Technology and tenacity

By Peter Bradley, Editor in Chief -- Logistics Management, 8/1/2000

Last month, one of the cable television networks presented a drama that centered on one of the most important logistics stories of all time. The made-for-cable movie "Longitude" captured much of the technical and scientific struggle-plus the bureaucratic and political intrigue-around the crucial effort to help sailors locate themselves at sea.

I happened to see the film shortly after returning from the United Kingdom, where I visited the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. The observatory, now principally a museum, has on display the first accurate marine chronographs ever built. They were crafted by a man named John Harrison, the carpenter-cum-clockmaker who was at the center of the film (and the book of the same name). Harrison overcame enormous obstacles to solve one of the most important logistical and scientific problems of his time. Prior to the development of the chronograph, determining longitude was largely guesswork. Afterwards, mariners had a tool that helped them determine their location with a good degree of accuracy anywhere in the world. Today, when anyone can purchase a global positioning system for short money, it may be hard to comprehend the significance of Harrison's accomplishment, but it was enormous.

To some extent, our present challenges are the reverse of those in Harrison's day: Our technology changes faster than businesses can adapt. Businesses of every size and sort, for example, are struggling with just how to respond to the rapid developments in electronic commerce. The development of logistics portals and exchanges and application service providers adds complexity to decision-making at the same time that they provide more options for potential cost and service improvements. That said, technology has helped the best-managed supply chains to become significantly more efficient than they were a few short years ago.

What has not changed from Harrison's day is the importance of imagination, intelligence, and tenacity in solving problems. What makes Harrison's story worthy of a best-selling book and a movie is the human struggle to succeed against difficult odds.

I'm reminded of that as we announce our annual Quest for Quality honorees in this issue. Our readers have recognized those companies for developing and providing superb logistics services, many of them driven by their technological capabilities. But these companies are honored as being the best of the best not simply for their technology, but for what their people accomplish every day on their customers' behalf. We congratulate them for their success, and their tenacity.