MATERIAL FLOWS IN LOGISTICS ACTIVITIES OF THE ENTERPRISE: TEORETICAL ASPECT
Authors: TRUSHKINA N. V. 
Published: March 2020

Topicality. In today's economic environment, logistic activity of enterprises requires transformation of approaches to material flow management. Constant changes in the market situation require enterprises to analyze the market conditions, improve inventory management processes, introduce qualitatively new forms of work with suppliers of material resources, as well as mechanisms for selling finished products to different categories of consumers. Solving the above problems causes the need to develop a set of measures to improve the management of material flows at enterprises in order to increase the level of logistics services to consumers and reduce the cost of logistics activities as a result of lowering the costs of logistics and marketing activities. In the scientific literature on logistics, there is a variety of definitions of the term �material flow�, which is proposed by scientists from different scientific schools. Some scientists understand the material flow as a set of inventory; others � products; the third � the flow of different types of resources; fourth � the process of sequential formation and transformation in space and time of objects of labor, etc. In this connection, it became necessary to generalize and systematize theoretical approaches to the essence and content of the concept of �material flow�.
Aim and tasks. The aim of this study is to substantiate the application of a comprehensive approach to the definition of the meaning of the term �material flow of the enterprise�. To achieve this goal, the following scientific tasks have been defined: to analyze, summarize and systematize existing scientific approaches to determining the essence of material flow of the enterprise; provide an author's interpretation of the concept. Methods of analysis and synthesis, critical analysis and comparison, generalization, classification, structural-logical method, system approach were used to solve the set scientific problems.
Research results. Generalized various scientific views to formulate the material flow of the enterprise, which is conditionally systematized according to 10 classification features: a key category of logistics management theory; the object of logistics management; set of inventory; set of elements (resources, materials, equipment, finished goods, waste); a set of different goods moving from suppliers to consumers; production in kind; a set of inventories; flow of different types of resources; set of logistic operations, processes, links; objects of work. The feasibility of applying a comprehensive approach to the definition of the term �material flow�, which makes it possible to reflect the continuous movement of the set of necessary types of resources (material resources, production of work in progress, production and inventory, finished products, industrial waste) at the enterprise in the consistent implementation of the entire list of processes logistic activities (logistical support, storage of material resources, production of products, formation of production and commodity stocks, serve different customer categories, transportation and marketing of finished products, recycling of industrial waste).
Conclusion. The novelty of the author's interpretation of the material flow is that this definition is quite complex and reflects the continuous movement of the set of necessary types of resources at an industrial enterprise with the consistent implementation of the entire list of processes of logistics activities. It is established that it will help to obtain synergetic effect by reducing the costs of organizing logistics activities, improving the quality of logistics services and the level of service of different categories of consumers, optimizing the level of inventories and increasing the level of profitability of the enterprise from the sale of finished products.