As I write this, it is the end of an old year. As you read this, it will be the beginning of the new. It's a time for reflection, and re-dedication. Here are a few of the things that I have learned in the past year—and hope to not forget in the next.

• Even though products are shipped from production plants to distribution centers in quantities that easily warrant palletizing for easier unloading and storage, there is a good reason that they are hand-stacked in the trailer. Shipping density is worth more than palletizing labor. And transportation costs are rising much faster than labor.
• It's easy to be frustrated by corporate structures and policies that don't recognize the brilliance of a cost-effective capital investment proposal or a cost-saving process improvement. But, running a business and maintaining its image and momentum is a lot more complicated than just running a warehouse.
• Detailed cost analysis may prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that a single facility in Memphis is the right logistics network solution. However, there can be complications. What if that facility holds the only inventory that we have, and it will take six weeks to replace it? And what if it is the only place that we have the capability and capacity to process complicated orders? In that case, those who argue for a second location for at least some redundancy will probably win the day.
• Just-in-time and lean thinking have become so ingrained that we are made to feel unpatriotic if we suggest that a little more inventory might significantly reduce transportation costs. In fact, if it weren't for the risk of obsolescence, transportation expense almost always trumps inventory carrying cost. We just can't use the inventory to cover a multitude of other sins.
• Private trucking fleets are normally considered to be an expensive fixed overhead cost, and often only a tribute to the ego of a company. Contracting out transportation provides flexibility to handle variation in demand and puts the operation in the hands of true professionals. What a lesson it was to discover that full control of delivery timing, making route changes at the last minute, management of unloading and installation of products, and return of valuable packing materials would turn the tables on conventional wisdom.
• A company was recently facing a decision on the best plan to support westward expansion. As the plans became more detailed, we sat stewing over the realities of some additional start-up costs, and struggling with which of two locations was most optimal.

Fortunately, an inspiration to graph the cumulative cash flow of the project, including the impact of a couple of upside scenarios, made the troubling start-up costs look insignificant. And, it was clear that choosing the location was less important than getting started.

As engineers, it's sometimes hard to admit that we'll never get a perfect plan. Passing time will erode the value of what we had planned. Someone has to step up and say that it's time to get going.

An adage, oft repeated by my old partner, John White, goes: "The time comes when it is necessary to shoot the engineers and start production."

In 2005, keep your muskets ready!