Procurement Experiences and Trends!

Where is procurement, outsourcing, sourcing, supply chain, and purchasing going? What is happening in the marketplace? What are companies thinking at the executive level and what type of actions are they taking?

First off, we will outline a few of our observations about what we are seeing first hand. Secondarily, we will include information from other procurement professionals and procurement firms about their experiences, what they forecast, and what they are seeing.

Continue reading “Procurement Experiences and Trends!”

Inspirational Supply Chain Quotes

Here we present a series of thought provoking and inspirational Supply Chain quotes.

“If you think of standardization as the best that you know today, but which is to be improved tomorrow; you get somewhere.”  ~ Henry Ford, founder Ford Motor Company

“Eighty-five percent of the reasons for failure are deficiencies in the systems and process rather than the employee. The role of management is to change the process rather than badgering individuals to do better.” ~ W. Edwards Deming

Continue reading “Inspirational Supply Chain Quotes”

Truck Drivers – Unsung Heroes of the Supply Chain! (Infographic)

Anywhere you go anywhere in the world you will find truck drivers delivering goods.  Roads and highways are filled with trucks of all shapes sizes.  Tractor trailers of all configurations are everywhere on the roads.

If you are driving a car you may be annoyed by all of these trucks.  Or if you are an environmentalist you may be concerned by the fuel consumption of these behemoths.

But the reality is that these truck drivers are the backbone of our societies and our economies.  They deliver the goods that we need to live the lives that we enjoy.  Without them the economy would stop and life as we know it would not be the same.

Truck drivers are truly the unsung heroes of the Supply Chain!

Continue reading “Truck Drivers – Unsung Heroes of the Supply Chain! (Infographic)”

Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing!

Although additive manufacturing and 3D Printing for both plastic and metal materials has been around for years, the investment, developments, breadth of applications, adoption rate, and beneficial case studies are expanding at an extremely rapid rate.

New processes, materials, devices, design applications, are emerging every day. Now, there are cloud sites that store portfolios of designs, much like Pandora does for music. All of this is creating an amazing amount of opportunity creating more efficient supply chains, new product types, de-centralized manufacturing schemes, and easier approaches to mass-customization.

Continue reading “Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing!”

10 Signs You Should Reboot Your Lean Program!

How many people make a New Year’s resolution to adopt a Lean program and “Lean” yourself out only to abandon it shortly thereafter?

One of the top New Year’s resolutions is to start exercising. In January the local gyms are filled. But by February those gyms are much emptier and many of those well meaning people are still at home.

What do you do when your Lean program at work suffers the same fate? How do you know when your improvement program needs to be improved?

Continue reading “10 Signs You Should Reboot Your Lean Program!”

What’s the Difference Between Blockchain and Supply Chain?

The phrase “Supply Chain Management” was first coined in 1982.  The idea of a  “Blockchain” was conceived in 2008 although the concept of a chain of blocks began as early as 1991, and use of the word Blockchain itself has only become popular in the last few years.

Blockchain has rapidly become a very widely used term, at first intended to describe the enabling technology platform behind Bitcoin.  However as awareness and knowledge of the technology has been increasingly understood the words Blockchain and Supply Chain are more often used together.

As people become more familiar with Blockchain, and consider it’s applicability in their strategic Supply Chain plans, we thought it important to clarify how Blockchain and Supply Chain are different yet mutually supportive.

Continue reading “What’s the Difference Between Blockchain and Supply Chain?”

Amazon by the Numbers! (Infographic)

Whether you love, hate or remain neutral on Amazon, one can only marvel and admire Amazon by the numbers which only appear to be accelerating.

The infographic from Fortna in this post from Jeff Ashcroft provides a startling picture of where Amazon is at currently and how they’re expected to handle over half of online e-commerce transactions with Walmart now only at 5% and growing!

Content provided by Jeff Ashcroft.

Competing against Amazon? You need a Blue Ocean strategy!

Amazon by the numbers article and permission to publish here provided by Jeff Ashcroft. Originally published on Supply Chain Game Changer on August 24, 2017.

Has Walmart Beat Amazon Using an Omnichannel Returns Strategy?

Amazon has reigned supreme in e-commerce for years, but Walmart is well on its way to making the e-commerce giant a little nervous. Amazon acquired Whole Foods and dropped the price of Prime Pantry through Prime Perks. Amazon began looking into brick-and-mortar storefronts, hoping to capture a new slice of the omnichannel pie.

Walmart has a different approach, and in several ways, Walmart is positioning itself to best Amazon in e-commerce through an innovative, omnichannel return strategy. To understand the true scope of this accomplishment, supply chain leaders need to understand the precursor steps Walmart has taken.

Continue reading “Has Walmart Beat Amazon Using an Omnichannel Returns Strategy?”

22 Tips for Offering Profitable Free Shipping! (Infographic)

Free shipping is an effective but sometimes costly sales tool. Is it possible for companies to achieve profitable free shipping?

Case studies show that free shipping increases sales, order volume, and conversion rate. Since 60% of shoppers prioritize free shipping and 81% research multiple websites before purchasing, this perk can be the determining factor between someone buying from you or your competitor.

Continue reading “22 Tips for Offering Profitable Free Shipping! (Infographic)”

Brick and Mortar Stores: Stand Up and Unite!

It’s time for the Retail Brick and Mortar Store to stand up and be counted!   All of the talk about the demise of Brick and Mortar stores is premature.

In this age of E-Commerce the vast majority of retail sales are still conducted face to face in a physical store.  Even Millennials shop in a physical store 50% of the time.

The phenomenal growth of E-Commerce is undeniable.  But more importantly we must remember that customers want an OMNICHANNEL experience, NOT a Single Channel experience.

At the intersection of what the Customer wants and what the Retailer wants is the Brick and Mortar store!  This is where the Brick and Mortar Store is uniquely positioned to leverage its significant advantages!

Continue reading “Brick and Mortar Stores: Stand Up and Unite!”

Supply Chain Impacts of a Protectionist World!

A strong political sentiment these days seems to be more about protectionist behaviour and protecting one’s own national territory and interests rather than those of the Global community.

Yet we have for a long time been a global economy with unprecedented levels of international trade and commerce.  Virtually every company and country relies on goods and/or services from countries all around the world.

So how do we manage the Supply Chain in the face of this political myopia?

Continue reading “Supply Chain Impacts of a Protectionist World!”

IKEA’s IWAY Lessons For Procurement!

My girlfriend and I have a dog, named Charlie.

He’s only one and a half years old and is already, now, rather well trained. Sure, he has an occasional hiccup and puts his paws on a friend from over excitement, or pulls on the leash a bit too much as we approach the lake. But, all in all, my girlfriend and I (mainly her) have done a pretty solid job raising him.

Then again, we didn’t approach this whole dog ownership business with a ‘wilyl-nilly’ mindset.

Continue reading “IKEA’s IWAY Lessons For Procurement!”

Do you have a Freight Management Strategy or are you Spinning your Wheels?

In going door to door trying to sell a Freight Management service, as well as in my experience working in companies, I have had the opportunity to see a variety of ways in which companies, large and small, were managing their Freight and Logistics spend.

Most everyone felt they were doing a good job already.  But I’ve seen instances where Freight is one of the top 5 largest expenses within a company.  Yet it is managed by one or two people, with no support, and no visibility from upper management.

Depending on the industry  your transportation spend can make up anywhere from 1-10% of your company’s total revenue.  Aside from the    cost impact the service implications of a poor Freight management system are enormous.

So do you have a strategy for managing Freight and Logistics or are you spinning your wheels?

Continue reading “Do you have a Freight Management Strategy or are you Spinning your Wheels?”

Stop Your Project From Becoming “Just Another Program”!

SC Viral The Pandemic Diaries

Many a project starts off with very lofty objectives.  And with a lot of work and a little luck  those desired results are often achieved.  In every case those results usually have been achieved within a certain timeframe and with a lot of momentum.

Yet once you achieve those goals in many respects the energy and momentum which got you there may start to fade.  Yet your work has just begun.  The next question that always comes up is whether you can sustain, and further improve, those results.

Additionally if you are trying to drive Cultural Change and long term transformation after a while your initial project may become stale and your participants demotivated or distracted.

To avoid your project becoming “just another program” you need to proactively recognize when your project needs to be reinvented or rebooted to avoid irrelevancy and the back-sliding of your results.

Continue reading “Stop Your Project From Becoming “Just Another Program”!”

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

John Heffernan
John Heffernan, CSCO 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!

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