I don't know about you, but I sure could use some normalcy in the world about now. No one has gone unaffected by September 11, and the uncertainty of the future looms large. Furthermore, that condition is not confined to our personal lives. It's part of our work-a-day lives too.

As our lead news story (Is just-in-time turning to just-in-case? ) explains, the attacks have had a mixed impact on materials handling operations, inventory levels, and supply chains. The initial effect was sufficiently dramatic that it called into question whether just-in-time was going to be replaced by just-in-case. But things have settled into a more familiar pattern. Jim Apple of the Progress Group had this to say. "There may be a short-term build up of inventory, but in these tough times there's just too much pressure to cut costs to carry just-in-case inventory." And he's right.

At the same time, the economy is even more unclear to us now than it was before September 11. Back then, the national business magazines were running stories on Warren Buffet's expectation for an 8 year economic downturn and the coming decline in home prices. Now the stories are about how the unknown force of terrorism has put our economy under siege and may alter how business will be conducted in the future.

In our own economic outlook (Uncertainty overshadows the economy ), Daryl Delano agrees that it's still early since the attacks to say with great certainty when the economy will snap back. Nevertheless, he does have some excellent reasons why manufacturing's numbers are likely to look better come next spring.

Given everything, that has a reassuring ring to it. And while it's beyond any of us individually to impact the overall economy or national mood, we can each begin to take steps now to improve our corner of the world. In fact, we owe it to ourselves to do so.

Take a look at this month's IT Report, WMS to the rescue . As Editor At Large Bob Trebilcock points out, a down economy is a great time to be considering and implementing a warehouse management system (WMS). He describes three different scenarios – a first install, a replacement of a legacy system, and going beyond WMS – that can benefit. In each case, it's all about making the investment now so that when times are better you're ahead of the curve and that ROI kicks in even faster.

This month's Warehouse of the Month is about Discount Auto Parts, a company that bought into that same invest-for-the-future outlook. As the chain grew from its Florida roots, says Roy Martin, vice president of supply chain and logistics, it needed a new distribution center with greater efficiencies. What Discount Auto Parts got was a DC in a more central location to its rapidly growing retail outlets, and a range of picking productivity increases from 44% to 500%. Especially important here is that these efficiencies exist whether it is a good economy or a weak one.

Even if your company has put a lid on capital expenditures for the balance of this year, it's time to begin planning for 2002. And if you already have a green light, put it in gear. In either case, it's time to make your own good news. We can all use it.