DIALOG
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
ments within Romania leading up to and following its accession into the European Union this past January. The CIA’s World Factbook reports that Romania’s economy grew 6.4 percent in 2006, the strongest growth in the past decade. Perfect Flaws While I enjoyed Lisa Harrington’s article, Designing the Perfect Warehouse (May 2007), I found that it bypassed key issues related to: size, flow, and parking of motor carriers in the exte- rior yard; carrier driver and customer waiting areas with safe access to phone, water, and restrooms; and EPA anti- idling laws that suggest monetary penalties against warehouse operators and carriers when a carrier idles lon- ger than the guidelines. I know articles can’t cover all the issues, but I was sur- prised that this feature did not mention these factors at all. John A. Gentle, John A. Gentle & Associates LLC Lisa Harrington replies: In an attempt to narrow the focus and investigate certain warehouse areas in depth, we concen- trated the article primarily on design aspects affecting the flow of goods and material inside the warehouse. Driver accommodations and ample yard area are critical issues; we no doubt will include a discussion of those issues in a follow-up article.
global supply chain technology needs to catch up a bit, but also, many compa- nies are still reluctant to increase their IT budgets—and when they do, logistics solu- tions aren’t always at the top of the list. TMS providers, however, are improving their capabilities for addressing global transportation. A Story With Legs I just finished reading Lisa Terry’s article, Furniture Logistics Finds its Legs (March 2007). I found the section on managing inbound movement of Asian sourced products particularly interest- ing. Good article! Don Granholm, Nashua Corporation Reading IL in Romania While reading Joseph O’Reilly’s March 2007 article, CEE Change: Central & Eastern Europe Makes Waves, I was intrigued by the figures for Romania shown in the two charts highlighting Europe’s average GDP per capita and economic growth. I’m wondering what the source is for the respective figures, and what year the figures refer to?
Kudos for Blogs Thank you for the great article about logistics industry blogs (Logistics in the Blogosphere, February 2007 ) . Blogging is a great medium for digging deeper into current supply chain issues and an excellence resource for staying up to speed on current news and happen- ings. Keep up the good work. Nathaniel A. Riggs, BestTransport.com Desperately Seeking Global I just read Amy Roach Partridge’s col- umn Global Technology Gets Hyperactive (March 2007). The topic fits in with a research paper I am a writing on the challenges of global transportation optimization. I’d like to know if Ms. Partridge has any comments concern- ing the development and availability of global TMS solutions? I assume that a gap exists between the effectiveness of domestic TMS and systems that can build loads and optimize routing internationally. Andy Street, CSCP Amy Roach Partridge replies: You are correct; many shippers tell us it is diffi- cult to manage the nuances of global transportation with their current TMS. They often purchase separate, niche solutions for components such as global trade management and import/export compliance. The problem is two-fold:
Jackie Bojor, Factor Regional Development Center Romania
Joseph O’Reilly replies: The two charts featured in this article are from PMR Consulting’s 2006 research. Bear in mind that this data does not reflect invest-
18 Inbound Logistics • July 2007
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