Tag: supplychain

supplychain is the tag associated with every aspect of Supply Chain Management, Planning, Technology, Logistics, Procurement, and more.

Want Success? Integrate a Change Work Stream in your Transformation!

Change Leadership Success: Attack on all Fronts!
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The nature of the results you are trying to achieve will determine the type of change you need to create and the work stream to make it happen.

If you are making changes to a very small part of your job then your focus is very localized.  If you are leading a project solely aimed at achieving a specific result then your change management focus is somewhat larger.   But if you are leading a business-wide long term transformation then you need a comprehensive Change Leadership work stream and strategy.

While there are similar elements in driving change at any of these levels, the broader transformation requires a well thought out, well articulated Change Leadership program to be in place to lay the foundation for, and govern, your transformation.

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The Thanksgiving Turkey Supply Chain!

Food Waste and World Hunger – The Food Supply Chain is Broken!

Recently we were driving on some back roads and in the distance we saw something on the road.  As we got closer we saw that there were a bunch of wild turkeys about to cross the road.  Was this Thanksgiving turkey?

The turkeys, hearing us coming, immediately turned around and quickly went back down the side road that they had come from.  Apparently they knew that being close to humans was not a good idea, particularly at this time of year.

With this in mind, and with Thanksgiving around the corner, I got to thinking about what the Supply Chain was that brought the Thanksgiving Turkey to the dinner table.

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Cyber Security and the Digital Supply Chain!

Cyber Security: The Weakest Link is Your Biggest Risk!

When it comes to the modern supply chain managers have a relatively new risk to consider:  Cyber Security!

As major logistics providers from all around the world struggle with keeping their private data secure, businesses are investing time and resources to address this serious concern. From shutting down major ports to the risk of losing private client data, the time is now to address Cyber Security in the supply chain.

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Are you a Game Changer? Tell us your Story!

Every day there are individuals and teams all around the world who are making a difference.  They are driving transformational change in their jobs, in their Departments, in the Organization and in their Companies.  And they are achieving amazing results that defy what they previously thought possible.

We want to hear your stories and we invite you to share those stories on https://supplychaingamechanger.com so that we can all applaud, and learn from, your tremendous efforts.

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Global Process Excellence ™ : A Journey From Disarray To Best In Class!

Global Process Excellence: Defining the Roadmap to Achieve Best In Class Results
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My first Management job was on the Manufacturing floor on 3rd shift.  It was company policy … anyone’s first Management job was in Manufacturing.  The principle was sound: to really understand how the business operated you needed to be at the very core of what it did, which in this case was Manufacturing.  Only then could you really learn the business and how to work with people.

So as I started a new job further along in my career, with responsibility for Distribution Centres around the world, I knew that I was not going to learn what I needed to know from behind a desk looking at Powerpoint slides with pictures and statistics.  I needed to go to each and every facility and learn about the operation right from the floor.

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Value Stream Mapping the Current State Process!

Value Stream Mapping the Future State Process!

We had to begin the transformation of the company’s business processes to support the new business objectives.  This would mean value stream mapping the current state process.  Specifically the company was going to carry a dramatically different set of products which required a new set of capabilities in Strategic Planning, Merchandising, Marketing, Procurement, Inventory Management, Retail Operations and Logistics. 

That scope defined the set of processes we needed to change first.  The overall goal was to enable the transformation of the company which would manifest itself in higher revenue, improved growth and profitability, greater customer satisfaction and superior employee engagement.

We decided to attack this by introducing the Lean technique of Value Stream Mapping to the organization.  We had to start with mapping the Current State process.

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The History of Supply Chain Management! (Infographic)

What Exactly Is Supply Chain Management? 10 Different Definitions!

Over the last 100 plus years of the history of SCM (Supply Chain Management) has evolved from an initial focus on improving relatively simple, but very labor-intensive processes to the present day engineering and managing of extraordinarily complex global networks.

We will take you through the last 60 plus years below and end the post with an amazing infographic.

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Shipping With Amazon: Cutting out the Middle Man!

Competing against Amazon? You Need A Blue Ocean Strategy!

In February, 2018 it was reported that Amazon was going to launch its own delivery service:  Shipping With Amazon!

Effectively Amazon has declared that they are officially entering the logistics business.  The “Shipping With Amazon” service, albeit currently on a much smaller scale, competes with the logistics service and delivery capabilities offered by UPS, FedEx, and UPS.

But these are incredibly large, well established logistics companies.  And they are also the major delivery service suppliers to Amazon.

So why would Amazon choose to go into this space?

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It’s Time to Welcome The Supply Chain CEO!

The Top 10 Supply Chain CEOs of All Time!
Unchaining Change Leadership

Anyone who’s been paying attention knows that Supply Chain Management has emerged from its status a back-office function to become a major strategic differentiator for business. Welcome the Supply Chain CEO!

Over the past few decades, companies have realized that the way they bring products to market – from sourcing parts and services, to manufacturing, to shipping, to distribution – isn’t just a practical necessity, but an avenue for competitive advantage.

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Space Planning: Could You Run Out of Space in Your Warehouse too?

What’s the Difference Between Logistics and Distribution?

“We are out of space!”

“What?  We’re only in the middle of September.”

“The receiving docks are backed up.  We have trucks in the parking lot waiting to unload their goods.  There are even more containers on their way.  And we have no empty space left in the warehouse racking.”

That was the actual conversation I had with the head of the Distribution Centre (DC).  We had a big problem on our hands to say the least.

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The Growing Expectations of Last Mile Delivery!

What are the Top 7 Trends in Last Mile Logistics?

The latest advancements in technology have had huge impacts on the world we live in, almost overnight transforming industries such as taxi services, food and grocery delivery, and music. Sometimes this change happens so fast it’s hard to even comprehend the growing expectations and what’s happening for businesses and consumers alike.

Although many of these growing expectations have been positive, creating a more efficient and faster-moving world (can you imagine a world without Uber?), there are many that reach too far, not taking into account the realities of the industry they are frantic to establish themselves in.

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Voice Recognition Technology Is Here! And It Can Hear You!

Virtual Reality (VR) is Enhancing E-Commerce Shopping! (Infographic)

Typically, as evidenced by the home automation industry’s active use of voice recognition for the consumer space, the consumer application of technologies, like virtual reality or augmented reality, leads towards logistics artificial intelligence applications in logistics and supply chain, which includes the use of voice recognition.

No less exciting than space travel or driverless cars is the rapid development of natural voice recognition technology. Automated call center and foundational smartphone software that can follow verbal instructions has already come to pass.

However, recent developments in this space promise to revolutionize the shipping and logistics industries too, making times in transit faster and the entire process of moving and shipping products more flexible.

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Change Leadership Success: Attack on all Fronts!

The Change Leadership Process … And Guide!
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Have you ever tried to make large improvements for some aspect of your business only to find that after a period of time you feel like you are  pushing on a balloon?

Have you ever lead, or participated in, a project with some very lofty targets only to find that you come up short of your goal because of unforeseen circumstances or unaddressed factors?

Have you ever got into a project only to find that someone else’s objectives seem to be in conflict with yours, and these competing objectives ensure that you will not succeed?

Stuff happens!

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How to Safely Handle Chemicals!

A Comprehensive Warehouse Safety Guide!

Every time I am asked about how to handle and transport chemicals I answer that it is all about being well-informed.

Indeed, there are various elements that one has to know when it comes to the storage and handling of chemical products.

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What is a 3PL? The Ultimate Guide Including Definitions of 1PL, 2PL, and 4PL!

What’s the Difference Between Logistics and Distribution?

Most people involved in logistics or supply chain related fields would have heard of the term 3rd Party Logistics or 3PL. But what is a 3PL?

I ‘m not sure however if many would be that familiar with the terms 1st Party Logistics, 2nd Party Logistics or 4th Party Logistics let alone even pondered the meanings of 1PL, 2PL or 4PL .

Given this blog is all about managing 3rd Party Logistics service providers it would be remiss of me if I did not provide an explanation of how the term 3PL is interpreted throughout this site.

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