Logistics, explained so simply anyone can understand it
Logistics feeds cities, stocks hospitals and drives the world economy, yet it hides behind big words and strange abbreviations. I'm Olushola Awode, a chartered logistics professional working across Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas. I write plain-English essays about how goods really move, and build free tools that do the sums for you.
Read the essays Open the sixteen free tools Everything here is free. No sign-up, and nothing you type leaves your device.
Plain words promise Any word with a dotted green line under it, like demurrage, can be hovered or tapped to show what it means. Find one that isn't explained? Tell me and I'll fix it.
Long, plain-English essays on how freight, customs and trade actually work, written from real files and real mistakes.
A case study. Many traditional freight forwarders still run on manual steps, and it costs them time, money and customers. How the first bottleneck was found, and how payment approvals went online as the first step in going digital.
The whole series in one practical close. Seven measures that make the funding gap visible, none of which appear on a profit and loss account, and the single afternoon exercise that changes the conversation with a managing director.
Stop trying to buy payment terms from hauliers, because you are asking the weaker balance sheet to carry the stronger one. What a haulier is really optimising, why readiness buys more loyalty than rate, and why a haulage quote should be priced against the demurrage meter rather than against the other quote.
Most cash flow advice is written for a company that can walk away. This is the version for one that cannot: why a very large buyer is a duration problem rather than a credit risk, the blanket purchase order, claiming reimbursables early, and borrowing against their name instead of yours.
Built from real shipping files. Nothing you type is sent anywhere, and there is no sign-up.
Some goods are banned outright and others need permission obtained before loading. Find out where you stand before you pay anybody.
Check it first →Type what your goods are and see everything Nigerian customs will charge, plus the permits your product needs before it ships.
Calculate →The supplier price is the smallest part of what you pay. Work out what one unit really costs by the time it reaches your warehouse.
Work it out →Your container is waiting and three separate meters are running. See what the delay is costing right now, and what one more day will cost.
Start the clock →Tell it when the goods leave and it works backwards to say what has to happen when, then hands you a calendar file so the deadlines reach you.
Plan it backwards →Build a complete freight quotation, then download it under your own logo as a PDF or an Excel file. Free, and no sign-up.
Build a quote →One plain-English essay a week and one free tool a month. No noise, unsubscribe anytime.
