Keeping with tradition
Michael A. Levans, Group Editorial Director -- Logistics Management, 11/1/2009
November has traditionally been my favorite issue to produce. Year after year, it not only celebrates the career of an exceptional leader in transportation and logistics, but it also shares exclusive research that reveals how warehouse and distribution center operations are responding to current economic trends.
The first reason I especially enjoy November is because it is the month we help the National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) announce the winner of the John T. McCullough Award—also known as the NITL Executive of the Year. The award is named after a former chief editor of Distribution magazine, a predecessor of Logistics Management, and is given each year to an individual for extraordinary achievement and leadership in the logistics and transportation industry. I’m honored to be presenting this award at the NITL’s 102nd Annual Meeting on Monday, Nov. 16, in Anaheim, Calif.
For those familiar with the behind-the-scenes legislative work of the NITL, it should come as little surprise that the 2009 recipient is Nick DiMichael, the League’s outgoing legal counsel and a partner in the transportation practice group of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Thompson Hine LLP.
For those readers who may not be familiar with the League’s work in this arena, I’m sure you’re quite aware of the results that DiMichael’s efforts have yielded over the years.
In his role as the League’s general legal counsel, DiMichael was influential in championing the revolutionary Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) in the 1990s as well as later forging an international effort to negotiate a new ocean cargo liability treaty—The Rotterdam Rules. But that’s just scratching the surface.
Executive Editor Patrick Burnson recently sat down with DiMichael and his colleagues to put his entire career into perspective and to give those not familiar with his work a clear portrait of this unsung hero. “He’s a good guy, but not one to give up too much at the bargaining table,” NITL President Bruce Carlton tells Burnson. “When it comes to actually protecting the most vital interests of his constituents, Nick has been a relentless force.”
My second favorite November tradition is the release of our annual Warehouse/Distribution Center Operations Survey (page 42). This marks the 4th year we’ve partnered with Contributing Editor Maida Napolitano and the research team at TranSystems, a supply chain consultancy, to create this snapshot of what today’s distribution network looks and acts like.
According to our record 887 respondents, distribution network operators in 2009 continue to maintain a sharp tactical focus, tightening transportation planning to cut costs, and squeezing every piece of equipment inside the four walls—hardly a surprise.
However, we did find a large percentage of respondents telling us that they’re planning to move away from manual, paper-based operations systems, but they’re not ready to pull the trigger on technology investment, at least not yet. Research team member Scott Pribula sums it up best: “The 2009 findings tell us that everyone wants to get on the bandwagon, but nobody wants to pay to get on it.”
Comments? E-mail me at michael.levans@reedbusiness.com
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