics needs of customers, no logistics demand, no logistics, no service for the customer, no supply chain, logistics, there is no existence value, third party logistics especially attaches great importance to the logistics service.

Logistics industry originated in the late 19th century early 20th century, but the real development, the formation of a new industry also only 20 years of time, all over the world, is in the life cycle of development, the starting period for China is in the life cycle. For the role of the logistics industry, many economists have incisive discussion at home and abroad. Some think that logistics is every country's economic growth "black continent", is "accelerator" of economic development; Some think that logistics is "to reduce resource consumption and improve labor productivity after the third profit source", is "reduce cost at the end of the border." Some think that logistics is "a piece of not being a virgin land reclamation. Wu pointed out that the logistics industry is China's "the important industry and new economic growth point of national economy."

- the logistics industry will change a country and the world economic operation mode.

, logistics industry will change, an enterprise of a country and the world commodity circulation service mode. Logistics is a kind of service concept, the customer need is his orders, as the third-party logistics companies should be one thousand ways to achieve them.

- the logistics industry will change people's way of life.

Since China's reform and opening up, especially in the period of the ninth five-year plan, China's logistics industry began to take off, after joining the WTO, China will accelerate the development of logistics industry. But a big problem is the lack of logistics professionals, logistics development is not only a practical demands, but also the strategic measure of national economic development. In the 21st century, competition in the final analysis is the talent competition. Both in developed countries and China's economic development, be badly in need of a large number of engaged in distribution, logistics, supply chain, chain, and electronic business management of modern management talent, especially to use modern science and technology to integrated logistics system and logistics technology and equipment research, design, technology development and management, senior technical personnel.

The current logistics talent supply and demand of contrast is too big, must be carried out on multi-level, diversified logistics education.

(1) to strengthen academic education. Competent government education departments, and allow the institutions of higher learning should be encouraged to set up logistics professional and related professional courses, training senior management talents in the logistics field;

(2) attaches great importance to the continuing education. Guidance to the enterprises, industry organizations and private education institutions to participate in and conduct multi-level logistics personnel training and education;

(3) of logistics professional education. Draw lessons from international experience, promote the logistics in the logistics industry practitioners qualification management system, is affected by the degree of education, according to its logistics professional knowledge and skills, expertise, confirm it can work in the logistics.

The cultivation of logistics talents has its certain characteristics, modern logistics as a huge open system into the national economic and arterial system, is a cross-regional, cross-trade and cross department of industry, connected to the various sectors of society - the railway transport, road transport, water transport, air transport, pipeline transport, storage, packing, loading and unloading, circulation processing, distribution, postal, telecommunications, etc., thus it has four characteristics, namely, service industry, more comprehensive and basic. Based on the understanding of logistics practice and laws of logistics also has many scientific nature, its overlapping, edge line, the characteristics of comprehensive. Beginning in the 1950 s until the 21st century, the new concepts related to the logistics, the new idea, new technology emerge in endlessly, the scope is very wide, none of the existing disciplines can cover. Logistics have their own specific research object, research content and method, has its own theoretical system, therefore, the logistics is a cross emerging discipline. It belongs to the economics, management science, engineering, science, etc cross each other emerging disciplines. The subject of systematic and seriation determines its have to be integrated with related disciplines, rather than being replaced by a subject or from belongs to a particular subject.