Trends in logistics thought: An empirical study

McGinnis, Michael A

In 1967 the National Council of Physical Distribution Management (NCPDM), now the Council of Logistics Management (CLM), published the Bibliography on Physical Distribution Management.(1) Since then, the bibliography has been updated annually by the logistics faculty of Ohio State University. The annotated bibliographic entries in each annual supplement provide a source of information for monitoring the logistics literature when primary sources are not available. Organization of the supplements changed little until 1985, when the table of contents numbering system appeared. Many categories were renumbered, some categories were renamed and renumbered, and several categories were deleted. Since then, the table of contents format has changed little as new topics appeared or were dropped. Exhibit 1 summarizes the two table of contents formats. (Exhibit 1 omitted)

Because many categories included in the annual supplements can easily be tracked, and because faculty from the same group have compiled this bibliography since its beginning, the authors felt that an analysis of the annual supplements over a period of time would provide insights into the evolution of logistics thought as reflected in the quantity and content of the annotated bibliographic entries.

One of the authors of this manuscript began receiving the NCPDM Supplements in 1975 (NCPDM Supplements became CLM Supplements beginning with the 1986 edition). Since then, every issue was saved in order to provide one means of staying current with the logistics literature. In 1991 the authors used the CLM Supplements as part of an extensive literature search regarding a specific topic in logistics. During that time it was recognized that the seventeen years of bibliographic supplements provided an excellent record of the changes that had occurred in logistics over a period of nearly two decades. By the time that the research for the current article was complete the 1992 Supplement had arrived.(2) Eighteen issues were now available for the research.

The authors felt that an analysis of the frequency and content of the annotated bibliographic entries appearing in the CLM Supplements over a period of eighteen years would provide insights into the quantitative and qualitative changes that have occurred in the logistics literature. In addition, the authors felt that the insights provided by this research would provide a frame of reference for those conducting research into logistics, those who have entered the field in recent years, those who write textbooks in logistics, and those who teach in the field.

Seven specific questions were formulated as part of the research plan. These questions are:

a. What topics seem to be important to logistics over time?

b. What topics seem to be emerging?

c. What topics seem to be receding in importance?

d. What role have academic journals played in the development of logistics thought?

e. What issues seem to overlap multiple topics, and what insights does this overlap provide regarding the central core of logistics?

f. Are the changes in logistics thought the result of internal pressures, external pressures, or both?

g. What insights do the answers to the first six questions provide for those conducting research, teaching, or working in logistics?

The balance of the article is divided into four sections. The following section describes the methodology used to evaluate the contents of eighteen annual supplements to the CLM Bibliography for the years 1975 to 1992. The second section presents the results of this research and responds to the seven questions presented above. The third section discusses three themes and an impression discovered during the research. The final section discusses the implications of this study for practitioners, teachers, and researchers.

METHODOLOGY

Four evaluations were conducted. First, the number of bibliographic entries for each category listed in the table of contents each year was counted. The authors felt that the number of items appearing in the supplement would be one indication of the relative importance of each category. Because the number of bibliographic entries for a specific category varied from year to year, the raw data were condensed into the four groups as shown in Exhibit 2. (Exhibit 2 omitted) Groups of three years were used for 1990-92, 1987-89, 1984-96: and one group was used for 1975-1983. Because the number of annotated bibliographic entries per year ranged from 210 to 426, it was decided to adjust the frequencies reported in Exhibit 2 to a base of 250.9 entries per year, the average number of entries during the years 1975-83. This adjustment standardized the reported frequency of each category shown in Exhibit 2 to a common base and eliminated the problem of comparing category frequencies in years where the total number of bibliographic entries varied substantially.

The second evaluation consisted of reading each entry in each year to examine the content of all entries from 1975 to 1992. This was done by category beginning with 1975 (or the year that the category first appeared) through 1992 (or the year the category last appeared). This analysis enabled the authors to develop an understanding of any changes that might be occurring within a category. For example, if the number of bibliographic entries under a category was relatively constant from year to year, this second evaluation would highlight whether the issues addressed by that category were changing. The growing, recurring, and diminishing trends for thirteen very high/high emphasis categories are shown in Exhibit 3 and discussed in the following section. (Exhibit 3 omitted).

Third, seventeen bibliographic categories were analyzed to ascertain the role of academic journals in the development of logistics thought. The percentage of bibliographic entries from refereed academic journals was calculated for selected declining categories, mainline categories, and emerging categories. When in doubt whether a specific publication was a refereed academic journal, Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Business and Economics was consulted.(3) The percentage of entries of academic journals in selected declining, mainline, and emerging categories was then assessed to evaluate the role of academic journals in the development of logistics thought. Exhibit 4 presents this analysis. (Figure 4 omitted)

Fourth, the content of thirteen very high/high emphasis categories was evaluated to identify any trends that were common to more than one category. An initial review of category contents, conducted as part of the second evaluation, suggested that some trends in the logistics literature were associated with more than one category. Exhibit 5 identifies ten trends that appeared in more than one very high/high category. (Exhibit 5 omitted). Exhibit 6 extends this analysis to focus on nine categories mentioned in Exhibit 5 and then evaluates these nine categories in terms of their relevance to the central core of logistics. (Exhibit 6 omitted)

RESULTS

The results are organized into six sections. First, trends in logistics thought in terms of category frequency, as shown in Exhibit 2, are discussed. Second, trends that appear within each very high/high category, as shown in Exhibit 3, are discussed. Third, the percentages of refereed academic journal bibliographic entries, as shown in Exhibit 4, are discussed to evaluate the role of the academic literature in the development of logistics thought.

Next, issues that appear in multiple categories (Exhibit 5) and their significance regarding the central core of logistics (Exhibit 6) are discussed. Finally, the authors' impressions regarding the sources of change in logistics thought are presented.

Trends in Categories

Four classes of categories were identified. These categories are discontinued, low emphasis, medium emphasis, and high/very high emphasis. Exhibit 2 shows average category frequencies by time interval, and Exhibit 3 shows trends that are occurring within very high emphasis and high emphasis categories.

Discontinued Categories

Of the thirty-four categories assessed, six were discontinued when the bibliography supplement table of contents was revised in 1985. These categories were Legal and Public Policy, Containerization, Plant Location, Warehouse Location, Mathematics and Statistics General References, and Mathematics and Statistics Applications. The category Legal and Public Policy seems to have been absorbed into the categories on freight transportation, traffic management, and deregulation (Exhibits 1 and 2, categories 5 through 9, 15, and 31). Any articles on Containerization probably would appear in the category Intermodal Freight (category 9). The categories of Plant and Warehouse Location were not encountered in recent years. Articles relating to the two Mathematics & Statistics categories do not appear to have been followed after 1984. Of the six discontinued categories, only articles that would have been classified into the Legal and Public Policy category have continued to appear on a sustained basis in bibliographic supplements after 1984. These articles address a wide range of issues including deregulation, reregulation, intrastate regulation, safety, size, and driver qualifications.

Low Emphasis Categories

Eleven categories were evaluated as receiving low emphasis in the logistics literature. Four of these categories have received low emphasis over the last six supplements. They are, with their category numbers, Water Freight (7), Packaging (14), Organizational Applications (20), and Information Applications (21). None of these categories has ever been highly popular in terms of average annual frequency, nor have they had any sustained period with no interest. Only Organizational Applications seems to be declining in interest to the point where it might disappear in a future bibliography supplement.

Six of the low emphasis categories have declined in emphasis. The following is our interpretation of the decline of these six categories. Physical Distribution Management (2) seems to have declined in favor of Materials Management/Logistics (1). This decline appears to coincide with the decision of the National Council of Physical Distribution Management to change its name in the middle 1980s. The decline in interest in Rail Freight (6) coincides with the increase in interest in Intermodal Freight (9). Planning Concepts (17) and Financial/Accounting Applications (23) have declined at a time when interest in strategy and strategic planning is increasing in several categories. The number of entries in Deregulation (31) has declined although the subject is found in the various modal categories and in Traffic Management (15). The decline in the category Bar Coding (34) may be due to the inclusion of bar coding considerations in the category Electronic Data Interchange (33).

Finally one low emphasis category, Network Design (19), appeared only in the 1991 supplement.

Medium Emphasis Categories

Four categories were classified as medium emphasis. Two, Air Freight (8) and Systems Design (18), have maintained a constant level of emphasis over the years. The other two, Computer Applications (22) and Productivity/Quality (32), have declined somewhat in emphasis in recent years, but not at dramatic rates. It does not appear that interest in any of the medium emphasis categories will increase or decline dramatically in the near future.

High and Very High Emphasis Categories

Thirteen categories were classified as high or very high emphasis. These categories represented 94.7%, 80.3%, and 72.5% of the bibliographic entries in the years 1990-92, 1987-89, and 1984-86 respectively (the years 1975-1983 represent the period before the 1985 bibliography table of contents revision). Closer examination revealed that seven of these categories had not changed emphasis since 1986 and that six categories had increased in emphasis since 1986. The former are considered to be mainline logistics topics. The latter are considered to represent the emerging logistics topics. The following section discusses trends that have occurred in these thirteen important categories.

Trends Within Categories

This section discusses the trends within high/very high emphasis categories as shown in Exhibit 3. The seven mainline logistics categories are Inventory (category 4 of Exhibits 1 and 2), Motor Freight (5), Warehousing (10), Materials Handling (11), Customer Service (12), International Logistics (13), and Traffic Management (15). However, examination of the trends within each of these seven mainline categories, as shown in Exhibit 3, reveals that the topical emphasis changed substantially between 1975 and 1992. The following summarize these trends:

a. Inventory. Recurring issues were Economic Order Quantity determination, safety stock determination, and inventory carrying costs. Growing trends were automation/computerization; Just-in-time; MRP, DRP, and Systems; and quick response.

b. Motor Freight. Of the transportation modes, motor freight has been a high importance category for the entire period of this study. This does not necessarily mean that the other modes are not important. Three of the other modes have declined in frequency and one has increased in frequency. The recurring issues in motor freight have been public policy, strategy, cost, pricing/rates, and markets. Three growing trends are Just-in-time, industry shake-out, and driver recruitment. Declining trends are marketing, deregulation, productivity, and negotiations.

c. Warehousing. Recurring issues were theft and fire prevention, public versus private versus contract warehousing, manual versus automatic picking, automation/computerization, and human resources management. Growing trends were construction, modernization, and retrofitting of warehouse capacity; automatic storage/automatic retrieval; software; and Just-in-time. The declining trend was distribution centers, or no-storage warehouses.

d. Materials Handling. Recurring issues were automation/computerization, manual versus automated picking, and pallets versus palletless (usually slipsheets). Growing trends were carousels versus shelves, bar coding, systems, and Just-in-time.

e. Customer Service. The recurring issue was measurement of customer service and the growing trend was customer service strategies. The declining trend was managing customer service.

f. International Logistics. Three recurring issues were foreign trade zones, exporting of American products, and global distribution. The growing trends, as shown in Exhibit 3, tend to follow political changes, changing trade agreements, and shifting trade imbalances between the United States and other countries.

g. Traffic Management. The recurring issues were computerization, freight consolidation, hazardous materials, security and theft prevention, and the handling of small shipments. The growing trends were negotiation skills, private versus for-hire fleets, and deregulation. The declining trend, urban deliveries, appeared in the supplements from 1976 to 1980.

The six emerging categories were Materials Management/Logistics (category 1 of Exhibits 1 and 2), Purchasing (3), Intermodal Freight (9), Third Party/Supply Chain Management (16), Human Resources Applications (24), and Electronic Data Interchange (33). Even though some of these trends only appeared in the bibliography supplement within the last five issues, definite trends were identified and are shown in Exhibit 3. The following summarize the trends that occur in each of the six emerging logistics categories:

a. Materials Management/Logistics. This category first appeared in the bibliography supplement in 1980. Since the middle 1980s, it has replaced the category Physical Distribution Management as the major general category. This change is consistent with the shift in terminology preference from "physical distribution" to "logistics" that occurred during the past decade. Recurring issues are automation/computerization, quality materials, and time responsiveness as a competitive tool. Five growing trends are systems, logistics as a source of competitive advantage, logistics in strategic decision making, concern for customer service, and materials management as part of the supply chain. The single diminishing trend, Material Requirements Planning, was mentioned frequently for about five years but has received little attention since 1984.

b. Purchasing. This category first appeared in 1980. Emphasis was medium and has increased to high. Recurring issues are buyer strategies, international sources, and computerization. Three growing trends are Just-in-time, quality, and purchasing interfaces. The single diminishing trend is Material Requirements Planning.

c. Intermodal Freight. This category first appeared in 1980. The single recurring issue has been deregulation of the transportation industry. The single growing trend has been the standardization versus specialization of containers.

d. Third Party/Supply Chain Management. This category first appeared in the bibliography supplement in 1985. The two recurring issues have been public versus private versus contract warehousing; and the trials and tribulations of brokers, shippers, and forwarders. The two growing trends include the ability of middlemen to add value; and the potential and limitations of partnerships among suppliers, middlemen, and buyers.

e. Human Resources Applications. This category first appeared in 1985. The single recurring issue is careers. Three growing trends are supervision, substance abuse, and education. The single diminishing trend is training.

f. Electronic Data Interchange. This category first appeared in 1987. Four recurring issues are systems, barriers to EDI, EDI standards, and strategic issues. The one diminishing trend is EDI implementation.

Academic Journals and Bibliographic Trends

The percentage of bibliographic entries from refereed academic journals was reviewed in order to evaluate the role of this part of the literature in the development of logistics thought. As shown in Exhibit 4, seventeen categories were selected for this evaluation. Four selected "Declining Categories" had declined steadily and did not appear to have been absorbed into other categories. The seven "Mainline Categories" and six "Emerging Categories" were "High and Very High Emphasis" categories identified earlier in the "Trends in Categories" section.

The percentage of bibliographic entries from the refereed academic literature varied widely by category and among the declining, mainline, and emerging categories. There were no clear patterns of increasing or decreasing percentages of academic journal bibliographic entries among declining, mainline, or emerging categories that suggests academic journals are systematically leading or lagging in the development of logistics thought.

As shown in Exhibit 4, four 1975-1992 category percentages were more than one standard deviation greater than the overall 1975-1992 categories average. These categories were Planning Concepts (17), Inventory (4), Customer Service (12), and Purchasing (3). The following are suggested as explanations for these higher rates of activity. Planning Concepts received a great deal of attention among academics, consultants, and practitioners during the later part of the 1970s and 1980s. This interest included the funding of research by at least one professional logistics organization. As strategy and strategic issues began to be integrated into various categories, Planning Concepts has declined.

The interest in Inventory by the academic journals has been heavy throughout the period studied. That interest in Inventory is substantial is probably due to a host of reasons including inventory management's importance to logistics system investment levels, the creation of time and place utility, meeting customer service goals, effective use of production systems, effective purchasing, and as a focal point of logistics system coordination. In addition there has been a significant amount of industry and professional organizational support for funded research into an array of inventory issues over the years.

The interest in Customer Service appears to be due to its importance as a competitive and integrative tool. In addition, there has been a substantial amount of funded support for Customer Service research over the last two decades. The high level of academic journal activity in Purchasing is largely due to one journal, the International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management (formerly the Journal of Purchasing). Again, the purchasing profession has been generous in its funding of academic research. This encouragement and financial support of a refereed academic journal and university research over the years, has probably contributed to an above average amount of interest in purchasing by academics. The four 1975-1992 category percentages more than one standard deviation below the overall 1975-1992 categories average were Warehousing(1O), Materials Handling (11), intermodal Freight Transportation (9), and Electronic Data Interchange (33). The importance of these categories to logistics, due to their prominence in the logistics literature, speaks for itself. Reasons for the lack of activity in the academic literature may be due to a lack of industry or professional support of research; the broad nature of warehousing, materials handling, and intermodal activities may preclude a clearly identified focus on these categories; and much research in other categories may focus on issues relevant to these categories, The lack of academic research into electronic data interchange may also be due to the fact that EDI is integral to systems, automation/computerization, and strategy. Overall, the percentage of refereed journal bibliographic entries in a category appears to have more to do with the level of industry and professional support for research in that category than whether that category's number of bibliographic entries is increasing, stable, or decreasing.

Trends Among Categories

Further examination of the data identified ten issues that regularly appeared in two or more bibliographic categories. They are shown as Exhibit 5 and are discussed in the following paragraphs.

a. Cost. This issue appears in the category Inventory nearly every year and in Motor Freight about half of the time. The carrying cost of inventory and motor carrier cost analysis, cost structure, and economies of scale are the major topics.

b. Deregulation. Although the emphasis of the category Deregulation has declined steadily since the middle of the 1980s, the topic occurs frequently in the Motor Freight, Intermodal Freight, and Traffic Management categories of the bibliographic supplements. While the frequency of this topic has declined in the Motor Freight category, deregulation and the scramble for competitive advantage among the various modes recurs in the Intermodal Freight (14) category. In the Traffic Management category, the discussion of deregulation and its impact on the trucking industry is a growing issue. Those conducting research into deregulation should include the above mentioned categories in their search.

c. Quality. Quality and the search for quality materials has recurred in Materials Management/Logistics since 1980 and has been growing in Purchasing since 1988. Those conducting research into quality should include the Materials Management/Logistics and Purchasing categories in their search.

d. Systems. A ubiquitous issue, systems is recurring or growing in four categories, as shown in Exhibit 4. Those conducting research into systems should also search the categories Systems Design (18), Network Design (19), Information Applications (21), Computer Applications (22), Electronic Data Interchange (33), and Bar Coding (34) shown in Exhibits 1 and 2.

e. Just-in-Time. Interest in this issue, as shown by the frequency of bibliographic entries, shows no signs of lessening. The four categories Purchasing, Inventory, Warehousing, and Materials Handling contain the majority of references to JIT; however, some other categories include occasional references to JIT.

f. Material Requirements Planning. While still a growing trend in the category Inventory, interest in MRP in the categories Materials Management/Logistics and Purchasing appears to have diminished. The emergence of JIT coincides with the decline in interest in MRP.

g. Automation/Computerization. The most widespread issue among categories, Automation/Computerization is a recurring or growing issue in seven categories. Those conducting research into this issue should also search the categories Systems Design (18), Network Design (19), Information Applications (21), Computer Applications (22), and Bar Coding (32) in addition to the seven categories shown in Exhibit 4.

h. Strategy/Strategic Issues. This issue is recurring or growing in five categories, as shown in Exhibit 4. Interest in Strategy/Strategic Issues shows no signs of lessening.

i. Security/Theft. This issue has appeared in the categories Warehousing and Traffic Management steadily during the period studied.

j. Private versus For-hire. Bibliographic entries on this issue have recurred during the period of this study in the Warehousing category and have been a growing trend in Traffic Management since deregulation. This make-versus-buy issue has recurred in Third Party/Supply Chain Management since that category appeared in 1985.

Logistics Core Issues in Perspective

A major challenge facing the authors in a discussion of logistics core issues was that of developing a conceptual framework that put these issues in a perspective relative to the organization and its external environment. A perspective that meets this challenge is the concept of the three distinct levels of organizational responsibility and control suggested by Parsons.(4) They are the technological core, administrative (or managerial level), and the institutional level. According to Thompson, the primary function of the technological core is to perform well in terms of technological measures of performance.(5) Examples of such performance measures in logistics might include return on inventory investment, shipping and handling cost versus budget, and percentage of orders shipped complete within forty-eight hours. In order for the technological core to perform well in terms of technological measures of performance, it must behave like a closed system, isolated from its environment.(6) Firms attempt to isolate the core technology from its environment by inturn sealing, buffering, smoothing, predicting and adapting, and rationing.(7)

At the other extreme, the organization's institutional level deals primarily with an uncertain external environment, over which it has little or no formal authority.(8) The institutional level behaves like an open system, seeking flexibility in an uncertain environment and responding to generalized norms that include laws, standards of good practice, and the public interest.(9) Examples of such generalized nons in logistics might include overall customer satisfaction; good working relationships with suppliers, carriers, and other third-party providers; and contributing to organizational competitive advantage in terms of low cost and meaningful differentiation. Mediating between the technological core and the institutional level is the administrative, or managerial, level. This mediation leads to a "paradox of administration" where the administrative level simultaneously seeks to: (a) reduce uncertainty so that the technological core can perform well in terms of technological measures of performance and (b) strive for flexibility--through freedom from commitment--so that the organization can achieve a greater level of self-control in an uncertain environment.(10) An example of such a situation in logistics might be the challenge of responding to an array of fluctuating customer service needs while trying to minimize inventory levels, maximize stock availability, maximize order pick efficiency, and minimize the use of expensive high-priority transportation. The objective of this section is to identify the logistics technological core and then present these issues in a perspective that relates them to the logistics administration (or management) level and the logistics institutional level.

The identification of logistics technological core issues occurred in three steps. First, the categories mentioned in Exhibit 5 were recapitulated, together with their frequency of being mentioned, and presented as shown in Exhibit 6. Next, two independent sources that discuss key logistics activities were summarized and included in Exhibit 6.(11) Finally, the three columns in Exhibit 6 were examined to ascertain which categories were logistics technological core issues. The four logistics technological core issues identified from this process were Inventory (5), Warehousing (10), Materials Handling (11), and Traffic Management (15). A fifth category, Materials Management/Logistics (1), was identified as the key issue in the administrative level. Four categories were not identified as core logistics issues. They are Purchasing (3), Customer Service (12), Third Party/Supply Chain Management (16), and Electronic Data Interchange (33). Next, several textbooks were reviewed to identify components of Materials Management/Logistics, the administrative level of logistics management. Shapiro and Heskett present six key decisions relevant to logistics design and strategy.(12) They are procurement, order processing, inventory policy, transport policy, customer service policy, and facilities network. These six key decisions represent reasonable components of the logistics administrative level because they are consistent with the four logistics technological core issues, include policy input from the general management (institutional) level, and can incorporate most of the bibliographic categories shown in Exhibit 2.

Shapiro and Heskett also recognized that logistics management must simultaneously balance an array of conflicting perspectives similar in nature to those of the institutional level and technological core.(13) They are internal and external; firm, channel, and industry: strategic and tactical; short-term and long-term; quantitative and qualitative; and detailed and broad. That the technological core and institutional level must be constantly coordinated by the administrative level recognizes that logistics managers may simultaneously deal with all three organizational levels. Exhibit 7 is an illustration of the relationship between the logistics technological core, the logistics administrative level, and the logistics institutional level.

Sources of Change in Logistics Thought

A review of the bibliographic entries suggested an array of pressures at work to change logistics. These pressures included energy shortages, technological advances in computers, the need to participate and integrate logistics into planning, managing logistics within a regulatory framework, and a need to control costs during the 1970s; managing logistics in a deregulated environment, increasingly evaluating logistics activities as a make-or-buy decision, learning how to effectively manage logistics among international sources and markets, and dealing with an increasingly environmentally sensitive environment in the 1980s; and managing logistics in a rapidly changing environment that is increasingly time sensitive in the 1990s. Overall, logistics change appears to be constantly driven by an array of pressures that are primarily external to the logistics process and largely external to the firm.

DISCUSSION

The analysis of trends within categories and trends shared among categories suggest that four major themes in logistics thought have been occurring during the 1975-1992 period. In addition, the analysis reveals a subtle undercurrent not readily apparent at first glance. This undercurrent is an impression the authors formed from reading every abstract. It is based upon the observation that certain ideas and techniques seemed to flow among categories over time. The first theme is the increasing emphasis on interfaces within logistics, between logistics and other areas of the firm, and between the logistics activities of buyers and sellers. The second theme is the increasing emphasis on intrafirm and interfirm logistics efficiency. The third theme reflects the importance of public policy issues. All three themes are pervasive, and appear in long established mainline logistics categories and relatively new emerging logistics categories. The following paragraphs discuss these three themes as well as the flow of ideas and techniques among categories.

Interfaces

That logistics activities interact with other areas of the firm and with the logistics activities of other firms is well documented.(14) However, the pervasiveness of this theme, as demonstrated by the logistics literature, has not been previously shown. Examination of Exhibits 3 and 5 reveals that each of the interface-oriented issues (systems, just-in-time, automation/computerization, and strategy/strategic issues) is recurring or growing in one or more of the six mainline logistics categories (inventory, motor freight, warehousing, materials handling, customer service, and traffic management). At least five emerging logistics categories (purchasing, intermodal freight, third party/supply chain management, and electronic data interchange) focus on interfirm and/or intrafirm interfaces by their nature.

In examining discontinued and declining categories in Exhibit 2, it appears that some low integration categories (rail freight, planning concepts, information applications, financial/accounting applications, containerization, mathematics & statistics categories, and productivity/quality) have been replaced or absorbed into the interface oriented categories (intermodal freight, third party/supply chain, electronic data interchange) and the multi-category issues (systems, just-in-time, strategy/strategic issues, and automation/computerization) identified in Exhibit 5. Finally, the logistics process presented in Exhibits 6 and 7 demonstrates that logistics interfaces also occur across organizational levels and environmental frames of reference.

Efficiency

The importance of cost and cost efficiency has been a theme for at least two categories (inventory and motor freight) for the period studied. In addition, four issues, shown in Exhibits 3 and 5, also relate to logistics efficiency. Two of these issues, quality and private versus for-hire, have been recurring or growing in mainline and emerging logistics categories. Another efficiency-oriented issue, automation/computerization, is recurring or growing in at least seven mainline and emerging categories. The final efficiency issue, Material Requirements Planning, appears to be growing in the inventory category. Interface and efficiency issues are both prevalent in Materials Management/Logistics, the overview category in the bibliography supplements.

Deregulation/Public Policy

The third theme reported in the bibliography supplements is the continuing interest in deregulation and other public policy issues. Although the category Legal and Public Policy was discontinued in 1985 and Deregulation has diminished for the last six years, the issue of deregulation appears regularly in Intermodal Freight and Traffic Management. These findings suggest that deregulation and public policy are of continuing relevance.

Impressions: Ideas/Techniques Flows

Prior to the late 1970s, most of the trends observed in the bibliography supplements were isolated in specific categories. These trends had little in common with each other. For example, the issue of carousels versus shelves (1977) was limited to the category Materials Handling. Similarly, the debate of private versus for-hire trucking (1979) was limited to the Traffic Management. By 1980 new issues began to appear in two or more categories. For example, the issue Automation/Computerization was growing or recurring in four categories by 1977 and six categories by 1982. Similarly, in 1982 the issue Systems simultaneously appeared in two categories, Materials Handling and Materials Management, and appeared in four categories by 1988. By 1992, according to Exhibit 4, at least ten issues appeared in two or more categories on a recurring or growing basis. This flow of concepts among two or more categories reflects a fundamental change in logistics thought from a relatively compartmentalized orientation toward a relatively integrated, free-flowing orientation. Several factors may account for this increasing integrated orientation of logistics thought. First is the need to integrate all parts of the firm due to the increasingly competitive environment that many firms face. Second is the availability of inexpensive information processing that occurred during the 1980s with the widespread availability of personal computers. This availability of inexpensive information processing has made it possible to operationalize the integration of logistics activities within and among organizations. Third is the increasing need for firms to coordinate logistics, and other activities, with other channel members, both in-bound and out-bound, across continents.

IMPLICATIONS

The study of logistics has become increasingly complex, with many issues and categories overlapping each other. We expect ideas and techniques to continue to flow across each other in the future, perhaps at an accelerated rate. As a result, several implications are suggested for logistics practitioners, teachers, and researchers.

Implications for Practitioners

The trends identified in eighteen years of NCPDM and CLM bibliography supplements suggest that the practice of logistics has become much like the "Virtual Corporation," complete with joint ventures, long-term and temporary alliances to exploit fast-changing opportunities, shared skills, shared costs, and each partner contributing what they do best.(15) This suggests that logistics, as we have known it since the 1960s, is changing (if it has not already changed) into a form that causes it to blend simultaneously with itself, other areas of the firm, corporate partners, suppliers, third-party providers, and customers. As a result, the concept of logistics as a unique department within the organization may be obsolete. Rather, logistics as an activity that occurs in different forms throughout the organization may be the more relevant orientation towards logistics. This perspective is suggested by the value chain concept.(16) Taken to its extreme, the concept of the logistics specialist may be replaced by the concept of the logistics generalist, one who understands logistics within the framework of the overall activities of the firm. As a result, issues of job descriptions, performance evaluations, professional development, and career progression may have to be rethought. Possibly the logistics manager of the future will think of himself/herself as a manager who happens to be working in logistics rather than as a logistics specialist who happens to be a manager.

Implications for Teachers

A 1990 analysis of logistics textbooks concluded that organization and topical coverage have changed only slightly since the 1960s.(17) By implication, can we assume that the way we teach logistics has not changed very much since the 1960s? Perhaps those who teach logistics should rethink what they are doing and how they are doing it. This does not mean to imply that those who teach logistics are stagnate. However, it is very easy to become comfortable with the paradigms that we learned too well and have been used too long. Perhaps a series of forums on logistics, how it is taught, what its textbooks contain, and what courses should be offered, would be timely. Finally, the delivery of logistics education (together with the delivery of all types of education) may need to be rethought. Where is the magic in three-or four-credit, ten-to fifteen-week courses? Are other formats more relevant? Are multi-discipline team-taught courses a more appropriate approach? Should logistics issues be blended into the overall curriculum or should specific logistics courses still be taught? So many questions. So few answers.

Implications for Researchers

A few decades ago one of the co-authors read a statement that a pretzel-shaped world needs pretzel-shaped theories. The source of that statement is lost in time. However, future research into logistics will have to recognize that the increasingly free-flowing nature of logistics thought will require research approaches that capture those free-flowing characteristics. Much of the response to this challenge lies in the use of multi-discipline teams and methodologies. Insights from the behavioral areas regarding strategy, interorganizational issues, organizational complexity, and cross cultural management may be useful in studying logistics activities that flow freely across organizational boundaries and across organizations. Some progress is apparent in current logistics research and is reflected by material cited in this study. We are confident that such progress will continue.

NOTES

1. Bernard J. La Londe, et. al., Supplement to Bibliography on Physical Distribution Management (Chicago, Ill.: National Council of Physical Distribution Management, 1975), p. i.

2. Bernard J. La Londe and James M. Masters, Supplement to Bibliography on Logistics Management (Oak Brook, Ill.: Council of Logistics Management, 1992).

3. David W. E. Cabell, Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Business and Economics, 5th ed. (Beaumont, Tex.: Cabell Publishing Co., 1990).

4. James D. Thompson, Organizations in Action (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967), especially Chapter 1.

5. Same reference as Note 4, at p. 12.

6. Same reference as Note 4, at p. 19.

7. Same reference as Note 4, in chapter 2.

8. Same reference as Note 4, at p. 12.

9. Same reference as Note 4, at p. 12.

10. Same reference as Note 4, at p. 150.

11. See Donald J. Bowersox, et al., Leading Edge Logistics Competitive Positioning for the 1990s (Chicago: Council of Logistics Management, 1989), pp. 74-75; and Michael A. McGinnis and Janice P. Bowers, "Logistics Textbooks: Ready for the Year 2000?" in Proceedings of the Nineteenth Transportation and Educators Conference, James M. Masters and Cynthia L. Coykendale, eds. (Anaheim, Calif.: 1990), pp. 20-44.

12. Roy D. Shapiro and James L. Heskett, Logistics Strategy: Cases and Concepts (St. Paul, Minn.: West, 1985), pp. 41-44.

13. Same reference as Note 12, at pp. 16-20.

14. Michael E. Porter, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance (New York: The Free Press, 1985).

15. For example, see "The Virtual Corporation," Business Week, 8 February 1993, pp. 98-102.

16. Same reference as Note 14, especially chapter 2.

17. McGinnis and Bowers reference in Note 11.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Michael A. McGinnis is professor of marketing and logistics at the University of South Alabama. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from Michigan State University and a D.B.A. degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. He holds the Certified Purchasing Manager designation. His research interests are in the areas of logistics management, logistics strategy, warehousing, and purchasing.

Sylvia K. Boltic is administrative assistant to the chief engineer at Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Company, Inc., Mobile, Alabama. She was a graduate student at the University of South Alabama when this manuscript was written. Sylvia holds a B.S. degree from Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama and an MBA degree from the University of South Alabama. She conducted research and published in benchmarking while a graduate student.

C. M. Kochunny is assistant professor of marketing at the University of South Alabama. He holds a C.B.A. degree from Memphis State University. His primary research interests are in advertising, international marketing, and business ethics.

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