Know someone who’s making a difference in the world of logis-
tics? Then consider nominating him or her to become one of DC
VELOCITY’S 2011 “Rainmakers”—professionals from all facets of
the business whose achievements set them apart from the crowd.
In the past, our Rainmakers have included
practitioners, consultants, academics, ven-
dors, professional association directors, and
even military commanders.

To identify these Rainmakers, the DC VELOCITY editorial team works in collaboration with members of the magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board. The process begins in January, when the nominating committee begins developing a list of candidates, and concludes in April with a vote to determine which nominees will be invited to become Rainmakers. The 2011 Rainmakers will be unveiled in our July issue.

If you’d like to nominate someone, please send an e-mail
describing your nominee’s accomplishments no later than Feb. 1
to Editorial Director Peter Bradley at peter@dcvelocity.com. ;

Do you know a Rainmaker?

What can we expect to see on the logistics and supply chain front in
2011? Adrian Gonzalez and Steve Banker of ARC Advisory Services
offered their predictions in a recent edition of ARC’s “Logistics
Viewpoints” e-newsletter. Here are a few of the highlights:
▪ More variations on the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model
will emerge, such as “relatively simple and targeted” applications
that users can download and implement themselves for a very
low fee.
▪ More companies will adopt social media technologies for sup-
ply chain and logistics processes. The increasing use of mobile
platforms will help drive this trend.
▪ Currency volatility will continue to be a key but perhaps insuf-
ficiently recognized supply chain risk. “If you have a global supply
chain, keep a close eye on monetary policy in 2011,” Gonzalez
advised.
▪ Merger and acquisition activity will pick up. Gonzalez went so
far as to predict that HP and/or Dell would acquire “a leading
enterprise software vendor … to keep pace with Oracle and IBM.”
▪ The use of robotics in the warehouse will increase. Banker
offered an off-the-cuff prediction of double-digit growth.
▪ Better integration of routing software with real-time traffic
data generated by GPS networks in metropolitan areas is likely.
To read the dynamic duo’s full list of predictions, go to
http://logisticsviewpoints.com/. ;

The year in preview

inbound

Taking a bite out of
hunger

Despite retailers’ best efforts, billions of pounds of food end up in grocers’ garbage bins each year. Meanwhile, millions of Americans go hungry. Doug Rauch, former president of the Trader Joe’s grocery chain, thinks one way to address the problem would be to bring parcel carriers into the picture. Rauch is studying the issue of food waste as a fellow at Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, which prepares retired or late-career business executives to take on leadership roles in public service.

In an interview with the Boston Globe newspaper, Rauch noted that an estimated 5 billion pounds of food are thrown away at the retail level each year, even though hunger is on the rise. Food banks are the usual channels for getting excess food to those in need, but no food bank can afford to send a dedicated truck to pick up donations from every grocery store every day, he said.

But what if there were a way to match
up food donors in need of transporta-
tion services with freight carriers that
have unused capacity? “There are busi-
nesses with trucks on the road all day
that are coming back empty,” Rauch told
the Globe. “If getting food into the
hands of the people who need it is a
national priority, there must be a way to
incentivize the Postal Service, UPS, or
FedEx to make regular pickups and
drop-offs of this product.”
Rauch is not the first to think along
those lines. Feeding America, the
national network of food banks former-
ly known as America’s Second Harvest,
has developed an extensive network of
carriers that donate excess capacity. In
fiscal year 2009, the so-called “Relief
Fleet” delivered nearly 11 million
pounds of donated food free of charge
to food banks, according to Feeding
America’s website. ;