Social insects such as ants or bees operate logistics systems that are highly effective even though without blueprint or management.  Instead, global coordination emerges spontaneously, through the multiple interactions of many simple components.  
Similarly, when workers are organized into ``bucket brigades'', they can function as a self-organizing system that spontaneously achieves its own optimum configuration, without special equipment or control systems. Bucket brigades are now used in the warehouses of such companies as Revco Drug Stores, Dell Computer, Readers Digest, Anderson Merchandisers, Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics, and others.  We will explain bucket brigades and describe their implementation at several distribution centers, which improved throughput by 10-30% at no cost.

John J. Bartholdi  is a Professor in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he is Research Director of The Logistics Institute.  He also teaches industry short courses in warehousing and distribution. 
In addition to his current position, Bartholdi has been on the faculties of the University of Michigan and the Shanghai Institute of Mechanical Engineering.  He was named a "Presidential Young Investigator" by the National Science Foundation, 1984-1989; and [1]his work has also been supported by, among others, the Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the Defense Logistics Agency.  Many of the tools he has developed have appeared in commercial software for logistics management. 
For the Logistics Institute Bartholdi is currently directing long-term projects to help Caliber Systems optimize the design of its freight networks; and Ford Motor Company improve the responsiveness of its Parts Distribution Centers.  Bartholdi also serves as Vice-president for Engineering at the consulting firm Integrated Warehouse Design, Inc., in which capacity he has participated in the design of distribution systems for many Fortune 1000 companies