The next big step in supply chain efficiency will be the streamlining of cross-company processes, argues Michael Hammer in the September issue ofHarvard Business Review. Citing the efforts of such companies as Hewlett Packard, General Mills, and Land O'Lakes, he outlines the benefits of consolidating duplicative processes between trading partners. Though he notes that logistics and distribution are among the key areas where enormous savings and improved operations are possible, Hammer warns that making it happen is much more difficult than breaking down barriers within a single business.

Former Teamsters President Ron Carey's perjury trial began in New York last month. The former UPS driver, who rose to the union's top ranks by campaigning against its legacy of corruption, was himself brought down by charges that he illegally diverted union funds to his 1996 re-election campaign, then lied about it to investigators. Carey had defeated James P. Hoffa in that election, which was overturned by federal overseers. Hoffa, the current union president, defeated Thomas Leedham when the election was held again under federal supervision.

In these days of downsizing and cost cutting, many companies have lost their internal expertise regarding transportation law. Where can they turn for information? A new book by William J. Augello, Esq., executive director of the Transportation Consumer Protection Council (TCPC), professor oftransportation law, and aLogisticscolumnist, provides a comprehensive, up-to-date review of U.S. law as it applies to shippers, carriers, and intermediaries since deregulation. Two years in the making,Transportation, Logistics and the Law explains the legal implications of transportation and logistics operations. Topics covered include an overview of government and legal jurisdictions, laws affecting all modes of domestic and international transportation, regulation of intermediaries, terms of sale, and domestic and international liability conventions. The book will be available in November for $135. For more information or to order copies, visit www.transportlawtexts.com or call Mr. Augello at (520) 531-0203 afternoons (Pacific time).

The article by hazmat expert Jack Currie on Page 51 should make every dangerous goods shipper stop and think about how well it is complying with safety regulations. If your organization needs some assistance, there are two respected industry organizations that can help you improve compliance levels. Both the Hazardous Materials Advisory Council (HMAC) and the Conference on Safe Transportation of Hazardous Articles (COSTHA) sponsor educational conferences and seminars, provide access to regulatory experts, and represent shippers' and manufacturers' interests before national and international rulemaking bodies. COSTHA can be reached at (703) 451-4031, mail@costha.com, or www.costha.com. Contact HMAC at (202) 289-4550, hmacinfo@hmac.org, or www.hmac.org.

Effective motor system management could have a significant effect on energy consumption in the United States, according to a new coalition of utilities, trade associations, energy conservation groups, motor manufacturers, and government agencies. The group's new "Motor Decisions Matter" campaign aims to help businesses cut their motors' energy consumption by as much as 18 percent through better planning, procurement, maintenance, and analysis. According to the coalition, energy consumption represents more than 97 percent of motors' operating costs. In large manufacturing plants, those costs may exceed $1 million annually. For more information, visit the coalition's Web site (www.motorsmatter.org) or contact the U.S. Department of Energy's Best Practices Clearinghouse at (800) 862-2086.

The Surface Transportation Board gave its official blessing to the merger of the Canadian National Railway and Wisconsin Central Transportation Corp.' soperating arms: Wisconsin Central, Fox Valley & Western, Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Co., and Wisconsin Chicago Link (collectively referred to as "WC"). As expected, the board ruled that the merger would not harm competition. It imposed several conditions on the two companies, including a requirement to keep open all existing active gateways and to waive defenses if a bottleneck rate case should arise. The carrier also must report on the progress of its efforts to integrate operations for one year and maintain existing labor contracts with unionized employees of CN and WC.

Integrated air carriers held a tight grip on the U.S. air export market in 2000, says a leading market research firm. The Atlanta-based Colography Group reports that U.S.-based integrated carriers—FedEx Express, UPS, BAX Global, DHL, Emery Worldwide, and Airborne Express—controlled 52.1 percent of all air-export revenues. Those same carriers also controlled 36 percent of all export tonnage and 69.9 percent of air-export shipments, Colography adds. Air-export revenue and tonnage for non-integrated carriers declined by 1.1 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

Supply chain management software represents the smartest investment for corporations when it comes to information technology. That's the opinion of 150 business leaders who recently were surveyed by the consulting firm Accenture. The executives said that they viewed supply chain management software as the most beneficial type of new technology investment their companies had made in the last two years, ranking it ahead of customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.

A new demonstration project at the Port of New York and New Jersey will show how ocean shipping could benefit from "one-stop shopping" for information. The Freight Information Real-Time System for Transport, or FIRST, is designed to speed up and facilitate the flow of cargo through the nation's increasingly congested ports. Through its Web site (www.firstnynj.com), FIRST will give forwarders, brokers, terminal operators, shippers, and carriers access to real-time information regarding container status and availability for pickup, and notify the terminal electronically of truckers' expected arrival times. Access to live video of seaport terminals and roadways, vessel arrivals and departures, local traffic conditions, and a pickup and delivery appointment system for truckers will be available soon. The system was developed by Americas Systems Inc. of Murray Hill, N.J., and was partially funded by the port authority, the Intelligent Transportation System initiative, and the I-95 Corridor Coalition.

The Supply-Chain Council has released Version 5.0 of its Supply Chain Operations Reference model (SCOR). SCOR helps leading companies analyze their supply chains, identify metrics and measure performance against them, identify weak links, and implement best practices from forecast or order through to final invoice and payment. The new version, which is downloadable from the Supply-Chain Council's Web site through the members-only area, includes significant changes in the areas of metrics, performance attributes, some specific processes, and the recently introduced returns management function. An overview of SCOR V. 5.0 and information about the Pittsburgh-based council are available free to the public by calling SCC at (412) 781-4101.