Across the country, the last few days and weeks of summer are winding down. Temperatures are starting to fall, and soon leaves will follow. As autumn settles in, though, retail distribution operations are just starting to really get cranked into gear. The coming of fall means it’s time for retail peak season. With the holidays…

A few years back, I had an opportunity to work with two interesting companies. They were remarkably similar in many ways: both were cross-docking operations that supported big-box retailers, and both were in the Southeastern United States.  In addition, both companies dealt with dramatic fluctuations in volume, as well as frequent interruptions to production planning,…