It was Christmas Eve at Supply Chain Digest, but the small staff and editor Ebenezer Gilmore were still hard at work as the clock neared 5:00 p.m. A few of the crack staff members continued to look up at Gilmore from time to time – the tension growing. "Where’s that piece on automated case picking?" Gilmore barked at Cliff Holste, SCDigest’s material handling editor. "Almost done," Holste said. "I should have it by tomorrow, …er.. soon!" Holste responded. Finally ending the tension, Gilmore said to the group, "I supposed you will all be expecting the day off on Friday ? Well, the supply chain will still be moving in China, you know. But I guess we can catch up with it Monday morning. Fine – the full day off for the lot of you!" Software applications weren’t communicating well, and there were still significant gaps between planning and execution. There were opportunities for cross-company collaboration being missed all over the place. A cheer erupted from the small group. In fact, to Gilmore’s consternation, they immediately packed up and went home with amazing alacrity. "A merry supply chain Christmas to you Ebenezer! Try a day without supply chain for once this year!" editorial assistant Joan Nystrom yelled as she walked out the door. She and the rest of the small team chuckled as they headed for the parking lot. Ebenezer harrumphed, then called sales chief Joe Salinas in Houston just to make sure he was still on the job. "After all, Houston’s an hour behind," Gilmore thought. "It’s barely four o’clock there." Salinas was in his office, and Gilmore asked for the daily call report before officially giving him Christmas day off too. "I’m thinking it may be hard to get a hold of potential sponsors," Salinas wittily observed. Ebenezer […]