Tesla Supply Chain Issues and Lessons!

Tesla’s relentless research and development produce innovative solutions powered by cutting-edge technology. Tesla is a perfect role model for using advanced automotive technologies that further enhance modern vehicles’ efficiency and safety.

Automobile makers, including Tesla, utilize automation, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and other technologies when designing vehicles, including innovative accessory feature comparisons such as flow formed wheels vs forged

While Tesla’s milestones in automotive manufacturing are impressive, the company also faces a fair share of issues, including supply chain management.

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How to Make Your Business Punchout Ready!

Punchout catalogs can change many aspects of your business. If you’re selling B2B, then you should consider implementing a punchout catalog to establish more efficiency throughout your supply chain.

 Using modern tools and a bit of planning, you can make your business punchout ready, so your clients can begin ordering right away. 

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Post Pandemic Inventory Priorities: High Turnover or Extra Inventory?

Most of the pre-pandemic Inventory Management strategies were centred around improving inventory turnover, keeping inventory levels as low as possible, and reducing the amount of cash tied up in inventory. The backbone of all long-standing philosophies such as Just-In-Time, Lean manufacturing, and Kanbans were all designed around minimizing the amount of inventory on hand in any Supply Chain.

But it took a global pandemic to turn all of those paradigms and approaches on their heads. Systems and processes designed to minimize inventory levels proved to be inadequate to withstand the unprecedented disruptions in both supply and demand that the pandemic would instigate. Look no further than the fact that we ran out of toilet paper, of all things.

Before things start to getting back to “normal”, it’s important to ponder whether these low inventory business models should be continued, adjusted, or even abandoned as we look to the future of inventory management. What should our post pandemic inventory priorities be?

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What is Demand Sensing?

Understanding more about the needs and wants of customers through demand sensing can help supply chain leaders make informed decisions, improve inventory management, and increase profitability.

In recent months, conversations about how to improve forecasting in the supply chain have focused on a subject: demand sensing.

However, what is demand sensing?

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AI-Driven Inventory Management: Reducing Costs and Maximizing Efficiency!

Effective inventory management is crucial for businesses of all sizes and industries. Balancing supply and demand, minimizing carrying costs, and ensuring adequate stock levels are just a few challenges faced by inventory managers. 

Traditionally, manual inventory management processes were labor-intensive and prone to errors, resulting in inefficient operations and increased costs. However, the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized inventory management, empowering businesses with smarter and more efficient solutions. 

In this blog, we will explore the benefits of AI-driven inventory management and how it can help organizations reduce costs and maximize efficiency.

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Inventory Turnover Breakthrough … Go Back To The Basics!

I had accepted a career changing challenge … how to change the company’s Inventory Turnover performance from being perennially worst in the Industry to being one of the best.  And I had to do it all within 1 year!

I had seen many very smart people tackle this problem over the years.  Yet they all seemed to come up short.  Sure they improved some aspect of Inventory levels or turnover but in aggregate these all seemed to amount to incremental, step function changes.  We needed game changing results!  We needed a game changing approach!  And we needed it now!

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5 Key Benefits of Just-In-Time Inventory Management!

In today’s fast-paced environment, businesses continuously strive to improve their processes in order to maximize productivity and customer satisfaction. Depending on the type of business, there are many areas that can benefit from leaner systems and quicker turnarounds.

For manufacturing businesses, efficient inventory management is essential and just-in-time inventory management has been increasingly adopted over the past years. This system ensures that production is closely tied to demand, synchronizing the production of goods with orders.

Adopting a just-in-time (JIT) inventory system has numerous advantages for a business, so read on to find out the key benefits.

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Supply Chain Risk Management is a Cirque Du Soleil Calibre Act!

Recently we took our Granddaughter to see a Cirque du Soleil show. While we had seen several Cirque shows before it was her first time. The show made an indelible impression on her. She talked about it for weeks and will remember it for the rest of her life. We were proud that we gave her such a lifelong memory.

In thinking about the show and its construct I thought about the incredible amount of risk that the performers and producers are managing. These world class performers have astonishing talent but they are also working in an environment designed to eliminate risk and maximize safety.

Supply Chain Professionals, although not usually theatrical like Cirque du Soleil, also work in an environment in which they are managing a tremendous amount of risk. While most jobs are not life threatening the level of risk is still prevalent.

What are the risks that Supply Chain people deal with every day and what is Supply Chain Risk Management?

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10 Small Business Inventory Management Tips!

Many overwhelming strategies, processes and techniques will come your way if you have to learn and perform inventory management. It can be hard to make sense of the overall framework you need to use for any of the small business inventory management tips and techniques.

But it’s certainly possible to deal with them with some of the trusted practices in the industry.  Large businesses have already pushed limits to minimize human error, and it’s high time you build solid inventory management for growing your company.

Let’s look at our highly recommended small business inventory management tips!

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Warehouse Efficiency Improvement Tips!

Things can always be faster when you work in a warehouse or distribution center. Speed has become the name of the game when it comes to staying competitive in the global supply chain.

Major players like Amazon and Walmart have distribution centers all over the world, pumping out packages at lightning speed.

If you want to keep your customers satisfied, you need to keep things moving in your warehouse or distribution center. Use these tips to keep up the pace and make your facility as efficient as possible.

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The Supply Chain Detective™ and the Inventory Turnover Mystery!

The company I had just joined went to market declaring that it was a world leader in Distribution and Logistics. That was a clear contradiction to the Inventory Turnover Mystery I was about to discover.

As I settled into the job and started learning, and studying, the various Supply Chain metrics I was surprised when I looked at the Inventory Turnover performance of the company.

Looking at recent and historical Inventory performance I could see that turnover always stayed around 5-6 turns with little variation. Everyone seemed content with the situation and unmotivated to make it better.

For a company that declared their world leading capability I was astonished. 5-6 turns? True leadership in this areas would require double digit turns.

I needed to figure out what was truly going on and get this Inventory Turnover mystery solved. This was another case for the Supply Chain Detective™.

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The Vaccine Distribution Supply Chain!

SC Viral The Pandemic Diaries

As the Covid-19 Coronavirus has wreaked havoc with everyone’s lives all over the world there is great hope for a vaccine to allow us to get back to normal. While all of the social distancing measures are fine to help mitigate the spread of the virus only a vaccine holds the promise of really preventing it’s further spread.

Over 7.8 billion people, the entire global population, will need the Covid-19 vaccine, whether people choose to take it or even have access to it.

With such an indiscriminate virus at work how do you efficiently and quickly get a vaccine to everyone in every country around the world? It is an incredible task that won’t happen without careful and well thought out planning and execution of the Supply Chain.

What is the Vaccine Distribution Supply Chain?

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4 Reasons the Apparel Industry Needs an Inventory Management System!

Due to the intense competition and quick pace of the apparel industry, it’s no surprise that new apparel trends and styles appear with each passing season.

This essentially means that companies that operate in the apparel industry must be able to quickly change and update their latest apparel collections to stay relevant to their prospective customers and remain competitive. 

And in order to achieve that, companies in the apparel industry need to have a dependable and efficient inventory management system in place to stay one step ahead of their competitors in a market that moves so swiftly and places such high demands on its participants. 

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Interest Rate Increases and Their Impacts on Supply Chain!

The spectre of inflation reared its ugly head in 2022, just as the world was climbing out of the pandemic and looking forward to getting back to normal.

The interest rate increases by banks around the world, designed to reduce the rate of inflation, will continue to have impacts on Supply Chain across several dimensions.

Let’s discuss the various implications of these increase rate increases on Supply Chains everywhere.

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Self-Storage Has Become Big Business! (Infographic)

While immensely popular in the United States, self-storage solutions have remained pretty uncommon throughout Europe… that is, until now.

More and more entrepreneurs are recognising the untapped opportunity presented by the storage industry and as a result we are seeing a major increase in the availability of facilities in Europe.

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