Tag: Leadership

Leadership is the essential element in running any and every aspect of any business in any industry.

Project Prioritization Simplified!

Are you a Game Changer? Tell us your Story!

We had the “Call To Action” from the CEO.  The business needed to be transformed to support growth.  And the business needed to be financially stronger and much more productive.

With the mandate established we had named the change initiative that we were about to launch.  We had enlisted leaders from every functional organization.  And we had began to roll out our communication strategy.

This project involved every employee, every function, and every process in the company.  We needed a simple way to prioritize all of the projects that we were about to undertake.

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TMS is Mandatory in the Digital Age! Get Yours Free!

Why don’t you have a TMS (Transportation Management System) Solution yet?

We are in the Digital Age!

In Supply Chain that means we want and need full end to end visibility and transparency.  To provide that end to end visibility requires electronic connectivity of all nodes of the Supply Chain.

And when it comes to providing that visibility and connectivity with respect to the movement of goods throughout the Supply Chain it means we all need a Transportation Management System (TMS).

But gone are the days when you needed to create your own TMS or even buy one.  In this Digital Age you should be able to get this capability for free!

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Procurement Integrity Breach – A Sure Way to Get Fired!

Could the CPO Be Replaced by the Chief Value Officer?

The following story about Procurement integrity is true; no names or companies will be mentioned.

“Hello, Rebecca. Great to hear from you this morning. What can I do for you today?” I said to my direct report on my cell phone.

“We have a situation that needs your attention.” Her voice foretold that this was one to pay extra attention to.

“What’s up?”

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The Call To Action … Where It All Begins!

The Change Leadership Process … And Guide!

“The Board is REALLY upset.  They want a plan to dramatically improve our Supply Chain inventory turnover performance and they want it now.  Will you lead this for me?”  That was a call to action.

My boss had just got out of the Board meeting and these were his words to me.  The company had historically performed very poorly in managing inventory.  And it was not only consuming a lot of cash but it was impacting our profitability with the high carrying charges and write-offs.  

Also it impacted  our competitive position as customers and competitors didn’t believe we knew how to manage inventory, and Supply Chain, very well.

This was a Call To Action!

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Seasoned Leadership in Action™ – An Interview with Steve Radewych, SVP, Supply Chain at Spin Master!

Featuring Our 12 Best Change Management Articles!

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. This interview is with Steve Radewych, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain.

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Part Shortages? What is your Supply Line Strategy?

On Time Delivery – Get that right First!

Have you experienced part shortages that gate your production schedule?

Part shortages can be highly frustrating issues to deal with.  They almost always happen within the standard lead time of the components you need.  And very often they can stop production immediately.

Everyone wants the shortage resolved immediately.  From your Customer to your CEO through to the entire Management chain and everyone in Production … they all want the needed parts NOW!

But there are many reasons why part shortages occur.  And there are many  actions that can be taken to mitigate their occurrence.  You don’t have to live with shortages every day if you have a Supply Line strategy.

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Cost Cutting! Brute Force or An Intelligent Program?

Is Your Supply Chain A Cost Centre or a Value Creator?

How many times have you been asked to cut cost?  How many times have you been asked to cut costs so deeply that it is beyond your comprehension?

In those situations you can always use the Brute Force method.  Hacking and slashing resources and expenses in this way often compromises the very capabilities, skills, morale and services that are keeping your company afloat in  the first place.  But it can be quick.

But if you have the chance to deploy a proper Change Management program to drive the cost reductions or other improvements that you are looking for then you may have many more constructive opportunities in front of you.

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Blockchain Technology is the Antidote to the Bullwhip Effect!

Blockchain Continues to Make its Way into the Supply Chain World!

It happens everywhere, all the time in retail and in ecommerce: a supplier doubles their output to prevent a shortage in case multiple distributors place their orders simultaneously; a fulfillment warehouse doesn’t call in enough workers during Black Friday and delays package shipments by days. Could blockchain technology change all that?

It’s the bullwhip effect, and it’s a huge reason why something like €3.5 trillion (worth $4.1 trillion) are locked up in net working capital in today’s supply chains.

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Seasoned Leadership in Action™! An Interview with Michael Massetti, VP at Gartner!

Gartner Top 25 Supply Chain List! Is it Relevant?
Michael Massetti
       Michael Massetti, Gartner

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 Michael Massetti, Vice President for General Managers – High Tech, at Gartner.

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Seasoned Leadership in Action ™ – Our 2018 All Star Leaders!

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

In 2018 Supply Chain Game Changer introduced our Seasoned Leadership in Action ™ interview series.

There are so many fantastic people leading in Business and in Supply Chain.  We thought that it would be great to learn a little more about what makes these people tick, what is important to them, and what we can all learn from them.

The Interview series has proven to be phenomenally popular with our readers with many of these Interviews being amongst our most viewed articles of all time.  So we thought that it would be great to recap all of the Interviews we published in 2018.

Finally we extend our thanks to all of those who participated in our Seasoned Leadership in Action™ Interview series.  You were quite simply great for which we are truly grateful!

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Double Inventory Turnover In 9 months!

World Class Inventory Turnover Infographic!

“We are a Supply Chain Services Company,” I was told.

“If we are truly a Supply Chain Services Company, then why is our Inventory Turnover only at 7?”,  I asked.

I had just joined the company and in studying their financial performance it stood out to me that if we were truly a Supply Chain Services company then having only 7 Inventory turns was extremely uninspiring.

We needed to be dramatically better at managing Inventory to convince ourselves, and our customers, that we were a trusted and leading Supply Chain Services partner.  Could we double inventory turnover?

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There Are Not Enough Women Supply Chain Leaders!

Seasoned Leadership in Action™ – An Interview with Kristie Syndikus, VP Procurement at Maple Leaf Foods!

Women have made tremendous strides in the Supply Chain Management profession. However a new survey shows that the percentage of women Supply Chain leaders is still low.

Time was, Supply Chain Management was seen as an outgrowth of a blue collar profession. Logistics Managers, Manufacturing Directors and other Supply Chain leaders often rose from the shop floor, from front-line warehousing and transportation positions.

As a result, the field was overwhelmingly male: because mostly men occupied those front-line roles, and educational opportunities to get into the field were limited, the leadership reflected that demographic.

But as we chronicle on the Argentus blog, the field has changed. Supply Chain is no longer a back-office, transactional function.

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World Class Inventory Turnover Infographic!

Featuring Our 10 Best Inventory Management Articles!

Achieving World Class Inventory turnover performance is an aspiration, a requirement and a challenge for many companies.  We’ve written several blogs on this subject to share our experiences in achieving truly game changing results in inventory management.

Attacking just a single element of inventory has, in our experience and observation, proven to be an insufficient approach to making significant, sustainable changes.  

The entire ecosystem of processes, variables, and stakeholders requires taking a holistic approach enlisting a variety of tools and techniques (eg. lean inventory management) to drive game changing inventory performance.

Given the breadth, depth and complexity of the Inventory Turnover management ecosystem it is not surprising that there is much to be addressed in this area.  We’ve captured much of this in our article Featuring our Top 10 Inventory Management articles. 

In this blog article we’ve captured much of this content in a single Infographic

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Seasoned Leadership in Action™ – An Interview with Mike Croza, Founder of Supply Chain Alliance!

Tips for Simplifying Supply Chain Management!

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 Mike Croza, Founder and Managing Partner at Supply Chain Alliance.

Supply Chain Alliance is a premier Management Consulting firm specializing in all things Supply Chain. With decades of experience and a track record of achieving outstanding results in all industries they are an essential resource for those looking to move their businesses forward.

Continue reading “Seasoned Leadership in Action™ – An Interview with Mike Croza, Founder of Supply Chain Alliance!”