Delivering The Goods

We often think of great battles as having been won by superior strategy, bravery, or weaponry. Often, however, the greatest battles are decided by a much more mundane factor: logistics. Delivering the Goods looks at business logistics through the history of successful military logistical operations undertaken by leaders from Alexander the Great to General Norman Schwarzkopf, and offers practical guidance on applying proven logistical principles to your business.

The North American energy landscape has shifted in significant ways. New development of abundant tight oil and unconventional natural gas resources creates an historic opportunity to enhance economic growth throughout North America and improve the region’s competitiveness in global markets. The rapid pace of development of these resources, along with changes in consumption, however, have created a unique need for new and expanded infrastructure and a reevaluation of North America’s place in the global energy market. This report captures the current state of crude oil production growth and the infrastructure required and then frames the related major policy and regulatory discussions, including environmental concerns, crude oil exports, the strategic petroleum reserve, and the Jones Act.

This report analyses measures taken in many cities regarding goods delivery in the OECD area and provides recommendations for dealing with these challenges.

In July 2005, at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, G8 leaders made a commitment to: "as close as possible to universal access to [HIV/AIDS] treatment for all those who need it by 2010." The UK has a special responsibility (as the second largest donor on HIV/AIDS) to maintain global commitment to this goal. DFID should establish a transparent monitoring system which will allow year-on-year external evaluation of how many people are being treated, and whether they are getting access to quality treatment. There are gaps in existing provision of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) for nomadic groups, intravenous drug users, men who have sex with men, and children. Greater policy coherence between UK government departments is desirable. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) should be urged to review the effect on public health of the 1995 agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which requires countries to grant patent protection to pharmaceutical products for a minimum period of 20 years.Fiscal constraints imposed by IMF, tend to discourage government spending on public health in low- and middle-income countries.

This report analyses the measures taken in many cities in OECD countries to deal with the problems for local communities arising from the transport and delivery of goods in urban areas. It is the outcome of the study undertaken by a working group to identify best practice in dealing with the challenges facing urban goods transport and includes recommendations for measures to develop sustainable goods transport systems.