Don't be too quick to apply the "buzzword" label

By Mitchell E MacDonald -- Logistics Management, 11/1/1998

It recently occurred to me that there's a simple way to pick out those in the logistics field who are so resistant to change that they jeopardize not only their own careers, but also their companies' success. All you need to do is determine how quickly they dismiss a new trend as a buzzword.

Looking back, consider that not too long ago our ranks were filled with people who insisted "logistics" was nothing more than the buzzword du jour. They would argue that logistics was simply a fancy name that didn't alter the fact that their job was to move freight for their companies at the lowest possible cost. Period. I can't help but wonder what line of work these folks are in today.

Moving forward a few years, we saw the emergence of outsourcing, or third-party logistics. Again, there were many who ignored the productivity-enhancing and cost-reducing opportunities available to companies that contracted out all or part of their logistics activities to an outside company. That's not to say that outsourcing is right for every company. But to relegate the concept to the fad category by labeling it a buzzword is certainly a mistake--and potentially a disaster.

Today, we are in the midst of the most sweeping change to affect the logistics profession in at least a decade: the emergence of supply chain integration strategies. By taking a wrecking ball to the internal, functional-based "silos" that exist within many companies and instead focusing everyone's attention on serving customers better and faster than anyone else, you can achieve a sustainable competitive edge in the market, argue supply chain advocates. They are right.

The success that many companies, both big and small, have enjoyed in a comparatively short time by integrating their activities into a well-oiled supply chain provides more than conclusive evidence that a well-developed and -implemented supply chain strategy makes sense. Still, there are those who turn a deaf ear. They'll tell you that it's just the latest buzzword. They are the same people who say things like, "I don't have time to innovate. I'm too busy doing my job." (I hope they carve out at least a little time to update their resumes.)

Looking at it from a broader perspective, the history of American business is littered with folks who, for whatever reason, failed to face (or embrace) the inevitable force of change. Consider the poor soul who, in the mid-1800s, declared: "Railways can be of no advantage to rural areas since agricultural products are too heavy or too voluminous to be transported by them."