Logistics Director EA FAQs — Why do 180 IT Projects ≠ Logistics Enterprise Architecture?
- Sunil Dutt Jha
- Dec 10
- 5 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Most logistics organisations still treat Enterprise Architecture as an IT exercise, which is why EA efforts don’t change delivery reliability, transit time variability, cost leakage, network efficiency, partner coordination, or customer experience.
Logistics EA ≠ Logistics IT.
This Director EA FAQ explains where traditional EA breaks down and how a true enterprise anatomy reveals the structure that IT alone cannot see, align, or repair.
It explains the logic of shadow anatomies, 12 logistics use cases, and the One Logistics One Anatomy™ advantage.
Q1: Why do 180 IT projects ≠ Logistics Enterprise Architecture?
Myth:
Logistics EA = Logistics IT (TMS + WMS + fleet systems + tracking platforms + partner portals).
Reality:
A logistics enterprise operates through 15 departments (D1–D15) such as Network Planning, Line-haul Operations, Warehouse Operations, Fleet Management, Route Planning, Last-Mile Delivery, Customs & Compliance, Partner Management, Customer Operations, Billing, Claims, Finance, and Risk — each with its own P1–P6 execution cycle.
Logistics IT is only one department.
EA (IT) ≠ Enterprise Anatomy.
A project inventory cannot show how network design, routing logic, capacity decisions, cost rules, partner constraints, and service commitments align across the enterprise.
Q2. Why do so many IT projects fail to represent the logistics enterprise?
Because logistics IT automates only small fragments of P5 tasks, while the real operating architecture of logistics lives in P1–P4, not in the task layer.
Every logistics department operates on a full P1–P6 structure:
P1 (Strategy) defines network design, service promises, cost targets, and risk posture.
P2 (Processes) defines booking, planning, pickup, line-haul, warehousing, last-mile delivery, billing, and claims.
P3 (System logic) defines routing rules, consolidation logic, capacity constraints, pricing rules, exception handling, and SLA prioritisation.
P4 (Component Spec) defines route tables, hub plans, rate cards, capacity models, partner contracts, and datasets.
This is the architecture of the logistics enterprise.
Most IT projects touch P5 only — automating selected tasks such as shipment creation, tracking updates, POD capture, invoicing, or reporting — while P1–P4 remains fragmented, manual, or interpreted differently across regions and partners.
The mismatch is structural:
IT systems automate tasks.
Logistics runs on network, routing, and cost architecture.
Because P1–P4 was never architected:
• routing logic varies by region and planner
• consolidation rules differ across hubs
• capacity assumptions diverge across functions
• partner SLAs are interpreted inconsistently
• billing logic mismatches service execution
• exception handling is local and reactive
Logistics IT does not fail because systems are weak. It fails because it is built on an incomplete representation of the enterprise.
Q3. What drives the high project count in the logistics industry?
Logistics is a network-heavy, rule-dense enterprise where every change cascades across functions.
A new lane impacts routing, pricing, capacity, and partner contracts.
A volume shift affects consolidation, hub capacity, fleet utilisation, and cost.
A regulatory change alters customs processes, documentation, and timelines.
A partner change impacts service reliability, billing, and claims.
A customer SLA change affects routing priority, cost, and delivery sequencing.
High project count reflects network and rule complexity, not IT inefficiency.
Q4. What is unique about the logistics industry’s 15 Functions (D1–D15)?
Each logistics organisation has a distinctive 15-function anatomy (D1–D15 × P1–P6).
Logistics highlights:
D1 Network Planning – governs lane design and hub strategy
D3 Route Planning – governs sequencing and optimisation logic
D5 Warehouse Operations – governs consolidation and handling rules
D7 Line-haul Operations – governs schedules and capacity
D9 Last-Mile Delivery – governs dispatch and service execution
D11 Partner Management – governs contract and SLA enforcement
D13 Customs & Compliance – governs regulatory adherence
These functions generate the strongest P1–P6 drift when not aligned.
Shadow anatomies emerge when regions and partners optimise locally.
Q5. What does P1–P6 look like in the logistics industry?
This explains how strategy (P1) → operations (P6) breaks down.
P1 Strategy: network design, service mix, cost and margin targets.
P2 Process: booking, planning, pickup, movement, delivery, billing, claims.
P3 Logic: routing rules, consolidation logic, pricing and SLA rules.
P4 Components: route tables, rate cards, hub layouts, contracts, datasets.
P5 Implementation: TMS/WMS transactions, scans, updates, SOPs, manual overrides.
P6 Operations: planners, drivers, warehouse teams applying rules differently.
Logistics drift occurs when these layers no longer form one integrated sequence.
Q6. We already have extensive architecture documentation. Why redo this?
Myth:
More documentation means we understand the enterprise.
Reality:
Documentation shows parts of the logistics organisation. Enterprise Anatomy shows the organisation as one integrated model.
Think of the human body.
It has 11 organ systems. Each has its own role, but none operate independently. They function as one integrated system with thousands of interdependencies.
A logistics enterprise is the same.
A logistics anatomy = 15 Functions (D1–D15) × 6 Perspectives (P1–P6).
Traditional documentation describes systems, SOPs, routes, and reports separately — but never shows:
• how network design drives routing outcomes
• how cost rules affect delivery behaviour
• how partner logic conflicts with planning
• how exceptions propagate across the network
• where structural inefficiencies originate
You get a library — not a model.
One Logistics One Anatomy™ collapses complexity into one integrated enterprise model.
Q7. How do we evolve from EA (IT) → EA (Departments) → One Logistics One Anatomy™?
Most organisations stop at EA = IT architecture.
The next evolution is:
Step 1: Elevate EA (IT)
Create the P1–P4 model of Logistics IT itself — IT strategy, IT processes, IT logic, IT components.
Step 2: Create EA (Departments)
Map 15 logistics functions end-to-end (P1–P6).
Step 3: Create One Logistics One Anatomy™
Unify all departmental models into one enterprise anatomy governing network, movement, cost, and service.
This is where drift stops — and reliability returns.
Q8. What can One Logistics One Anatomy™ do that traditional EA cannot?
Traditional EA documents systems. It cannot see that every logistics function operates its own shadow anatomy.
In reality:
• Network planning runs one optimisation logic • Routing teams apply different priorities • Warehouses optimise for local efficiency • Line-haul focuses on asset utilisation • Last-mile teams optimise delivery speed • Finance applies different cost logic
Across regions, partners, and hubs, this creates hundreds of shadow anatomies.
Traditional EA documents this fragmentation. One Logistics One Anatomy™ replaces it.
It establishes:
• one shared P1 network and service intent • one P2 operational flow across planning and execution • one P3 logic layer for routing, pricing, and SLAs • one P4 definition of routes, rates, and datasets • aligned P5 execution • predictable P6 operations
This allows logistics organisations to address enterprise-wide failures and department-specific issues using the same structural model.
That is something traditional EA cannot do — because it never models logistics as one integrated operating anatomy.
How it Impacts the 12 Core Logistics Use Cases
Using One Logistics One Anatomy™, organisations can address failures across:
Network Design & Optimisation
Route Planning & Sequencing
Capacity & Asset Utilisation
Warehouse Throughput
Line-haul Reliability
Last-Mile Delivery Performance
Partner SLA Compliance
Cost & Margin Control
Billing & Claims Accuracy
Customs & Regulatory Compliance
Exception Management
End-to-End Customer Experience
With One Logistics One Anatomy™, these use cases become predictable and controllable — because they run on one enterprise logic stack.
If EA remains limited to IT, Logistics Operations continues to drift — rule by rule, service by service, region by region. The Logstics/ Supply Chain operations regains coherence only when its entire P1–P6 structure is mapped as One Logistics One Anatomy™.
If you’d like a diagnostic walk-through of how this applies to your environment, write to us and we will prepare it.
