The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the frailties in our supply chains. If we would like to keep our supply chains from being paralyzed by a global health crisis in the future, perhaps we can learn something from our colleagues in Environmental Health & Safety. Because the EH&S departments of manufacturing companies perform assessments periodically to …
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Tag Archives: Supply Chain Optimization
What is the best inventory strategy to manage the risk of a supply interruption? Will the COVID-19 pandemic change our minds about the wisdom of continually driving down inventory targets to reduce working capital costs, especially during the last quarter of the fiscal year? During the hurricane season of 2005 that included Katrina, chemical …
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I have worked in the manufacturing supply chain information technology (IT) field for more years than I care to admit. A sleepy-eyed dinosaur stares back at me from the bathroom mirror each morning. Over the course of my career, more than a few trends have emerged. Many of them, perhaps most of them, have turned …
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In just a short time, the year 2020 has introduced the average person to phrases unheard only three months ago – social distancing, N95 masks, PPE, and Global Supply Chain. As the COVID-19 virus spread around the world, countries went under lockdown as they tried to “bend the curve” on the spread of the virus. …
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I’m a supply chain lifer. I started in manufacturing, but early in my career made the transition to supply chain and never looked back. It was never easy to explain to others what I did though. I would say, “all the stuff between manufacturing and sales.” Still, I don’t think they really understood the complexity …
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Why should I be designing my supply chain network? You’re patting yourself on the back. You’ve sorted through the Marine Shipping chaos. In the face of volatile Marine Transportation rates, you’ve managed to negotiate great prices to transport your North American produced bulk liquid via tank containers to ten Pacific region countries. The contracts are …
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The biggest challenge organizations face is retaining expertise and organizational knowledge. This may be hard to fathom, but in the 29 years I have been helping supply chain and business organizations make better decisions, it is surprising how often the groups re-visit the same decisions over again. Key roles are turning over more quickly, and …
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Our Idea of fun is making supply chain heroes. It’s why Fortune 500 companies trust us to solve their biggest problems. Listen to John Cutler, Ted Schafer, and Dr. Alan Kosansky discuss our approach to listening to our clients.
5G networks are the next generation of mobile internet connectivity, offering faster speeds and more reliable connections on smartphones and other devices than ever before. 5G will help power a huge rise in Internet of Things technology (extension of Internet connectivity into physical devices and everyday objects), providing the infrastructure needed to carry huge amounts …
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I previously worked in the finance-tech industry, where the speed of getting a solution was often the most important thing. Now I work in the supply chain industry where the speed of finding a solution is important but not quite as important as getting the correct and best solution. While the technology we have today …
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Identifying Which Customers Not to Serve!
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The Business of improving a Supply Chain is a similar experience to digging a French drain. My 1730 New England farmhouse sits a bit downhill from my driveway, and when it rains hard, or for long periods, the water will follow the slope from this watershed and make its way into my cellar. I have …
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