And Millennium Realities

It might be fun to take a trip in that logistics time machine the publisher talks about on the previous page, but prudence dictates we take a look at our logistics realities. A dichotomy exists in our market between those who get it and those who don’t, those who lead in logistics best practices and those who lag. This annual Logistics Planner issue weaves together an editorial tapestry offering examples of the best of the best in all corners of our logistics discipline.

Contrasts are striking, you will see in our Supply Chain Best Practices special feature, written by Leslie Hansen Harps. You’ll find profiles of companies excelling in SCM, as well as examples of the worst practices. Need encouragement in your quest to drive SCM excellence at your company? You’ll find it here.

Reverberations of SCM excellence can also be heard on the street. Wall Street, that is. Connie Gentry crystallizes how excellence in logistics can create wealth, not just through efficiencies in supply chain management but through access to capitalization, allowing companies to expand, to grow, and to compete.

For a great example of how a CEO’s vision can drive supply chain excellence, Tom Pitera, president of Pioneer Standard Electronics’ industrial electronics division, shares his story, his vision, with Inbound Logistics readers. Pitera recognizes that supply chain excellence is a supreme marketing idea, among other things, and uses it to demonstrate to his customers, and future customers, the value of doing business with Pioneer.

Looking to further excellence in purchasing? The blueprint on how leading companies are improving the strategic process of purchasing is on page 195. Focus on just individual functions? Exactly wrong! Leaders in purchasing excellence work very closely with their vendors and their customers, intimately entwining them into supply chain management, product development, line extension, and innovation. Improve the big picture, that is the way.

Finally, in the largest Logistics Planner ever, expanded and improved with your help, we offer up a true collection of leaders in logistics. You’ll also find the Planner online, so you can pursue supply chain excellence on your desktop, 24/7. Just to the right is an issue map to help you navigate every corner of this 448-page resource.

We hope this issue is valuable to you. Many people at Inbound Logistics, as well as our supporters, worked around the clock, and through the holidays, so that we could offer you this resource to use all year long. Special thanks go to IL‘s design and editorial team, headed by Michael Murphy and Heather Ignall, for their extra effort, hard work, and enthusiasm.

But most of all, special thanks to you, our readers. Your support and encouragement fuel us in our own quest to provide you the best logistics resource there is.