|
Managing warehouse operations and balancing carrier capacity are the dual basic and essential responsibilities of 3PL’s. Delivering the finest and most responsive customer service is the third of five major operational tenets of successful management and team efforts geared toward the fourth of these indices, operational efficiency. In order to achieve the logistical and supply mission, financial stability is the fifth and final quality indicator of those highly respected and meritorious models.
Survey results indicate that hallmarks of some of the most noteworthy survivors of the past decade’s Great Recession minimally are the five above-mentioned Quality Indicators. Satish Jindel, principal of Pittsburgh-based SJ Consulting and Research, reports that the data reflect that “individually and collectively, warehouse and transportation managers have neither influence nor control over demand.” Therefore, “the only thing we can do as an industry is to manage supply and capacity. If they take out capacity at a faster rate than demand falls, then pricing will restore and financial stability will be there.”
|
While it’s not yet official, many economists say the recession in the US may have ended during the summer. Few shouts of delight greeted that observation, perhaps because some economists predict that continued weakness in the job market may well damp the recovery. The good news is that, after shrinking for a year, the nation’s GNP finally expanded at an annual rate of 2.2%, as measured at the end of 2009’s Third Quarter (US Dept of Commerce).
Other indicators, meanwhile, including industrial production figures, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, and even housing starts and building permits, are “signaling that the worst is now over,” announces Edward E. Learner, director of UCLA’s reputable Anderson Forecast.
Still, many economists contend the gains in consumer spending and housing during 2009 were driven by government programs created to encourage consumers to buy. As those programs expire in 2010, consumer demand may once again wither.
Furthermore, “high unemployment will continue to cause many consumers to curtail spending,” Dr. Learner predicts. According to the US Dept. of Labor, the jobless rate reached 10.2%—its highest level in 26 years—before stabilizing a bit in November. However, unemployment rates among younger and less-educated persons are running much higher, notes Learner.
Yet, the optimistic news is that 2009 holiday consumer spending was greater than expected.
|
A Blue Moon—the rare appearance of a second full moon within a given month—shone down on New Year’s Eve festivities, heralding what many consider to be an auspicious beginning for 2010!
That Thursday marked the end of a wide and sometimes tumultuously wild swing of the economic pendulum during the century’s first decade—from a robust economy to a dismal one for many. However, this new decade presents numerous, diverse, and exciting opportunities for growth, development, and bounty. There are challenges yet to be met, but it is perspicacious for us to remind ourselves that the pendulum always swings back along its arc.
|
Message from ACME's CEO
