Randy Lewis, Senior Vice President of distribution and logistics at Walgreens. is living the fable of “Stone Soup.” In the story, a poor traveler fools stingy villagers into adding delicious ingredients one by one to his stone-filled pot. Before they know it, the village has collaborated in creating a sumptuous feast. In Lewis’ case, instead of a large stone as the base for his concoction, he’s using logistics technology to attract other distribution executives to help perfect his recipe.

Walgreens just opened its $175 million distribution center in Anderson, S.C.; and while the facility uses bar code scanners and specialized operator interfaces for inventory management, the real success story is the people the facility employs. Lewis uses the technology as the “stone” to convince his peers of the rich potential for employing disabled people. At the end of the day, he wants to convert the industry’s captivation with technology into a widespread adoption of a humanitarian philosophy.

However, the irony of the story is that this can be done without pure humanitarian motives. Forty percent of the 264 employees at the Anderson DC have disabilities, but this facility is also 20 percent more efficient than the chain’s older facilities.

“Technology is not the story here, although the things we did made operations better,” Lewis says. “With these workers we have the lowest turnover and less absenteeism. We even opened up our doors to our top suppliers and they were expecting to learn all about technology. I showed them a workforce that could perform just as well, if not better than those without disabilities,” Lewis said.

Employees at this Walgreens facility use touch-screens that display icons instead of text, and workstations are ergonomically designed to the workers’ range of motion. While not all Walgreens’ facilities use the same technology, all of the locations employ people of varying abilities, including those with autism and cerebral palsy.

Lewis adds that the company will duplicate this recipe of technology and people at its new DCs—the next will open in Hartford, Conn., in the first quarter of 2009. Lewis says his site-selection process for future facilities will take into account how well a potential community supports this special population.

He’s onto something. One of the big-picture agenda items discussed by more than 30 academics, end users, industry consultants, and industry solution providers attending the 2007 Material Handling and Logistics Summit held last month in Whitefish, Mont., was developing the workforce of the future for distribution, warehousing and manufacturing. Attendees agreed there’s an important role for senior citizens, the disabled, and for a variety of others to play in logistics.

Randy Lewis offers these “How To’s” to help you make some “stone soup” of your own:

1. Get a partner to provide the workforce (Consult your state’s vocational rehab agency).
2. Start with a “Rock Star” employee (the stone in your soup).
3. Hold your ground on standards.
4. Face co-workers’ fears with education.

Speaking as a father of two sons with disabilities, I can attest to the power of employee empowerment. Both Matt and Marty have jobs, one on an assembly line and the other in a stockroom. Both play important roles in supply chain flow. They’re my heroes, and there are plenty more like them waiting to be yours. You don’t have to compromise on your quality standards, just be open-minded with your recipe.