TRANSLATING INT'L 
WAREHOUSING
Into Marketing Success
By Michael Gardner

Until the early 1990s, the term "warehousing" was a relatively foreign concept for marketing professionals. Most knew its basic meaning "the storage and handling of raw materials and finished goods until needed by the end user." But few understood exactly how this seemingly 'boring' and 'bland' function could translate into a true competitive advantage.

Then re-engineering finally reached the logistics field. A more demanding marketplace began expecting better turnaround times and service from the manufacturers and retailers whose products they purchased. And companies such as Wal-Mart, which made aggressive logistics a key part of its competitive strategy, became role models for logistics-driven success.

As a result, today's most visionary marketing professionals acknowledge that basic logistics functions such as warehousing are critical to their companies' ultimate marketing success.

"A business can make the best product in the world. It can have the most effective advertising campaign. And it can have the best pricing strategy. But none of that will have the impact it should if that business can't get products to customers when they want them and in the condition they expect," said GATX Logistics President and CEO Joseph Nicosia. "A lot of that depends on the efficient use of warehousing."

Nowhere is this more true than in the international arena. As trade barriers collapse and globalization increases, more companies are...

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