The History of Science
THE SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTION OF LEONID BORISOVICH MIROTIN TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LOGISTICS THEORY IN THE POST-SOVIET SPACE
(Devoted to the 85th anniversary from birthday)
Abstract. Leonid Borysovych Mirotin – the Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Coordination Council for Logistics, President of the National Council for Supply Chains, current member of the International Academy of Engineering, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, member of the Editorial Council of the scientific journal “Transport Bulletin”.
In the 80s of the last century, he was one of the first in the USSR who began to conduct research in the field of logistics and publish publications, creating the basis for the scientific school formation in this direction. While working at Moscow Automobile and Highway State Technical University, Professor Mirotin consistently carried out his scientific activities in three areas: production location, transport processes technologies and transport logistics. Leonid Borysovych trained 16 doctors of sciences as a consultant and supervised 127 candidates of technical and economic sciences. More than 100 theses were opposed by him in various scientific councils of the country. He has written and published over 70 monographs, textbooks and tutorials, published more than 1500 articles in professional journals.
The historical process of the new scientific direction formation is complex and contradictory enough, and its result is largely determined by the sequence of the step-by-step evolution of the knowledge system. Researchers play a particularly important role in the development and systematization of both methods and scientific knowledge itself, since they have a love of learning new things and a desire to generalize and formulate new knowledge. Such a researcher in logistics is Leonid Borysovych Mirotin, a person who has a systemic vision and philosophy of logistics. The focus of Leonid Borysovych’s scientific interests has always been logistic processes and phenomena, logistic systems and logistic objects, having studied which, he wrote new books, solved scientific problems, introduced research projects and strove to transfer knowledge to others. He did all this successfully, therefore he received international recognition of the scientific community and the respect of business representatives. Let’s try to focus on the most important Leonid Mirotin’s achievements and scientific results.
Leonid Mirotin began to create a scientific school in the field of logistics, and in particular transport logistics, supply chain management and logistics management in the late 80s of the previous century. In 1993 he organized the Transport Management Department, which was firstly transformed into the Management and Logistics Department, and then into the Management Department. Leonid Borysovych was in charge of this department until 2013. It was in those years that scientists, post-graduate students and applicants for scientific degrees from post-Soviet countries gathered at the site of the Moscow Automobile and Road Construction State Technical University and held heated discussions about what logistics studies, its object and subject of research. Created in 1997 under the leadership of L.B. Mirotin The Logistics Coordinating Council (LCC) became the first organization in the post-Soviet space engaged in the development of logistics methodology, researches in this area, the development and implementation of business education programs, and the preparation of textbooks. The LCC establishment took place at a time when in the post-Soviet space few people had any idea what logistics was and there was a high need for the formation of a methodological base and the dissemination of knowledge. Therefore, the LCC activities were very diverse – the scientific conferences and business forums organization, the preparation of educational programs and the development of business education, consulting activities and the implementation of logistics projects, educational work and the popularization of logistics as an effective tool for business in competitive environment. Naturally, all this gave good scientific results.
Leonid Mirotin began to create a scientific school in the field of logistics, and in particular transport logistics, supply chain management and logistics management in the late 80s of the previous century. In 1993 he organized the Transport Management Department, which was firstly transformed into the Management and Logistics Department, and then into the Management Department. Leonid Borysovych was in charge of this department until 2013. It was in those years that scientists, post-graduate students and applicants for scientific degrees from post-Soviet countries gathered at the site of the Moscow Automobile and Road Construction State Technical University and held heated discussions about what logistics studies, its object and subject of research. Created in 1997 under the leadership of L.B. Mirotin The Logistics Coordinating Council (LCC) became the first organization in the post-Soviet space engaged in the development of logistics methodology, researches in this area, the development and implementation of business education programs, and the preparation of textbooks. The LCC establishment took place at a time when in the post-Soviet space few people had any idea what logistics was and there was a high need for the formation of a methodological base and the dissemination of knowledge. Therefore, the LCC activities were very diverse – the scientific conferences and business forums organization, the preparation of educational programs and the development of business education, consulting activities and the implementation of logistics projects, educational work and the popularization of logistics as an effective tool for business in competitive environment. Naturally, all this gave good scientific results.
Photo 1. Delegation of the NAU Logistics Department at a scientific conference in Moscow Automobile and Road Construction State Technical University (2005).
In the period from 2002 to 2010, under the guidance and co-authorship of Leonid Mirotin the following textbooks were published: “Logistics”, “Logistics for Entrepreneur”, “Efficient Logistics”, “The Basics of Logistics”, “Transport and Warehouse Complexes”, “Transport Logistics”, “Logistics in Road Transport”, “Freight Flows Management in Transport and Logistics Systems”,” Logistic Administration”, “Introduction to Commercial Logistics”, “Engineering Logistics”, “Logistics Management Efficiency”, “Car Service Management”, “System Analysis in Logistics”, “Logistics, Technology, Design of Warehouses, Transport Hubs and Terminals”, “Social and Technical Systems Management”, “Marketing in Transport”, “Integrated Logistic”, “Transport and Loading-Unloading complexes”, “ABC of Logistics Management of Commodity Flows Business Processes”, “Freight transport Efficiency Improving Based on Sustainable Logistic System of Modular Type for High-Speed Processing and Goods Delivery”, “Logistic Management in Transport”, “The Basic of Logistics Management”, “The Effectiveness of Logistics Management”, “System Analysis of Logistics Management”, “Logistics of Passenger Transportation”. Given the huge shortage of Russian-language literature on logistics, these publications quickly became bestsellers and were actively cited in various countries that emerged in the post-Soviet space. It was these books that became the basis for the development of various educational programs and scientific research in various areas of logistics.
The next decade of Leonid Mirotin’s scientific activity was devoted to rethinking the philosophy of logistics from the point of view of harmonizing the interests of participants in the goods supply chain on the basis of an integrated system approach. In the article “Evolutionary Patterns of Logistics”, it is concluded that the basic concepts associated with supply chain management have been transformed into the understanding of the priority for logistics of the functions of managing consumer demand chains in the market. The logistic approach should be embodied through the social purpose of human activity. Then the plot of the logistics concept becomes the need to ensure the adequacy of logistics structures to the demand. The structure of the logistics system in the form of a supply chain is matching demand and targets through the influence on the level of income and costs. The degree of the need for logistics depends on the level of people’s socialization in society (understanding of the commensurability of costs and results of labor), the nature of the acting productive forces, technologies, social and legal situation and market relations in the country.
The next decade of Leonid Mirotin’s scientific activity was devoted to rethinking the philosophy of logistics from the point of view of harmonizing the interests of participants in the goods supply chain on the basis of an integrated system approach. In the article “Evolutionary Patterns of Logistics”, it is concluded that the basic concepts associated with supply chain management have been transformed into the understanding of the priority for logistics of the functions of managing consumer demand chains in the market. The logistic approach should be embodied through the social purpose of human activity. Then the plot of the logistics concept becomes the need to ensure the adequacy of logistics structures to the demand. The structure of the logistics system in the form of a supply chain is matching demand and targets through the influence on the level of income and costs. The degree of the need for logistics depends on the level of people’s socialization in society (understanding of the commensurability of costs and results of labor), the nature of the acting productive forces, technologies, social and legal situation and market relations in the country.
Photo 2. Leonid Mirotin speaks at the conference “Problems of Professional Logistics Personnel Training” in National Aviation University (2006)
In scientific publications of recent years, Leonid Mirotin emphasized the importance of an engineering approach in logistics. Engineering education and enjoyable manufacturing practice at many transport enterprises allowed him to lay the basic principles of engineering logistics and training of engineering personnel for logistics. The book “Engineering Logistics: Logistics-Oriented Product Life Cycle Management” contains a fundamentally new look at the organization of high-tech production and allows to learn the mechanism of logistic support for engineering solutions. The 4-volume monograph “Innovative Processes of Logistics Management in Intelligent Transport Systems” developed to the ideas of innovativeness of logistics and logistics management, substantiated the need for the formation of industry-specific intelligent transport systems, as well as the development of multimodal cargo delivery technologies. Recommendations for the creation of corporate logistics centers, international transport management systems within transport corridors and transportation of small shipments in containers, a multimodal transport system for oil supplies in the region, grain export supplies, accelerated multimodal transportation, high-speed cargo handling, etc., are represent practical interest.
Photo 3. Luminaries of logistics science – Doctor of Economics, prof. Lukinsky V.S., Doctor of Technical Sciences, prof. Mirotin L.B., Doctor of Economics, prof. Protsenko O.D. in NAU (2006)
Mirotin Leonid Borysovych is not only a scientist, researcher, but also an active public figure. He was one of the founders of the Scientific and Educational Center for Innovative Technologies in Logistics in Moscow Automobile and Road Construction State Technical University. For many years, he has chaired the National Council for Supply Chains and served on the UNISCAN board for barcode implementation, RFID and biometrics. Under the leadership of Leonid Mirotin were carried out a lot of projects, such as major scientific works as a strategy for the development of transport, a strategy for the fleet of specialized vehicles formation, a strategy for creating a logistics center at the stage of construction of facilities for the Sochi Olympics, a strategy for the formation of high-speed deliveries of cargo at Vnukovo airport and many others. He led the projects for the logistics of the Olympic Games in Sochi at the stage of organizing the construction of sports and other facilities and organizing traffic in this enclave; creation of a powerful trading network in Moscow and the European part of Russia; effective functioning of the transport corridor of the East Siberian Railway and many others.
Photo 4. Long live Logistics – at a conference at the Kharkiv Academy of Municipal Economy (2006)
The geography of work and scientific activity of Leonid Mirotin is also impressive: from Cuba to Vietnam. He also repeatedly took part in scientific and practical conferences in Ukraine, namely, at the National Aviation University, National Transport University, National University “Lviv Polytechnic”, Kharkiv Academy of Municipal Economy, Donetsk Academy of Automobile Transport, etc. He always made interesting reports, got into scientific discussions and subtly provoked the interlocutors to scientific research and their own reflections.
The editorial board of the journal “Intellectualization of Logistics and Supply Chain Management” sincerely congratulates Leonid Borysovych on his 85th birthday. We wish you creative longevity and new scientific achievements. We are sure that your new book “Non-optimistic Notes of a Logistician”, which includes both an autobiography and a professional vision of logistics, will find its loyal readers and give new food for scientific creativity of young scientists.
The editorial board of the journal “Intellectualization of Logistics and Supply Chain Management” sincerely congratulates Leonid Borysovych on his 85th birthday. We wish you creative longevity and new scientific achievements. We are sure that your new book “Non-optimistic Notes of a Logistician”, which includes both an autobiography and a professional vision of logistics, will find its loyal readers and give new food for scientific creativity of young scientists.
HOW TO QUOTE THIS ARTICLE:
Mariia Hryhorak (2020) “The scientific contribution of Leonid Borisovich Mirotin to the development of the logistics theory in the post-soviet space”. Intellectualization of logistics and Supply Chain Management. [Online], vol.2, pp.131-135, available at: https://smart-scm.org/en/journal-2-2020/the-history-of-science-mirotin-leonid-borysovych-the-doctor-of-technical-sciences-professor/(Accessed 30 July 2020).
