Abstract:

Current logistics market is quite well developed. In its structure the logistics centers are placed at the one of most important places. Logistics centers are objects that provide a large spectrum of logistics services and propose a wide offer of them. Because logistics centers fulfil many different activities and provide many different services, there is a need to support their functioning by IT solutions to increase the efficiency. The useful tool as the solution in this case might be the cloud computing. Cloud computing is a technological model in which resources are provided as a group of services available via the Internet. So cloud computing is perceived as a service form of offering efficient and scalable IT, and the service provider, which is usually an external entity, provides services to recipients via the network. Implementation of cloud computing solution can provide to business with many benefits considered in several aspects, i.e. strategic, economic, organizational, technological, social and environmental. The main goal of this paper is to present cloud computing as the supportive IT tool that improves logistics centers activities.

The paper content briefly presents the overview of logistics centers idea and main activities as well as the general look at cloud computing. The research part concentrates on the research and its results regarding the usage of cloud computing in Polish logistics centers which were the sample of the research. Based on the obtained results it can be stated that cloud computing is no longer a “new, fresh” solution, implemented in order to improve the business, but it is now a common tool used in a daily basis activities of logistics centers. And in the forthcoming years the development of the cloud computing will be concentrated on further standards development, on efforts in order to minimize the cost of cloud computing with its further improvement, and with a big pressure to ensure the high level of security.