bigpicture
Peter Bradley
Editorial Director
peter@dcvelocity.com
Karen Bachrach
Executive Editor
karen@dcvelocity.com
Toby Gooley
Senior Editor
tgooley@dcvelocity.com
David Maloney
Senior Editor, Special Projects & eContent
dmaloney@dcvelocity.com
Mark Solomon
Senior Editor
mark@dcvelocity.com
Susan Lacefield
Associate Managing Editor
slacefield@dcvelocity.com
James Cooke
Editor at Large
jcooke@dcvelocity.com
Steve Geary
Editor at Large
sgeary@dcvelocity.com
George Weimer
Editor at Large
gweimer@dcvelocity.com
Erica E. Mac Donald
Assistant Editor
Keisha Capitola
Director of Creative Services
keisha@dcvelocity.com
Jeff Thacker
Director of eMedia
jeff@dcvelocity.com
Columnists:
Clifford F. Lynch
Don Jacobson
Shelly Safian
Kenneth B. Ackerman
Art van Bodegraven
Barry Brandman
Rough roads and plenty more
Gary Master
Publisher
gmaster@dcvelocity.com
Mitch Mac Donald
Group Editorial Director
mitch@dcvelocity.com
Jim Indelicato
Group Publisher
jindelicato@dcvelocity.com
EDITORIAL OFFICE
Tower Square, Number 4
500 East Washington Street
North Attleboro, MA 02760
Subscribe at
www.dcvelocity.com
or call (630) 739-0900
IT MAY BE MID-SUMMER, BUT THE FALL SHIPPING SEASON BEGINS
in earnest any time now. In fact, for many businesses, it is already under
way. Some reports suggest it could be a sluggish autumn, but it’s hard to
tell where we’re headed when political noise seems to drown out just
about any real news and the spin-doctors demonstrate uncanny ability to
twist facts into unrecognizable shapes and make opaque even what
should be simple and clear.
Speaking of politics, Congress finally got around to adopting a highway
bill that has much that is good in it, much that is missing—such as how
to pay for it all—and much that is disappointing. Senior Editor Mark
And speaking of rough roads, our Thought Leader
this month, Brig. Gen. Kristin K. French, has possibly
one of the most daunting jobs in logistics imaginable.
She is the commanding general of the 3rd Sustainment
Command (Expeditionary), which provides “theater
logistics command and control for the theater com-
mander” in Afghanistan. What that means, in short, is
that she and her organization must ensure any goods
for U.S. and allied forces moving through that troubled
country get to where they’re needed on time and
intact. Not a job to envy. Her interview with Editor at
Large Steve Geary is well worth a read.
We’ve got plenty of more utilitarian stuff for readers as well. Senior
Editor Toby Gooley does her usual extraordinary job of making interesting what in a lesser writer’s hands would seem mundane and provides
useful tips for DC managers in her piece on battery recycling.
I talked to some experts on DC retrofits to gather tips on how to prepare for and execute what can be a very disruptive exercise and also took
a look at how home furnishings giant Ikea planned ahead for the expansion of two of its DCs.
Senior Editor Dave Maloney looks at the deployment of voice technology to oversee picking in The Container Store’s DC. Dave also gives us a
look at some of the attributes that make Ohio one of the centers of gravity for logistics operations in the United States. This is the first of what
will be an occasional series on regional logistics hubs.
Our technology savant James Cooke gathers a few tips that might make
your next systems integration project a bit simpler.
I think we’re offering readers a pretty good package both in print and
online. As always, let us know what you think and share your ideas on
how we can do a better job.
