This Month in Modern: First, the good news…

If you like research, and you know we do, then you’re going to love this issue of Modern. This month we offer the results of two annual studies conducted by Peerless Research Group (PRG) on behalf of Modern and the supply chain publications of Peerless Media.

The results of the first, Modern’s 6th Annual Salary Survey, may fill you with a sense of pride, perhaps even a little joy; and the second, our 2013 Warehouse and Distribution Center (DC) Operations Study, may simply validate the malaise you feel when the discussion turns to your barely budging capital investment budget.

But, let’s get to the positive data first. On page 42, associate editor Josh Bond kicks off the results of this year’s salary survey with a fairly striking result: The average base salary reported by Modern readers this year rang in at $95,010, that’s the highest figure in the six years that we’ve been conducting the study and up nearly 6% over last year’s number.

Even the median salary came in at $83,910, marking an $8,410 jump from 2012. “This jump in the median tells me that there are more salaries on the upper end of the distribution this year, with more readers earning higher salaries than last year,” says Judd Aschenbrand, PRG’s director of research. “Any way you slice it, moving the median at this rate is an encouraging sign for warehouse and DC management professionals.”

Throughout this year’s findings, we saw this continued, positive momentum. For example, for the third year in a row we found extremely high job satisfaction, with 97% of the 735 respondents saying they’re very happy with their career choice. We found that 55% say they intend to finish their careers with their current employer; we found an increase in hiring; a decline in layoffs and pay cuts as cost-cutting measures; and we even found a modest increase in the number of 18-year-old to 34-year-old college graduates taking positions in the industry.

“When you consider that more than 50% of respondents have been in materials handling for more than 20 years, that slight uptick in the younger person gravitating toward these positions is very encouraging,” says Bond. “We need to share this story with every high school student in the country. It reflects the strength of the industry, the growing value and recognition that warehouse and DC management plays in supply chain management, as well as the potential for a fulfilling career.”

Modern readers also like a good challenge. And if the results of our 2013 Warehouse and DC Operations Survey are any indication, they’re going to be faced with an ever-shifting landscape of operational challenges for years to come.

Contributing editor Maida Napolitano, a warehouse and distribution professional herself, reports (page 50) that we were somewhat surprised to find that, despite the positive vibes that U.S. business started to feel about a year ago, respondents are still stuck in the period of “barely budging budgets” that we saw solidified during the recession.

How are they keeping costs in check while cranking up the service? According to this year’s results, a little bit of whatever works. “There is no magic bullet,” says Norm Saenz, senior vice president and principal of TranSystems, Modern’s partner for this survey over the past eight years. “Whether they’re opening new DCs, improving inventory control, tweaking warehouse processes, or turning to a third-party logistics provider, results show that there’s no single prominent answer.”