Regardless of how much of it you choose to take to heart or put to use, research is by far the best way to take the temperature of any market. When it’s done well, solid research provides a pristine view into the current state of day-to-day operations exposing pain points, validating trends, and helping to prepare for what’s next.

So, if you like to dig into fresh research, this is your month. We’re thrilled to kick off April’s feature lineup with the findings of the 2008 Lean Benchmarking study that LM conducted in collaboration with our friends at APICS, Supply Chain Visions, The Staubach Company, and Georgia Southern University.

Karl Manrodt, Ph.D, associate professor of logistics at Georgia Southern University, and his team did a terrific job of putting context around this year’s study (Page 35). Not only does this brand new report add to the evolving definition of “lean” in terms of its application in the supply chain, but it found that the lean concept has actually morphed into a reality for many shippers.

Karl and company report that now that more logistics professionals are tasked with reducing waste, increasing turns, and building greater flexibilities into their operations, they’re actually starting to implement and practice lean concepts—ideas that were mere vapor a few years ago. In turn, those high lean adopters are becoming greener and more responsive in the process.

Our second research-driven piece this month is our 6th Annual Software Survey—LM’s look into the current software buying habits of logistics professionals. Our technology guru Bridget McCrea put this into perspective for us, reporting that while the majority of our 422 respondents are very active supply chain software users, there’s a subtle shift from our 2007 findings in that purchase and upgrade intention have cooled. Bridget explains why shippers are pulling in the purse strings over the next 12 months on page 45.

The third feature based on new research is The cross-dock revolution: Are you in or out? by Contributing Editor Maida Napolitano, the person who literally wrote the book on cross docking. While Maida could have written this in her sleep, she was thrilled to get her hands on a project that our in-house research department recently conducted for Saddle Creek Corp., the Lakeland, Fla.-based 3PL.

Maida used some of the key findings as a starting point, reporting that, according to the shipper respondents, there’s little doubt that cross docking is gaining momentum as manufacturers and retailers look to reduce transportation costs and increase service levels by increasing the speed of product through their supply chains. A summary of the findings, and a closer look at how Toyota puts cross docking to work, begin on page 49.

Comments? E-mail me at michael.levans@reedbusiness.com