Archive: May 2001

Negotiating With Your Railroads

Rail mergers and acquisitions have shaken up the industry, leaving behind a tangled web for consignees and shippers to navigate. So how do you avoid getting snagged in the web of management hierarchy and get the best bang for your buck when negotiating a shipping deal? It may take a little research and some homework, […]

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Practicing Enlightened Leadership

With employers facing labor shortages and unprecedented worker mobility, a stable, productive workforce of drivers, owner operators, and support employees is unusual in the rapidly changing trucking industry. It has been my experience in this industry that workforce stability—with low employee turnover—follows enlightened leadership. Enlightenment arrives when leaders elevate their game to a higher level. […]

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Inventory Theft: Is Your Company Easy Prey?

The logistics industry has grown dramatically in the past few years and inventory loss has kept pace. Estimates now range in the $80-billion area for cargo and warehouse related theft. One reason that so many warehousing and transportation companies have incurred loss is that they often rely on ineffective security safeguards. This can prove to […]

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What’s So Great About Page 43?

Turn to page 43 of the May 2001 issue, and read part one of Strikepoint, a fictional tale of one man’s quest, in the face of a growing product demand, to find a logistics solution and save his company from financial ruin. Why should you spend your time reading “make-believe?” Because Strikepoint is a celebration […]

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DSC Logistics: Focusing on the Process

Over the years, many fine voices—W. Edwards Deming, Eliyahu Goldratt, Taguchi, Michael Hammer and James Champy—have emphasized examining and improving business management processes. The reason they, and others, place such importance on process is to counter some companies’ tendencies to fixate on disparate details, personalities, or other matters peripheral to their essential business interests. That’s […]

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Strikepoint—Part One

IT CAME LIKE A BOLT OUT OF THE BLUE THAT FRIDAY. Rob Wylie, a defector to Cornelius’ humongous rival, Zip Athletic Wear, had called, offering Gan a "real" logistics job. For more money. Plus stock options that could actually mean something. And, probably the clincher, a chance for Gan finally to use some of the […]

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