SO FAR, 2017 HAS PRODUCED PLENTY OF EXCITEMENT.
Atlanta snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the first Super
Bowl overtime ever, and Amazon was awarded yet another patent,
this time for a communication system that will help autonomous
cars and trucks navigate reversible lanes (lanes that can go in either
direction). Donald Trump was inaugurated as our 45th president,
and some of us (including me) learned a new word – “dystopian.”
This was the adjective political pundits used to describe the America
he portrayed in his inaugural address. While I wasn’t exactly sure
what “dystopian” meant, it didn’t sound good. So I looked it up and
found that a dystopia is “a community or society
that is undesirable or frightening.”
I need not comment further on that, but it
than 200 distribution centers and hubs to shorten
the “last mile,” a step that not many retailers can
duplicate. Some retailers have opted to use stores for distribution
centers, but that isn’t always practical for reasons of space. Back
when “just in time” inventory management first took hold, many
retail stores eliminated the “back rooms” that, if they still existed,
could have been repurposed for assembling and organizing outgoing orders.
What, then, must a small or medium-sized retailer do to stay in
the game? I believe the answer lies with the hundreds of logistics
service providers (LSPs) that can be found in any city of reasonable size across the U.S. This network, in most instances, is ready,
willing, and able to provide that last-mile rapid delivery that the
marketplace has come to expect.
Among other advantages, the majority of LSPs are able to provide
service to multiple clients, offering opportunities to consolidate
shipments, an option that does not exist in a single-tenant facility.
This will increase operating efficiency, reduce freight costs, and
afford a significant convenience to the final customer.
Just as importantly, LSPs offer flexibility. As their needs change,
BY CLIFFORD F. LYNCH fastlane
Disrupting dystopia
clients can adjust the amount of space, labor,
and even service they want their LSP to provide, paying only for what they use. This will
be particularly important during peak retail
seasons.
On top of that, the labor forces of LSPs
tend to be very customer focused. They
are professional warehouse specialists who
be pressed into service in a
retail back room.
Finally, as most supply
In a recent conference
call conducted by Stifel
Capital Markets, Steve
Sashihara, CEO of Princeton Consultants,
discussed disruptive technologies that are
affecting the supply chain. He noted that
when it comes to disruptive technologies,
the innovators tend to be small companies
that are willing to take a risk. I believe this
can afford a wonderful opportunity to those
logistics service providers that can bring
some imagination and creativity to the table.
While dystopia is a word that some of us
can now add to our vocabulary, it need not
apply to the supply chain community.
Clifford F. Lynch is principal of C.F. Lynch & Associates, a provider of logistics management advisory services, and author
of Logistics Outsourcing – A Management Guide and co-author
of The Role of Transportation in the Supply Chain. He can be
reached at cliff@cflynch.com.
