How do you break the news to a warehouse manager or a trucking company boss that they are about to lose their biggest client?

The 13 years he has helped customers reduce distribution costs in Japan have not taught Scott Smalley any easy, ready-to-use phrases when dealing with subcontractors facing the ax.

Sometimes, "the words you use just don't matter. Because . . . there is nothing you can say," he said. "It's not material you cover in language class."