Press Release

Economic Uncertainty Brings a Renewed Focus on Cost Containment in 2009

(Boonton, NJ, December 29, 2008) — As the country plunges deeper into recession, distribution center and warehouse managers are finding they are not immune to the impacts.

As part of Distribution Center Management newsletter’s annual trends report, editor Alison Dunn spoke with industry experts who identified the many issues distribution professionals are facing as a result of the struggling economy, among them:

• Finding places to cut costs that won’t negatively impact operations
• Dealing with wildly variable energy costs
• Handling excess inventory brought on by sudden reductions in demand.

Among the many solutions offered in the report are strategies to gain efficiencies in the warehouse. “The best way to start is to analyze your processes and truly understand your operation,” says Geoff Sisko, assistant vice president with TransSystems/Gross & Associates.

“Spend more time on the floor observing operations,” he advises. “Looking at reports doesn’t really reflect what is going on. Reports measure, but observation is important to understand what drives the metric.”

Sisko recommends looking for things that slow people down in the operation like bottlenecks, search time, wait time, and system response time. Ask your operators what makes their job more difficult or slows them down. Once you identify these areas, you can start working to improve them.

The full text of the report, Economic uncertainty brings a renewed focus on cost containment in 2009, is available online at the Distribution Center Management website, http://www.DistributionGroup.com/dcmtrends.php.

The report includes comments from Mike Coronado, distribution director, The Container Store; Rick Goone, distribution center manager, Weekenders USA; Pat Kelley, founder, Labor Development Group; Susan Rider, president, Rider & Associates; Geoff Sisko, assistant vice president, TransSystems/Gross & Associates; Tom Tanel, president and CEO of CATTAN Services; and Jim Tompkins, president and CEO, Tompkins Associates.

About the Distribution Group

For more than 40 years, Distribution Group publications have helped distribution center and warehouse managers increase productivity, cut costs, and meet increasing customer demands. Distribution Group publishes Distribution Center Management newsletter, books and reports, and a free e-newsletter.

Website: http://www.DistributionGroup.com