DC Velocity - March 2010

inbound

recognize a supply
chain star!

Know someone who has made an exceptional contribution to the field of supply chain management? If so, you might consider nominating him or her for the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) 2010 Distinguished Service Award.

The award—the highest honor for individual achievement in supply chain management—recognizes individuals for their contribution to the profession. Nominees are evaluated against five criteria:

; Recognition as a leader in supply chain management (SCM)

; Contributions above the normal expectations of the job

; Recognition as an innovator in SCM

; Education of SCM professionals through both oral and written communications

; Distinguished record of contri-
bution to the discipline of SCM
A brief sampling of past winners is
a veritable “Who’s Who” of supply
chain stars: Joel L. Sutherland of
Lehigh University’s Center for Value
Chain Research; Arthur Mesher, CEO,
Descartes Systems Group; H. Lee
Scott Jr., chairman, Wal-Mart Corp.;
Georgia Tech’s Dr. C. John Langley;
our own “Basic Training” columnist
Kenneth B. Ackerman (1977), then
chairman of Distribution Centers
Inc.; and “Fast Lane” columnist Cliff
Lynch (1980), who was vice president
of distribution for the Quaker Oats
Co. at the time.

Details of the nomination and award process, along with a complete list of winners, are available at http://cscmp.org/education/awards/ dsa.asp. The deadline is April 30. Contact Sue Paulson at (630) 645- 3469 or spaulson@cscmp.org with questions.

“pop” culture icon turns 50

How did you spend Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day?

In the past, Sealed Air Corp., the maker of the well-known cushioning material, has marked the occasion by sending out a few press releases and inviting fans to play interactive games on its Web site. But this year’s observance, which coincided with the iconic brand’s

50th birthday, called for something special. To celebrate the golden anniversary, Sealed Air on Jan. 25 produced a special limited run of gold-colored Bubble Wrap. For one day, the factory lines in the company’s Saddle River, N.J., facility changed from clear to gold to commemorate the occasion.

Designed to protect products from damage, Bubble Wrap has also gained fame for providing stress relief to millions. According to the manufacturer, Bubble Wrap has been used in art projects, commercials, movies, and fashion design and has more than 2 million fans on Facebook. The company also runs an annual contest that invites students to submit inventions using the protective wrap.

Those who run through thousands of feet of the protective wrap in their DCs might be surprised to know that Bubble Wrap inventors Marc Chavannes and Al Fielding originally designed the material as textured wallpaper—an idea that never caught on. Company legend has it that when Chavannes was on an airplane, he noticed that the clouds appeared to be cushioning the plane. That gave him the idea of using the wrap for cushioning fragile items. After a lot of tinkering, Chavannes and Fielding developed the proprietary barrier protection that prevented air from leaking and resulted in Bubble Wrap’s famous “pop.”

Next View Software Inc. announced that it has integrated the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) benchmark metrics into its warehouse management and productivity solutions. The metrics are developed from the results of WERC and DC VELOCITY’S annual benchmarking study, now in its seventh year. The survey results are compiled and analyzed by researchers at Georgia Southern University and the consulting firm Supply Chain Visions, said Michael Mikitka, CEO of WERC, in a statement.

Next View, which provides supply chain visualization and collaboration, warehouse, labor, yard management, and productivity software, added the metrics in response to customers’ requests for “standard” key performance indicators (KPIs). It has also integrated the WERC benchmark metrics into Next View Score, a real-time reporting and dashboard solution. According to Steve Simmerman, business development leader for Next View, performance data gathered from WERC’s member companies will help customers find innovative and cost-effective ways to improve their supply chain operations and productivity. “By integrating the WERC benchmark metrics, we give our customers another avenue to compare and analyze their operations with other supply chains,” he said in the statement.