Saturday, December 15, 2007

Sometimes You Do Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows

I found this story (found over at Cafe Hayek) about the emergency management strategies of big box chains to be unspeakably cool:
Along with traditional measures, such as wind speed, rain levels and satellite images, McDonald relies on hurricane-tracking software that uses 12 models to predict whether potential storm tracks lead toward Wal-Mart stores or warehouses.
Moreover:
In some cases, retailers have become so deft at handling emergencies that local governments turn to them. Washington state recently assigned an administrator to coordinate with the private sector in emergencies. Schortal of Home Depot said he had a get-to-know-you conference call with the woman a few weeks ago.

"Next thing you know, we're texting each other and exchanging calls for the real thing," he said.



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