If you’re looking for some compelling non-biased source to prove to your superiors your true strategic worth, listen to what Tom Ridge, former governor of Pennsylvania and former secretary of Homeland Security, says about your job: “Logistics not only combats terrorism but as you try to build economic resiliency and reduce risk to the supply chain, you do the same for America.”

With the consumer products industry holding such a prominent position in the supply chain, it would be wise for upstream and downstream partners to pay attention to the evolution of their business priorities. According to Tompkins Associates, international supply chain consultants, uncertainty is as certain as ever, and supply chain leaders must be flexible yet strategic. Tompkins cites globalization in China, mergers and acquisitions, and taking inventory management to a new level as these companies’ top survival strategies. In a recent report, Tompkins expanded these into the following Top 11 Priority list:

Robocom Systems International announced the successful acquisition of Cambar Solutions based in Charleston, South Carolina. The conclusion of the transaction marks Robocom’s second acquisition of supply chain execution software companies in less than four years.

The Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions Association (VICS) released new standards created to lower the cost and reduce the environmental impact of hangers throughout the retail value chain. The new guidelines, which change the standard color of “department store” hangers (with metal hooks) from clear to matte black, were developed collaboratively by VICS members, including retailers, apparel companies and hanger suppliers.

Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to be up 11% in February over the same month last year, and the first half of 2011 should be up 6% over the same period in 2010, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.

DHL, global logistics service providers, announced it will invest US $22.5 million to expand its hub facility at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport to meet the growing demands of international shipping customers.

Brambles Ltd., a provider of supply chain and information management solutions and parent company of CHEP, has acquired Container and Pooling Solutions (CAPS), a provider of intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) and automotive containers, for $16.4 million.

Import shipment volume for January 2011, measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), increased 8.86% from December and 17.64% over January 2010, according to Zepol Corp., a trade intelligence company. The total number of shipments also increased 7.69% from December and 17.62% over last January.

What do you think a good supply chain manager ought to be paid? Go on, think of a number, and by all means, use your own salary as a baseline. A year ago when we asked that question of our readers, we learned that the average salary for a material handling and logistics manager was just a hair over $80,000. We’re crunching the numbers right now for the MH&L 2011 Salary Survey, and if you’re in Chicago for the ProMat 2011 show, you can find out whether salaries have gone up, down or pretty much stayed the same.

Despite the political unrest in the headlines lately, it’s nice to see that our economy seems to continue its recovery unabated. Just watching what happens in the material handling and logistics sector is exciting. ERP Analyst Michael Koploy shares my excitement, particularly about trends in the warehouse management system (WMS) sector. He alerted me to a market analysis he posted, stating that projects that have long been postponed are now getting put back on the front burners. This is particularly the case among small and medium companies, he says. He cites Terry Harris, managing partner at Chicago Consulting, as his source.

There are proven tools and procedures to address industrial safety. But to measure the effectiveness of safety procedures, you need a gauge. That’s where an industrial facility safety audit comes in.

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VRC Replaces 10 Ton Hoist
A Pflow vertical lift (VRC) was recently installed at a 12 story boiler recovery building at an International Paper facility in OK. The VRC replaces a 10 ton hoist mounted at the top floor. The VRC provides a safer lifting alternative and easier unloading at each floor. Click here for more information.

These articles were those most viewed in last week's newsletter.

Top 10 Supply Chain Predictions for 2011
As we move into 2011, recovery seems to be moving along at an acceptable pace as good news slightly outweighs the bad. The U.S. manufacturing trend reflects a healthy rebound in automotive and stronger exports for larger firms. If the housing and commercial real estate markets return, even modestly, manufacturing could be the catalyst for stronger economic growth in mature economies.

Uncertainty's Price Rising
Supply chain leaders are overwhelmingly more uncertain now than they were last year or the year before, according to a recent Tompkins Supply Chain Consortium study. The report, Uncertainty is Certain: Perceptions of Future Risk on the Rise, shows that nearly two-thirds of respondents across industries predict more future risk than they did just a year or two ago.

Lift Truck Makers Seeing Big Picture
When most material handling and logistics managers see underutilized warehouse space, their first instinct might be to focus on the racking. But sometimes the answer to a storage problem isn’t found in the most obvious place. For many warehousing problems, Jim Moran usually looks at lift trucks first. That’s understandable, considering he’s senior vice president of Crown Equipment. But he made a convincing case for his approach last week when his company introduced a new order picker to the market.