from the editor's files

THE ‘A’ LIST

Here are the top 5 trends in warehousing for 2001:

1. Continuing labor shortages

2. Increased material handling automation

3. Growth in e-fulfillment

4. Greater integration of systems

5. More diverse warehouse services

Source: Distribution Center Management, January 2001

Bon Mots

“When you have 50,000 to 70,000 SKUs on land, there's no way you can offer all that online, nor would you want to. Above-ground swimming pools are a bad online item!”
Mark Goldstein, president/CEO, BlueLight.com

“Even when we offered free shipping, 30% of our customers still picked up the item at the store.”
George Barr, dir./Internet merch., Circuit City Stores

“I guess that in e-commerce, we're fast followers. We're not in any rush to get out there.”
Shelley Nandkeolyar, VP/e-com., Williams-Sonoma

“Online pure-play retailers had business models that made no sense whatsoever. They were based on dreams that could never be realized.”
Michael Goldstein, chairman, Toys ‘R’ Us

HABLA XML?

You may not know a foreign language, but chances are you'll soon need to learn XML — widely touted as the business lingua franca of the Internet. In 2001, companies expect to boost XML technology budgets by 86% over last year, according to a study of IT execs conducted by IDG Research Services Group and XMLSolutions Corp. In the second half of 2000, average annual spending on XML rose from $105,000 to $141,000. By contrast, corporate IT budgets will increase only 8% this year, reports Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.