It’s that time of the year again, where we look back at the year that was and look forward to the year ahead. We formally launched Logistics Viewpoints on January 26, 2009 and thanks to all of you, our readership today is almost 5X greater than it was in February, and we’re getting an average of about 2 new email subscribers per day. What were you all reading? Below are the top ten postings (in terms of page views) so far this year:

1. Crocs: From Revolutionary Supply Chain to Almost Bankrupt
2. Walmart’s ‘Win-Play-Show’ Assortment Strategy
3. UPS Getting a Bailout (So Says FedEx)
4. A Google Approach to Supply Chain Management
5. Is it possible to accurately calculate Total Landed Costs?
6. Video Game Technology Comes to Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) Market
7. Performance-based Outsourcing in Logistics
8. Who Is The Best Logistics Service Provider (3PL)? 
9. Explaining the Value of Logistics to the CEO 
10. Initial Thoughts on Walmart’s Sustainable Product Index

I suspect MBA students looking for insights on the Crocs case study helped to propel the Crocs posting to number one. I also think that the moral of Crocs’ story—that there’s no such thing, in my opinion, as a sustainable competitive advantage in supply chain management—resonated well with a lot of people.

Not surprising, two postings focused on Walmart made the top 10 list. The piece on Walmart’s “Win-Play-Show” assortment strategy highlighted the convergence of merchandising with supply chain management, a trend my colleague Steve Banker wrote about several times this year. In other pieces, Steve also highlighted the growing integration between supply chain and store operations, a topic that he’ll continue to explore in 2010.

I’m particularly pleased that two postings related to logistics outsourcing and service providers made the list. The posting on performance-based outsourcing (aka “Vested Outsourcing”) was the first of several pieces on the topic, which based on the strong response and interest, led us to organize the upcoming seminar on maximizing the value of 3PL-customer relationships. In addition to continuing our research on PBO, one of our priorities in 2010 is to provide the market with in-depth, high-quality information about the true strengths and capabilities of logistics service providers. Stay tuned.

Surviving the recession was certainly a hot topic this year, but some software vendors and 3PLs weathered the storm better than others. For example, take a look at the year-to-date financial results of Descartes, JDA, Manhattan Associates, Oracle, RedPrairie, and SAP (all are ARC clients) and you’ll quickly see which vendors responded best to the economic challenge. The warehouse management systems (WMS) market contracted, while the transportation management systems (TMS) market still managed to grow, albeit at a slower rate than in the past. And mergers and acquisitions continued, including JDA acquiring i2 Technologies (again) and just this morning Transplace (an ARC client) announced it was being acquired by CI Capital Partners.

There were other big stories in 2009, like Warren Buffett buying Burlington Northern Santa Fe and the ongoing financial struggles of YRC, but I’m out of time and space to comment on the past. Tomorrow we’ll share our predictions and outlook for 2010.

In the meantime, post a comment and let us know what you think: What were the biggest supply chain and logistics stories of 2009? What are your predictions for 2010?