When it comes to helping Santa deliver, LoDI is nosing Rudolph out of the picture.

Luckily, the culprit is obvious-the Grinch-and he always has a last-minute change of heart.

In real life, multiple factors contribute to the latest hot toy missing from stores or that gift you ordered via the Internet in October appearing on your doorstep a week after the holidays.

Most often these glitches are the result of problems with a business's logistics and distribution network. In the computer age, orders can come flooding in to a company every nanosecond. They must be filled and shipped out almost as quickly.

During the holiday season, that task can be daunting. As an indication of just how much shipping activity increases during this time, consider that the average overall volume for UPS alone is 13.2 million packages. At the peak of the holiday season (the Monday after Thanksgiving until Dec. 25) that number rises to 19 million.

What all this means is that businesses must keep a close eye on their inventory systems and find cost-effective, timely ways to get their goods from the warehouse to your house. The process is called supply-chain management.

When the system goes awry, it can be Santa's worst nightmare. But a new super elf has entered the picture-one that promises to help Santa's sleigh glide smoothly.

U of L's Logistics and Distribution Institute (LoDI) was founded in 1997, funded in part with a $1.5 million grant from the UPS Foundation. Located in Lutz Hall on Belknap campus, LoDI's mission is to provide businesses with cutting-edge education, research and development in the area of supply-chain management.

It does this by combining the resources of multiple departments within the university-engineering, geography and business, to name a few, says Hokey Min, the institute's director.

Among other things, LoDI conducts seminars and roundtable discussions to help companies nationwide meet the demands of both the holiday rush and everyday business. A seminar this spring, for example, will show companies how to anticipate the ebb and flow of orders and prepare to meet those demands.

Participants have included UPS Worldwide Logistics, Lexmark International, Ryder Integrated Logistics and Computrex Logistics.

LoDI's staff also has published papers on issues such as how state taxes impact the trucking industry.

The rapid rise of Internet commerce is leading more businesses than ever to seek logistics counseling.

"With Internet retailing expected to reach $144 billion by 2003, companies need to learn how to meet their goals to lower shipping costs, reduce shipping cycles and narrow delivery windows for individual customer orders," Min says. He added that eight out of 10 companies selling online go under, often because they lack a good logistics plan.

"Demand surges and they can't fill their orders," he says. "As much as 25 percent of sales expenditures can go toward fulfilling orders."

Companies often grapple with important details such as who will cover the cost of shipping (the company or the customer) and how to handle product returns. That's especially true in the apparel industry, which has a return rate of 5 to 40 percent.

While there is no "one size fits all" approach, LoDI provides a forum for companies to brainstorm issues and develop strategies to reduce the likelihood of costly holiday mistakes and disappointed customers.

"Companies with experience can offer others their expertise or suggest innovative ways to solve the problems," says Min.

And with the right strategies in place, companies can make sure that the hardships of Whoville never take place in Youville.

Ellen Morris is a Louisville-based freelance writer and communications consultant.