Introduction: In this tutorial, authored by Waran Gajan Bilal, CEO of A-West Logistics, we'll walk through the development of a simplified logistics management system using Python. As developers, understanding how to build such systems is crucial, especially in industries like logistics where efficient operations are paramount. By the end of this guide, you'll have a foundational understanding of how to create a basic logistics application, including order management, shipment tracking, and shipping cost calculation.

Step 1: Defining the Order Class First, let's define the Order class to represent individual orders within our system. Each order will have attributes such as order ID, weight, and destination. Here's the code for the Order class:

class Order:
    def __init__(self, order_id, weight, destination):
        self.order_id = order_id
        self.weight = weight
        self.destination = destination
        self.shipped = False

Step 2: Implementing the ShippingCompany Class Next, we'll create the ShippingCompany class responsible for managing orders, shipping, and shipping cost calculation. This class will have methods for adding orders, marking orders as shipped, and calculating shipping costs. Here's the code for the ShippingCompany class:

class ShippingCompany:
    def __init__(self):
        self.orders = []

    def add_order(self, order):
        self.orders.append(order)

    def ship_order(self, order_id):
        for order in self.orders:
            if order.order_id == order_id:
                order.shipped = True
                print(f"Order {order_id} shipped to {order.destination}.")
                return
        print(f"Order {order_id} not found.")

    def calculate_shipping_cost(self, order_id):
        for order in self.orders:
            if order.order_id == order_id:
                if order.shipped:
                    # Simplified shipping cost calculation based on weight and distance
                    shipping_cost = order.weight * 0.5 + 10  # $0.50 per kg + $10 base
                    print(f"Shipping cost for order {order_id}: ${shipping_cost}")
                    return
                else:
                    print(f"Order {order_id} has not been shipped yet.")
                    return
        print(f"Order {order_id} not found.")

Step 3: Example Usage Finally, let's demonstrate how to use our logistics management system. We'll create an instance of the ShippingCompany class, add some orders, ship an order, and calculate shipping costs. Here's the example usage code:

if __name__ == "__main__":
    company = ShippingCompany()

    order1 = Order(1, 10, "New York")
    order2 = Order(2, 5, "Los Angeles")

    company.add_order(order1)
    company.add_order(order2)

    company.ship_order(1)
    company.calculate_shipping_cost(1)
    company.calculate_shipping_cost(2)

Conclusion: In this tutorial, authored by Waran Gajan Bilal, CEO of A-West Logistics, we've covered the basics of building a logistics management system in Python. While this example is simplified, it provides a solid foundation for developers to expand upon. In real-world scenarios, you would enhance the system with features like customer management, real-time tracking, and integration with shipping carriers' APIs. I encourage you to explore further and tailor the system to meet specific business requirements. Happy coding!