Logistics wins wars!

I've been listening to an online series of lectures called "The History of the United States Navy", one of the "Great Courses" sponsored by The Teaching Company (which I believe is now called Wondrium).  The course is narrated by Dr. Craig Symonds, author and former professor at both the United States Naval Academy and the U.S. Naval War College.  I am really enjoying it.  I never made the connection that the pivotal Battle of Midway, which Symonds called "one of the most consequential naval engagements in world history...as both tactically decisive and strategically influential" and the D-Day landings at Normandy both took place in the first week of June, albeit two years apart (the Battle of Midway took place from June 4-7, 1942, while D-Day was June 6, 1944).  I've previously posted about both events in naval history in the past, so I won't go into great detail on either battle.  I am once again struck by the fact that the winning side in both battles had the right strategy as well as the tactical execution of that strategy (combined with a little luck, of course).  However, I am even more impressed by the fact that the winning side in both battles had excellent logistics.  

I've talked about the importance of logistics in the past - see "Amateurs talk strategy. Professionals talk logistics."  Here is a passage from that post that I think bears repeating:

While "strategy" defines the long-term goals, "tactics" are much more concrete, specific, and detailed (in our context, the initiatives that will be completed to reach the objective).  The ancient Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War, "Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.  Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat."  But Sun Tzu also had an important comment to make about logistics.  He said, "The line between disorder and order lies in logistics."

Strategy, tactics, and logistics truly represent the sine qua non of leadership.  Management guru Tom Peters said, "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."

Alexander the Great once quipped, "My logisticians are a humorless lot … they know if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay."  That's how much importance one of history's greatest military leaders placed on logistics.  

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who led the Allied invasion at Normandy on D-Day said, "You won't find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics."  According to the website Investopedia, "In simple terms, the goal of logistics management is to have the right amount of a resource or input at the right time, getting it to the appropriate location in proper condition, and delivering it to the correct internal or external customer."  In other words, logistics is all about making sure that the right people and the right equipment and supplies are in the right place at exactly the right time. 

What is true in war is equally true when it comes to organizations - the success (here defined as whether an organization fulfills its mission, achieves its vision, and completes its core objectives) of any organization is dependent upon the three-legged stool of strategy, tactics, and logistics.