A - You have to have the leadership and organizational ability to motivate other people. You really have to have human relations skills in order to get the task performed, because most of the job is performed by other people. It's mostly controlling and directing their activities and energies.
Right now being knowledgeable in the computer area is most important, to know what can or can't be done. I think the area of personnel relations-being able to work with people and understanding each person based on his or her personality-is important. One should have an understanding of industrial engineering, production scheduling, and inventory systems and a background in sales and marketing. The administrative manager has to tie in with the other functional areas.
You must be familiar with the acquisition of resources; their movement to a plant; the control of resources after production; their movement to the consumer, distribution point, or storage facility; and the inventory control of the product. As you move up the corporate ladder, it is going to be very important that you have knowledge of the several aspects of the total logistics picture.
More and more of our operations here are controlled by computers. Computers give us the information on what's going on. So the systems area is becoming more and more important all the time. I would also say that the person should have a good financial background, because he or she may have a $15 million budget and 300 people to manage. That's a fairly sizable investment.
Q - What do you enjoy about your job?
A - It is a fascinating business, and it lends itself to a lot of personal contact. Over the years, I have found in dealing with all the people in transportation, that generally they are a friendly group of people. They appreciate your problem and want to work along with you.
It is a very challenging career field. There is nothing routine about it, no two days are alike, and there are tremendous opportunities for creativity. We are dealing in a discipline that has unlimited opportunities as far as serving the public and our customers. In the economy today, money is more valuable, it costs more, and it is under more rigid controls. Therefore distribution systems are being scrutinized to control costs more carefully. This sort of thing obviously creates both a challenge and opportunity for us. The alternative of public warehousing is one that we offer manufacturers. They don't have to tie up capital in long-term assets for a long-term commitment in a specific market area. We will take their risk, we will construct their distributing facility, and we will perform their inventory control and distribution services. If manufacturers want to escape their market for one reason or another, they have the flexibility to withdraw. We then have the risk of being left with space in the building, which allows us to market to another customer.
Nonfinancial rewards are great, because you are close to the firing line. It has been said that nothing ever happens in a business until a sale has been made, and the completion of the sales transaction is right in the distribution area. The very success of business is measured by sales. We are so closely related to that process that I see the results very quickly. I realize that I am part of that.
Q - What trends do you see in the field?
A - People in physical distribution need to be more sophisticated than ever before. They need to be aware of the operation in total, not just their own functional area. They need to be able to relate to the whole spectrum-sales, marketing, and production.
The traditional perception of distribution is that of a truck driver in a dirty sweatshirt. A new perception is developing, and this is manifesting itself in the high-quality individuals the profession is attracting. I sense a very positive trend in distribution-training people so that they can climb up the corporate ladder.
Additionally, with regulatory changes and all the other governmental influences in terms of environment, the complexities associated with importing and exporting, the severe financial forces in action, and tougher competition, we are seeing a different type of person in the profession of distribution.
The available technology - the microprocessors, the minicomputers, the chips-are all recent innovations. You go to materials handling shows and see the wireless trains. They had them back in the early 1970s, but their application is just now hitting the industry. Physical distribution has still not reached its potential. I think the people in the 1980s are certainly going to see a complete change in technology in this decade. And in the 1990s, it will be even more sophisticated. If management could just sit back and totally understand, this would be a real gold mine!
Q - Is there any advice you would give someone interested in physical distribution?
A - If you intend to get into distribution, you should get a general management background. Target in on management information, in the computer area. It isn't necessarily important to know how to program, but find out what the computer can or cannot do.
We are in the business world, and it is a world of communication. Yet this is the weakest skill in many of the students I interview, but not in the ones I select.
Number one-it is very important to have a college degree. I think that it is certainly beneficial to have a focus in physical distribution, logistics, and traffic. I admit that more of our recent college graduates have not had majors in the field of logistics, but all of them have had the exposure of distribution through the course work.
Young people coming into distribution must recognize and understand that distribution is a function of marketing. It is terribly important that distribution plans and efforts are supportive of the marketing strategies and designed to meet customers' needs. A clear understanding of the marketing objectives is necessary if we are to fulfill our mission properly.
