It's only moving boxes. I'n it?

We worked in the corporate head office of a major global company with a wide product range in Civil and Defence markets. The department we were in looked after export and import activities for several manufacturing divisions, we kept the company compliant with import and export regulations and maximised the use of legitimate cash saving Customs regimes such as IPR (Inward Processing Relief).
One day the entire department were assembled in the Head Office dining room, about 20 of us were addressed by the Human Resources Manager, he said the department was being closed down and the activity decentralised, "Come to think about it" he said "I don't know what you people do" Impressive? No not really !.
Three months after this 'massacre' a bill dropped through the Head Office letterbox from Customs claiming nearly a million pounds sterling owed to them as suspended duties under the IPR system. It was at that moment that the penny dropped in the management's mind and they realised that the department was not a cost centre it was a profit centre. They hastily convened a new team of two and within a short time the debt was wiped away as evidence of export of the temporarily imported parts was produced to Customs.
Who was responsible for this Senior Management lack of knowledge? in the first instance they were, but the Shipping department itself displayed a great lack of self advertising, they should not have been' hiding their light under a bushel ' as the saying goes, but should have been declaring their successes to the company at large.
About 3 years after these events the Company went into Administrative Receivership after being defrauded by their new American partner. The two person team referred to above were encouraged to start up a partnership to provide shipping services to companies that were being formed from the Receivership wreckage. A year or two later they were asked to do a seminar at a Trade Exhibition in London, this short seminar (around an hour long) was to be free to ticket holders visiting the exhibition and was set to start at 09-15. The topic chosen was "Modern Shipping Departments -- Todays Cinderellas ??" The seminar was to take place in a big presentation room shaped like a cinema. Despite the early start it was full at ten past nine and it became clear that the delegates were there because they felt underrated in their supply chain
jobs, not given the respect they deserved and also were underpaid. They felt that managements did not see how the Supply Chain supervision was constantly being changed and required a great deal more skill than the days of "It's only moving boxes"
Our message was to encourage them to show their bosses how their work improved time scales, prevented delays, reduced costs and kept the company within the law.
Have things improved since those days in the mid nineties? Let us know your feelings.