China's State Council, or cabinet, said in February that the country needed to raise the efficiency of logistics and transport, and highlighted the need to streamline such operations while encouraging the use of more environment-friendly vehicles as well as "green" warehouses and business parks.

WSJ: Investors Target Logistics Property in China

Word of their legendary efficiency and almost flawless logistics is now spreading through the rarefied world of management consulting.

ECONOMIST: Management trends

For example, supply chain managers are accountable for more than just delivering economy and efficiency to the sourcing of products and logistics of delivery.

FORBES: Is CSR as We Know It Obsolete?

Increasingly, supply chain managers are accountable for delivering more than economy and efficiency to the sourcing of products and to the logistics of delivery.

FORBES: Moving Beyond CSR: The Business of Social Change