NXGN-140／Logistics × ROIC

Corporate Seminar

ROIC Management Led by the CLO

Measure logistics by enterprise value, not by the P&L

Logistics is one of the few functions that lifts both the profit and the invested capital sides of ROIC, and it can lower the cost of capital as well. Learn how to present logistics as a contribution to enterprise value rather than a cost to be cut.

Format: Lecture with exercises on your own figures
Audience: CLOs, heads of logistics, corporate planning and finance
Duration: 60 to 90 minutes
Dates and capacity: Please contact us
Lecturer: Ariki Ono

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Does this sound familiar?

The value of logistics is not reaching management

Since the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 2023 request on capital efficiency, more companies measure their targets through ROIC. Yet logistics is still judged mainly by its logistics cost as a share of sales.

Logistics can only talk about cutting costs, so investing in it ranks low among management priorities

Automation is discussed only in terms of labour savings and efficiency, and the investment stalls

Inventory is cut too far, stock-outs follow and operations shrink into a defensive spiral

Supply chain management is not a cost-cutting machine; it widens the spread between ROIC and WACC from both sides.

Case Models

Three hypothetical companies, three different results

The same logistics measure has different effects depending on the business. In the seminar, we quantify the improvement.

Hypothetical company
Consumer goods maker (sales of ¥200bn)
Measure
Cut inventory from 60 to 48 days and consolidate eight sites into five
Change in ROIC
10.4% → 11.4% (+1.1pt)Works on both profit (numerator) and invested capital (denominator)
Hypothetical company
Food supermarket (sales of ¥500bn)
Measure
AI-based dispatch cuts vehicles and distance travelled by about 10%
Change in ROIC
8.8% → 10.2% (+1.4pt)In a low-margin business, lower logistics costs lift operating profit sharply
Hypothetical company
Industrial machinery maker (sales of ¥150bn)
Measure
Invest ¥4bn in warehouse automation
Change in ROIC
Company-wide 8.2% → 8.5% (+0.3pt) Project ROIC about 20%A small company-wide effect, but well above the 6% WACC

Judge investments by the gap between project ROIC and WACC, not by a small change in company-wide ROIC.

All three are hypothetical companies set by the lecturer using typical industry figures. They are not the results of real companies.

What You'll Gain

Skills and insights you will walk away with

A view of how the supply chain raises enterprise value

Understand how logistics raises enterprise value through three routes: ROIC, WACC and the cash conversion cycle.

Explaining the business impact of your measures

Explain to management where your measures sit on the ROIC tree.

A yardstick for investment decisions

Restate logistics investments as the gap between project ROIC and WACC.

Where your CLO organisation stands

Know which stage your CLO organisation has reached and what to do next.

Program

How the programme is structured

This seminar does not teach ways to cut logistics costs. It equips you to present the results of logistics to management in terms of ROIC and enterprise value.

Case

Estimate the improvement in percentage points for three hypothetical companies

Self-check

Assess the stage your CLO organisation has reached

Questions

Work through three questions using your own company’s figures

Chapter 01

Putting logistics into the language of management

How far operational KPIs sit from management metrics
Financial value (capital efficiency) and non-financial value (ESG and disclosure)
ROIC, WACC and the cash conversion cycle as drivers of enterprise value

Chapter 02

Where logistics works on ROIC

ROIC as margin times turnover, and the condition that ROIC must exceed WACC
What a price-to-book ratio below one really means: take ¥100bn at an expected 5%, earn only 3%, and ¥2bn of value is lost every year
The ROIC tree, and how service-level constraints quietly drag ROIC down

Chapter 03

Three numerical models

Consumer goods maker: leaner inventory and fewer sites
Food supermarket: cutting variable costs through more efficient delivery
Industrial machinery maker: how to appraise an automation investment
Why the same measure works differently by business model

Chapter 04

Pitfalls of ROIC management and the CLO organisation

Four common mistakes made by logistics departments
Structural change in 2026–2030 (high interest rates, geopolitics, labour shortages) and the growing weight of the cash conversion cycle and WACC
Stages of a CLO organisation (Stage 0 to 3)

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a background in finance?

No. We start from the definitions of ROIC and WACC. The content is designed for logistics and supply chain practitioners.

We have appointed a CLO under Japan’s amended Logistics Efficiency Act. Where should we start?

Start by establishing which stage your CLO organisation has reached. The seminar sets out four stages (Stage 0 to 3), from understanding logistics costs to making investment decisions on ROIC and disclosing non-financial value.

Is it suitable for people outside the logistics department?

Yes. It suits corporate planning and finance teams too, giving everyone a shared way to assess logistics measures in terms of enterprise value.

How long is it, and in what format?

It is a 60 to 90-minute lecture. We can deliver it in person or online; please talk to us about the format.

Request

Interested in hosting this seminar at your organisation?

We are happy to tailor the schedule, capacity and format (in-person or online) to suit your needs. Enquiries from HR and corporate planning departments are most welcome.

Enquire about this seminar