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.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • 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
    • Subscriptions
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • The Logistics of Defense
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • 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
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Subscriptions
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • The Logistics of Defense
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • 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
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » For logisticians, invisibility is job one
big picture

For logisticians, invisibility is job one

November 8, 2010
Peter Bradley
No Comments

One of the principles of graphic design is that good design is invisible. That is, the viewer is drawn into what he or she sees without being consciously aware that an individual artist assembled the elements that make the design appealing.

Good writing is like that, too. We often talk about the work that goes into producing prose that seems effortless to the reader. By that I mean striving for clarity, accuracy, good organization, and so on. Good writing is particularly essential when the ideas in the narrative are complex and difficult.

The art and science of logistics has much in common with good design and good writing. The goal is to move goods from origin to destination in a way that is transparent to the receiver. When logistics becomes visible, it is almost always as a result of something gone awry. When a supply chain works the way it's supposed to work, raw materials, intermediate goods, and finished products flow seamlessly from one stage to the next—intact, complete, and on schedule at a reasonable cost.

Over the years, we've applied to logistics management approaches initially developed for manufacturing—such as Lean or Six Sigma—to eliminate waste and errors. Software developers, transportation service providers, and material handling equipment suppliers have all made efforts to speed up processes, improve reliability, and increase productivity, often with marked success.

You don't have to spend much time in and around logistics operations to understand that it takes an extraordinarily well-orchestrated combination of talent, knowledge, effort, and information along with reliable hardware and software tools to make that happen over and over again. Furthermore, logistics professionals' very success in designing and operating distribution networks over the past couple of decades has led business leaders to keep ratcheting up their demands. Execute successfully with a particular level of inventory across a specific geography, and you'll be asked to do it again—only this time, with leaner stocks over a more complex and distant supply chain. And, in a time of recession, you'll likely have to do so with a smaller team.

We often hear, and often write about, how supply chain professionals can get the attention of senior management: talk the same language, understand their corporate goals, educate yourself about finance and the supply chain's role in it. All laudable initiatives. At the same time, the goal is to ensure that logistics operates as transparently as possible, to invest intelligent effort to assure customers—internal or external—don't have to think about logistics at all.

Supply Chain Services
  • Related Articles

    whose job is it anyway?

    Kicking the oil habit one drop at a time

    the world in one neat package

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

  • A look into the future of robotics

  • A primer on warehouse robots

  • Roadrunner Freight bolsters LTL capabilities with $50 million in new backing

  • Southeastern Freight Lines Promotes Marty Cox to Service Center Manager in Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Pull back or go deeper—how the pandemic influenced shipper-3PL engagement

Now Playing on DCV-TV

9cddf77b a6f2 40d3 b603 004e451106fb

Dealing with Rapidly Rising Freight Costs

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
I don’t know if it’s because of our Two Minute Warnings, or the fact that shippers are experiencing the conditions we warned about in our Code Red webcasts, but lately, I’ve heard the same message from several C-Level and supply chain executives: Their companies are experiencing supply chain challenges and their...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Special Report: Supply Chain Trends in Retail & Consumer Goods

  • Fortify Your Operational Resilience

  • Cold Storage Automation: Leveraging Advanced Technologies to Meet Increasing Demand

  • The modern warehouse: Maximizing productivity and capacity

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

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

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing