We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Logistics community remains rattled but resilient
big picture

Logistics community remains rattled but resilient

December 21, 2009
Peter Bradley
No Comments

Well, thank goodness that's over. I don't imagine too many of us will miss 2009 and the economic misery it brought. I don't pretend to understand all the financial sleight-of-hand that briefly enriched a few before impoverishing many. But while mulling all this over recently, it occurred to me that the Wall Street investors who created and purchased those monstrosities actually didn't understand them any better than I did. That may explain in part why the deals imploded the way they did. It was three-card monte taken to the extreme.

In a marvelous new book called Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? author Michael J. Sandel reflects at one point on Wall Street executives who defended their enormous bonuses in the face of their enormous failure by arguing that the recession was caused by forces well beyond their control. Sandel then asks the pertinent follow-up question: "If big systemic economic forces account for the disastrous losses of 2008 and 2009, couldn't it be argued that they also account for the dazzling gains of earlier years?" In other words, if, by the financial executives' own argument, they don't deserve to be penalized in bad times, then they can't exactly take credit for the good times either. "Surely the end of the Cold War, the globalization of trade and capital markets, the rise of personal computers and the Internet, and a host of other factors help explain the success of the financial industry during its run in the 1990s and in the early years of the twenty-first century," he writes. (Sandel's book offers a cogent overview of some of the philosophical underpinnings of our economic system. I recommend it.)

Most of us are at some remove from the high-risk, high-reward, and potentially calamitous machinations of Wall Street. Yet as we all found out rather painfully —and for many, the pain is deep and lasting —our economic system links us all inextricably. Down in the trenches where most logistics and material handling managers work, the consequences were all too real. Motor carrier bankruptcies, sharp drops in orders for material handling equipment, excess inventories, the departures of friends and colleagues, and questions about business survival and personal financial well being touched us all.

In the face of such a severe economic crisis, it is frustrating, to say the least, to know that doing everything right may not be enough. But if there's a bright side to all this, it's in the personal resilience and fortitude I've seen from so many in this industry who've shown themselves to be willing and able to keep on keeping on.

Business Management & Finance
  • Related Articles

    flat but tilted

    impossible, but nonetheless mandatory

    like magic—but not magic

Peterbradley
Peter Bradley is an award-winning career journalist with more than three decades of experience in both newspapers and national business magazines. His credentials include seven years as the transportation and supply chain editor at Purchasing Magazine and six years as the chief editor of Logistics Management.

Recent Articles by Peter Bradley

From temp to management: interview with Diane Garforth

Watching over intermodal's interests: interview with Joni Casey

Building resilience into the supply chain: interview with Yossi Sheffi

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Big and bulky last-mile delivery segment set for hot growth

  • Outlook 2023: What’s in store for logistics/supply chain?

  • Ports, maritime operators see tide turning as ocean freight tsunami subsides

  • In Person: Steve Beverly of Penske

  • InPerson interview: Rob McKeel of Fortna

Now Playing on DCV-TV

89cfed30 8aac 4284 960d c8c8c1886e16

Have you checked your read rate lately?

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
No reads. Unaccounted for boxes. Boxes sent to the wrong place. A logistics nightmare! But this nightmare doesn’t have to come true. SICK’s linear line scan camera is what dreams are made of for your logistics operations. And if you’re worried about motion and vibration from conveyor belts...well, there’s no reason...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • The five best applications for robotic lift trucks in warehouse environments

  • Fulfillment Facility Improved Efficiencies by 4x

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

  • Reusable Packaging for the New Wave of Supply Chain Automation

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing