Supply Chain Management Archives - Page 6 of 54

The Fear of Running Out (FORO) in Supply Chain!

Confessions of a High Priced Expediter!

By definition, Supply Chain is responsible for the continuity of supply and inventory of goods and services. If supply lines are disrupted, or if inventory runs out, Supply Chain is on the hook to restore supply.

Supply disruptions can bring a company to a grinding halt, compromising customer deliveries, revenue and profitability. With the stakes so high it should be no surprise that the very prospect of supply continuity issues can create fear and wreak havoc on the time, focus, and mental well-being of Supply Chain professionals.

How does this Fear of Running Out (FORO) manifest itself in the planning, processes and attention of those in Supply Chain?

A Don’t Touch Supply Chain Strategy Must Now Dominate The Future!

A “Don’t Touch” Strategy will Dramatically Lean out your Supply Chain!

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The overarching strategy for limiting exposure to, and spreading of, the Coronavirus is that of Social Distancing. We are all instructed to keep 6 feet apart from anyone, wear masks, and avoid any social gatherings and don’t touch. How does this relate to a Don’t Touch Supply Chain strategy?

Even with social distancing, the global lockdowns, temporary closures of many businesses and disruptions of economies everywhere there are still Supply Chains in action, as disrupted as they may be.

Truckers are still moving goods to points of consumption and essential services such as grocery stores are still in operation, providing the basic goods we all need to live. Everyone involved in these Supply Chains is abiding by the social distancing and protective mandates we all are adhering to.

How can Supply Chains be changed in the future to make them more robust and resilient and less disrupted by any future catastrophes, and god forbid, a future pandemic?

One approach is to develop and deploy Don’t Touch Supply Chain strategies!

Touchless Fulfillment and Shipping!

A Don’t Touch Supply Chain Strategy Must Now Dominate The Future!

The transportation & logistics industry found new ways to have touchless fulfillment and shipping during this pandemic. We reside in truly strange times. If some say in the past that 5+ billion people would be during a complete lockdown in fear of a deadly virus, someone would have probably laughed at the overall idea.

But here we are, 8 months after the discovery of the COVID-19 virus in Wuhan, a global pandemic. With global cases having crossed 20 million, proactive and reliable methods are required for businesses to survive during this post-lockdown era.

Seasoned Leadership in Action™! An Interview with John Heffernan, Chief Supply Chain Officer at ModusLink!

At Supply Chain Game Changer we believe in sharing experiences and expertise from people in every industry and from across the globe. As such we have introduced our “Seasoned Leadership in Action™” Interview series at Supply Chain Game Changer. This interview is with John Heffernan, Chief Supply Chain Officer at ModusLink.

I met John on my first day at ModusLink. He was presenting to the Board of Directors. John was one of the Global Operations Executives for the company. He had complete command of his facts, situation, direction and strategy. He was so knowledgable that his expertise and experience came shining through in everything that he said.

As John and I continued to work together we knew that we needed to make serious, game changing improvements around the world. John and I continued to positively challenge and build on each other’s ideas and thinking. This culminated in the deployment of a phenomenal program and the achievement of world class, industry leading results. We raised each other’s game to the benefit of all!

Our 2021 Top 10 List!

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In the middle of our 5th year here at Supply Chain Game Changer we are proud to publish our 2021 Top 10 List. Here we are showcasing our 10 most popular articles for the first half of the year.

Since we’ve started we have amassed an extensive library of over 750 articles. There is something for everyone no matter what your interests, challenges and needs may be from one day to the next. And that fulfills our mission of sharing experiences and expertise for the benefit of all.

Still there is always more to right about to help our readers.

So let’s take some time to reflect, and look back on our 2021 top 10 list … so far!

The Toilet Paper Supply Chain!

Coronavirus Exposes Global Supply Chain Fragility!

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Our recent trips to Costco and Walmart, in mid March 2020, had one thing in particular in common. Both stores were sold out of toilet paper, with no knowledge as to when more was coming in to the store.

A few weeks ago, in mid February 2020, when the panic was starting to set in with respect to the Coronavirus we saw some people buying a lot of toilet paper. At the time we bought more packages than we should have, just in case, not realizing there was going to be a full blown run on toilet paper.

This seems to be the story everywhere, even on Amazon. Every store is sold out of toilet paper. Why is it sold out? It’s such a common product that’s merely made out of paper. Does it all come from China, where their factories are shut down? Is that the problem?

In light of the current situation we thought it was time to learn more about the Toilet Paper Supply Chain.

Alliances, Carriers and Logistics!

Shipping Containers! More than just a Box! (Infographic)

It’s certainly been an interesting past few months in the container shipping industry; from the upcoming IMO 2020 Low Sulphur Fuel requirements, Brexit (Yikes!), US-China tariff negotiations; it’s refreshing to get back to basics and talk about the container industry.

However, today the container business seems to be more logistical than purely shipping.

What’s new in alliances?

The Auto Market Supply-Demand Imbalance is Bad for Buyers!

The Best States to Buy a Car In!

More than a year since the Covid pandemic began, the Auto market has yet to stabilize, mostly because of the sudden surge in demand for new and used cars after the country reopened. As the world went into lockdown, several factories were shut down leading to a scarce supply of various components, the most notable of which were semiconductors, which are a critical part of modern cars.

Because of this, even after the factories were reopened, manufacturers couldn’t cope with the sudden rise in demand for new cars. Most manufacturers canceled their orders for semiconductors and chips at the start of the pandemic, and the sudden surge in demand caught them off-guard, having to reorder all the components, taking a lot more time.

Harnessing the Power of ChatGPT and AI in Supply Chain!

What is ChatGPT?

In the era of digital transformation, organizations are constantly seeking innovative solutions to enhance their supply chain management (SCM) processes and create the Digital Supply Chain of the future.

One such revolutionary technology is ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer), powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, is a sophisticated language model that can understand and generate human-like text.

Keeping Things Cool in the Medical Supply Chain!

The Vaccine Distribution Supply Chain!

While most medical supplies can be refrigerated or kept in a dry, dark place at room temperature, some require unusually low temperatures. The ability to supply extreme cooling measures is also vital in various medical treatments. Therefore, from a medical supply chain point of view, one could certainly do worse than investing in some of these industries including refrigerated transportation.

10 Steps for Procurement Strategy Development! (Infographic)

Manage Procurement Spend Like It’s Your Own Business!

All over the business landscape, more companies in more diverse industries are transforming their Procurement functions and Procurement strategy.

They’re leaving behind more transactional models and becoming more strategic, implementing total cost of ownership Strategic Sourcing models, either centre-led or decentralized.

Commodity (or Category) Management – What is your Buying Strategy?

What’s the Difference Between Commodity Management and Category Management?

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In any company or industry that sells products the cost of the raw materials and components is often the single largest expense. Despite the magnitude of this cost however there is a wide range of focus put on managing this expenditure from proactive and strategic to reactive and tactical. This is all managed by either Commodity Management or Category Management.

In some cases there is a great level of planning applied before a single purchase order is placed. In other cases buying decisions are made subjectively and with very little focus. Further the experience in those buying these goods can vary significantly as well.

Supply Chain is about much more than just negotiating lower materials costs. A well constructed Procurement Strategy will raise the value of the Supply Chain to your company.

How do you manage your materials spend? Are you executing a Buying Strategy or are you just blindly placing purchase orders ?

Who is Your Best Supplier?

5 Qualities of a Reliable Supplier!

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Who is your best supplier?

Can you pick one, or a few, out of the bunch?

Some procurement professionals can quickly identify their key or champion supplier partners.

Unfortunately for many, basic supplier insights, such as contract, spend, performance, risk, and compliance data aren’t so easy to get a hold of or begin to analyze.

Listed as a top key finding in a 2020 WBR Insights report, it was found that “The top concern for procurement professionals is making buying decisions without the necessary insight” (WBR Insights 2020).

Access to reliable insights is incredibly important when aiming to know which suppliers are the ‘right suppliers’ to collaborate with.

Tips to Become a Successful Entrepreneur!

6 Ways to Attract Investors to Your Startup Business!

There’s something about startups and the successful entrepreneur that fascinates people.

Maybe it’s the idea of starting your own business with little more than an idea and a lot of hard work, or perhaps it’s the excitement of seeing that business grow and succeed.

Whatever the case may be, there’s no doubt that startup culture is alive and well – and growing every day.

Seasoned Leadership in Action™ Interview Excerpts: Lessons Learned by Global Leaders

Our fundamental objective at Supply Chain Game Changer is to share experiences and expertise and lessons learned. As such we have focussed on curating a wide range of content and resources that will have relevance to anyone at anytime no matter what their needs may be.

We began our Seasoned Leadership in Action™ Interview series in support of our objective to share experiences and expertise. And hearing from Industry leaders in this interview format has proven to be incredibly popular. People want to hear about the experiences of others and lessons learned from those who have been successful in their fields.

With many of these Seasoned Leadership in Action™ Interviews now published we thought it would be valuable to extract excerpts from these interviews along themes, starting with lessons learned.

As such we are presenting our first compilation of excerpts from these interviews which is focussed on Lessons Learned by these leaders throughout their careers.

Enjoy and look for nuggets of wisdom in these lessons learned.