[lbo-talk] Wal-Mart at Forefront of Hurricane Relief

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Thu Sep 8 09:42:19 PDT 2005


Keith Nybakke wrote:


>But, there is something else going on, too. WM has one of the best
>logistics system in the world and they used it to good result in
>response to Katrina.
>
>For many years they have used a lot of the money they don't spend on
>health insurance and overtime to create a massive sophisticated
>system for moving goods from factory to port to distribution center
>to retail outlet. For WM to fill a few trucks with carefully chosen
>merchandise is no more difficult that any of you putting three clean
>tee-shirts into a grocery bag.
>
>I almost hate to say it, but WM could teach FEMA a thing or two
>about the logistics of staging and moving a precise mix of supplies
>needed in any type of situation.

Yeah, and studing the WMT logistics system could even revive some of the prestige of economic planning! *Everything* is coordinated out of Bentonville; it's a capitalist Gosplan.

Doug



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