I stumbled across an Alexander the Great quote that is, well, great, albeit morbid. Perhaps if you’ve had things go wrong with an import or export, in your frustration you felt like killing your logisticians (whether freight forwarder, supply chain manager, drayage driver, etc.). Alexander the Great would actually kill logisticians if things went wrong. I guess you can do that if you conquer the known world.

Reading the quote, I wondered how many other great historical logistics quotes were out there. So I jumped on this handy-dandy thing we call the interweb and went searching.

When are you going to share this so-called great Alexander the Great logistics quote?!

I’m getting there. Here’s a list of great logistics quotes, including the Alexander the Great quote, ranked in a top 10 list according to how much I like them.

Runners Up:

Okay, we’re almost to that top 10 list I mentioned. First, here are a couple logistics quotes I liked, but didn’t crack my top 10. You may disagree with my ranking. Feel free to tell me all about how I’m wrong in the comments section.

“Creativity is an import-export business.” – Ethan Zuckerman

Since the above quote is more about creativity than logistics, it became a runner up. Still, I’m tempted to rank this quote–the only employing the words “import” and “export”, I might add–higher.

“Logistics must be simple–everyone thinks they’re an expert.” – Anonymous

This quote also would have made the top 10 if only it weren’t by Anonymous. I hate that guy. He says the most annoying things that get posted all over social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Since the writer or speaker of this quote is anonymous, this only makes the runners up list.

“The war has been variously termed a war of production and a war of machines. Whatever else it is, so far as the United States is concerned, it is a war of logistics.” – Admiral E. J. King

Admiral E. J. King has another logistics quote that made the top 10 so cutting this one became easier. But still, this is a great historical picture of logistics, the U.S., and war.

But enough talk about quotes that didn’t make the top 10, here’s the actual list:

Number 10:

“The tactics…no, amateurs discuss tactics,…. Professional soldiers study logistics.” – Tom Clancy

I guess I don’t really think of Tom Clancy as a historical figure, but since he passed away a year ago and must have set some records with his prolific writing, it would probably just be snobbish of me to snub him from this list.

Still, I can’t bring myself to move Clancy up further than number 10.

Number 9:

“Behind every great leader there was an even greater logistician.” – M. Cox

I don’t even know who M. Cox is. Maybe you can help me with that information in the comments section below. But the simplicity and ring of truth in this quote help it edge out Clancy.

Its parallelism to “Behind every great man there’s a great woman” makes it feel less original and keeps it from climbing higher than 9. 

Number 8:

Logistical error. Number 8 was lost.

Number 7:

“You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics.” – General Dwight D. Eisenhower

When Eisenhower spoke, people listened. If he spoke about logistics, it would surely have to make this list. Of course, this is a great quote no matter who said it.

Number 6:

“Leaders win through logistics. Vision, sure. Strategy, yes. But when you go to war, you need to have both toilet paper and bullets at the right place at the right time. In other words, you must win through superior logistics.” – Tom Peters

The specificity and juxtaposition of toilet paper and bullets puts this quote over the top of the ones that preceded it. Its clarity and authority also help make this quote higher on the list. 

Number 5:

“The line between disorder and order lies in logistics…” – Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu has a tendency to creep me out sometimes, but he’s ever so quotable and nails it with this logistics quote.

Number 4:

“Logistics is the ball and chain of armored warfare.” – Heinz Guderian

Are you noticing a war theme in these logistics quotes? I guess that’s because logistics is the ball and chain of armored warfare. Thanks for pointing that out, Heinz.

Number 3:

“Know when to email vs. when to meet. Logistics are best handled over a non-immediate communication channel like email or Asana tasks. Detailed status meetings will suck the life out of your day.” – Justin Rosenstein

Amen, Justin. Preach it. I haven’t said that since I served with Pastor Justin Tarsiuk at the Oasis church in L.A.

Number 2:

“I don’t know what the hell this ‘logistics’ is that Marshall is always talking about, but I want some of it.” – Admiral E. J. King

Lol. The ability to make me laugh is enough to get Admiral E. J. King all the way to number 2 on this list.

And the top historical logistics quote is…

Number 1:

“My logisticians are a humorless lot … they know if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay.” – Alexander the Great

Finally, the Alexander the Great quote that was talked up so much at the beginning of this blog. The sad part is logisticians still tend to be a humorless lot even without the risk of being slain.

“And now for something completely different…”

For the type of logistics quotes we usually talk about, international shipping freight rate pricing quotes, just click on the button below.

SOURCES (WHERE I FOUND THE QUOTES):

http://www.logisticsworld.com/logistics/quotations.htm

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/ethanzucke554843.html#hT4zKeGiBwxQsUiz.99

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/logistics.html#g73tRbs7SwPjL8CZ.99

http://www.thelogisticsoflogistics.com/2011/07/famous-logistics-quotes-2/