Business Archives - Page 6 of 8 - Supply Chain Game Changer™

To Centralize or to Decentralize? That is the Organization Design Question!

Outsourcing Sourcing! 5 Lessons from Around the Globe!

It seems that every time there is a Management change in an organization there is movement to change the existing organization structure.

In some cases your Function or company is decentralized and new management wants to centralize everything. In the opposite case they want to centralize everything. And certainly there are organization structures which are a hybrid of both paradigms.

But in the Supply Chain world what is the best way to organize the function?

Executive Sponsorship to Enable Change!

The Future of the Chief Procurement Officer … Is Already Here!

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Anyone who is trying to make changes will be met with a variety of reactions and responses. This will happen regardless of how important the change is to your Job, your Department, your Function or your Company. But what if you had Executive Sponsorship?

Certainly there will be people who will happily, and openly, be willing to support you and help in any way they can. While this is critical, it is more important to understand that there are those who will aggressively oppose you. They may put obstacles in your way or they will be passive aggressive in their lack of support.

There may be many good reasons that you will be faced with this kind of opposition. However it is incumbent upon you, as the leader, to take all necessary steps to address these issues head on. One technique that can help you and your Company is to solicit and acquire visible and active Executive Sponsorship!

Innovations in Offline Retail! (Infographic)

Augmented Reality (AR) is Set to Transform Retail and the Supply Chain!

There is no escaping the fact that offline retail has changed over the last number of years. The predominant reason for this is advancement in technology but specifically with the emergence of the Internet and associated devices which allow consumers to literally shop from the comfort of their couch.

7 Essential Attributes of Strategic Supplier Partnerships!

Strategic Supplier Relationship Management – Do’s and Don’ts

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Though the phrase partnership is often used, what really constitutes a strategic supplier partnership?

In a previous article about supplier management, I suggested that the more a supplier tells you that they are strategic, the less they really are. Strategic is a term that is often overused. Whether the phrase refers to sourcing, procurement, relationships, or other matters, its use is prevalent.

The notion of partnerships is equally ubiquitous and similarly both mis- and over-used. This article will identify a taxonomy for a strategic partnership between two parties.

Tesla Supply Chain Issues and Lessons!

Featuring Our 10 Best Inventory Management Articles!

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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.

The Amazon Effect is the New Walmart Effect!

Has Walmart Beat Amazon Using an Omnichannel Returns Strategy?

In 1994, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos read a statistic that the Internet had been growing at 2300 percent annually. He fashioned that changing tide into a business plan that has been breaking barriers across supply chain and e-commerce that has left an indelible mark with the Amazon effect.

Beginning with booksellers, the e-commerce giant has expedited the closure of many retailers and threatens to redefine the standards of shopping in a digital world. Retailers are forced to lower prices, optimize their systems and processes, and reduce profit margins in favor of competition; meanwhile, Amazon continues its trek toward dominance.

Unleash Your Employees’ Ideas to Truly Change the Game!

Ground Rules for Creating a Game Changing High Performance Organization (HPO)!

Organizations that are either considered high performing or who aspire to become high performing understand that their employees are their greatest asset. A company can only achieve its overall objectives if their employees are aligned, on board and driving toward those goals, and if their ideas are heard.

At its core your employees understand how well or how poorly the day-to-day processes in your company run better than anyone else. They also have tremendous ideas on how to improve those processes, how to improve your metrics, and how to achieve your objectives.

So how do you tap in to that intellect, unleash those ideas, and empower your employees in an organized and efficient manner? How do you get your finger on the pulse of what is on your employee’s minds?

Augmented Reality (AR) is the Future of Supply Chain!

Augmented Reality (AR) is Set to Transform Retail and the Supply Chain!

Augmented Reality (AR) enables transformational change!

When I started in the distribution space, I was told “…business is simple…cases in, cases out.” Reports were on green bar paper and forklifts were everywhere. As the distribution space evolved, the reports became spreadsheets and forklifts remained very important as they are coupled with the latest and greatest automation.

Supply chain improvements over the last 15 years have been incremental at best. The advances we are making in the supply chain powered by Augmented Reality (AR) are going to be wildly disruptive. The supply chain community that leans into AR and gets it right will come out the clear winners for every perspective: simplicity, safety, quality and productivity.

Procurement Outsourcing – Keep your Integrity!

Why Get a Product Sourcing Agent?

Like so many professionals Procurement people are very proud. They are proud of the job that they do and the contributions that they make. And they are most always proud of their ability to negotiate and get the best deal!

But at some point in their careers, especially in the age of Outsourcing, they are likely to have to deal with potential suppliers who provide Procurement services. Procurement typically negotiates deals for other functions like I/T, HR, Manufacturing and every other area in the company.

Now they are faced with dealing with companies who basically state that they can do a better job at negotiating and Procurement than they do.

In the face of such a perceived, direct challenge to your abilities how do you and your Procurement team deal with this professionally and with integrity?

A Case Study in Reverse Logistics Optimization!

Reverse Logistics and the Power of Your 3PL!

The application of advanced forecasting and planning methodologies improve inventory management in a critical, high-volume repair and reverse logistics optimization business, dramatically reducing costs and fulfillment cycles while improving customer satisfaction.

When one of the world’s leading manufacturers of personal computers set new goals for its European operations, ModusLink was there to help.

The OEM turned over management of one of the most critical, high-volume segments of its reverse logistics program—the processor business—saving the manufacturer millions of dollars each year; reducing excess inventory; increasing same-day, on-time ship rates; and improving customer satisfaction.

Inventory Turnover Breakthrough … Go Back To The Basics!

Do You Want Inventory Turnover Breakthrough? Define and Manage The Levers!

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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!

Seasoned Leadership in Action™! An Interview with Brad Jackson, COO at North West Rubber!

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 Brad Jackson, Executive Vice President of Supply Chain Management and Device Sales at Rakuten Kobo, now at North West Rubber.

KFC Ran Out of Chicken! What Supply Chain Lessons Can We Learn?

McDonald’s Supply Chain Challenge: Switching from Frozen to Fresh Burgers!

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There’s another unfortunate entry in the annals of Supply Chain failures that burst into the wider world of business and pop culture: More than half of the UK’s Kentucky Fried Chicken stores recently closed because KFC ran out of chicken!

We’ve written on the Argentus’ blog many times about Supply Chain misadventures, and how they can harm a brand’s reputation as well as profits – for example, maybe most memorably, in the case of Target, which had to retreat from the Canadian market after Supply Chain snafus led to empty shelves and disappointed customers.

Lean in the Back Office … Why is it so difficult?

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

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Implementing a Lean program on the Manufacturing floor, in a Warehouse operation, or in a Distribution Centre is challenging enough. There are a series of process steps in which materials are transformed or moved in some fashion. Try implementing Lean in the Back Office.

And your Lean program has at its core the objective of making these operations as efficient as possible. But when you try to apply these same Lean principles to the support organizations, or the back office, you are likely to experience a wide range of reactions.

So why is it so difficult to implement, and sustain, a Lean program in the Back Office of your organization?

Do You Want Inventory Turnover Breakthrough? Define and Manage The Levers!

World Class Inventory Turnover Infographic!

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Taking a holistic approach in order to achieve Inventory Turnover Breakthrough results meant that I needed to consider the End To End Supply Chain. As I thought through this approach there was really no other way if we were to achieve significant improvements to help the entire business in a short period of time.

In thinking about the End To End Supply Chain it was necessary to define all of the aspects that impact Inventory levels. In short I needed to be able to manage:

All of the levers that control the rate at which Inventory is brought in to the company
All of the levers that control the rate at which Inventory moves through the company
And all of the levers that control the rate at which Inventory moves out of the company