Daily Insights, Trends and Solutions for Professionals, Experts, Students and Society
supplychain is the tag associated with every aspect of Supply Chain Management, Planning, Technology, Logistics, Procurement, and more.
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 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?”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)”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!”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!”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!”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?”
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”!”
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!”Leaders and leadership techniques are worth their salt are those who inspire others to be great.
Whether you’re a sales manager or a CEO, bringing out the best in people you work with is key to the success of your organization.
Continue reading “Leadership Techniques To Inspire Your Team!”Understanding last mile logistics is only half the battle. Shippers need to reevaluate their existing last mile logistics processes and devise an effective last mile delivery logistics strategy that aligns consumer and business expectation.
This is the only way shippers can safeguard their position in the market and continue to provide products to their consumers. In fact, an effective last mile logistics strategy must consider these nine key points.
Continue reading “9 Key Considerations in an Effective Last Mile Delivery Strategy”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 ?
Continue reading “Commodity (or Category) Management – What is your Buying Strategy?”Welcome to the Supply Chain Game Changer ™ blog.
The Supply Chain touches all of our lives whether it be in business or personally. No matter what industry you are in or are touched by, all involve the movement of goods, services, and information. So the most efficient functioning of the Supply Chain affects us all. And it affects us in every aspect of our lives whether we are consumers, employees, or business leaders.
With a career spent in Supply Chain I’ve seen many ways of performing the processes involved in managing the Supply Chain. Many of these processes are highly efficient. Yet many more are highly inefficient. Regardless, everyone strives to improve the way things are done. And every experience has been an opportunity for growth.
In this blog I’d like to share my experiences, and those of others, in improving, working in, managing in and being managed by the Supply Chain.
There have been some remarkable achievements and there have been some missteps along the way. However there are lessons to be learned and experiences to be shared in every case. And I hope that this learning and shared experience will be of value as you seek to improve the Supply Chain you are a part of.
On top of that we want to share anything and everything related to Leadership, Change Management, Technology, Procurement, Purchasing, Distribution, Logistics, and much, much more.
Overall Supply Chain Game Changer can serve you as a guide as you do your jobs and as you progress through your career. The issues and challenges that you face will be different for everyone on any given day. There is something for everyone in Supply Chain Game Changer.
Additionally I invite you to comment and send me content. By learning, not only from successes but from failures, we will all be better going forward. There is a wonderful world of people and experiences that we can all learn from.
So again I welcome you to the Supply Chain Game Changer™ blog.
Let’s go!
I have seen many people join a new company and take a new job or leave for another company. While I don’t have the precise statistics it is fair to say that as many as half of the people joining a new company will do well. However atleast half of these people will struggle in their new roles and in their new companies. Many will fail altogether.
What makes someone more or less successful when making such a career move? What are the environmental factors which affect this outcome? And most importantly what is it that the new employee does or doesn’t do that makes them succeed or fail?
Continue reading “Starting a New Job? Be a Positive Impact Player to Succeed!”We all know how important cybersecurity is now that technology powers commerce in such a significant way. But if you perform work as part of a supply chain, you know that the stakes are especially high with cyber security the weakest link.
Given that you’re part of a network of providers, vendors, transporters and managers, the impact of the weakest link in the supply chain cybersecurity “chain of custody” can be significant.
Continue reading “Cyber Security: The Weakest Link is Your Biggest Risk!”
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