@ Supply Chain Management

REA, a semantic model for Internet supply chain collaboration

2006-11-13T17:26:00.000-06:00

REA (Resource-Event-Agent) is a semantic model for internet based Supply Chain collaboration developed by Dr. William McCarthy of Michigan State University. In this presentation for the ACM Conference on Object-Oriented Programming, Systems, Languages, and Applications (OOPSLA 2000), Dr. McCarthy and Robert Haugen, Logistical Software LLC outline a web-based semantic model for

Using Prediction Markets for Collaboration

2006-11-10T14:49:00.000-06:00

Prediction Markets Blog talks about Using Prediction Markets for Collaboration the use of collaborative tools and lists a few applications of such technology.The post lists three particular directions for collaborative products namely:New Lines of CommunicationPrediction markets have the ability to open up new lines of communication within the organization. In a lot of companies, especially large

Understanding supply chain risk: A McKinsey Global Survey

2006-11-07T11:55:00.000-06:00

Understanding supply chain risk: A McKinsey Global Survey (Free registration required) is a new article put out by McKinsey & Co in the McKinsey Quarterly online magazine. They surveyed executives at publicly and privately held businesses across a range of industries in September 2006.The key findings:Nearly two out of three executives say they face increasing risks to their ability to supply

Fiscal Visibility In Supply Chain = Money Saved

2006-11-06T14:07:00.000-06:00

Fiscal Visibility In Supply Chain = Money Saved is the title of a new opinion piece by author Michael Stolarczyk who also blogs at BlogonLog.Michael notes,A typical apparel company, for example, might source fabric from China, manufacture garments in Malaysia, send them to Italy for custom design work, then ship final products to a 3PL warehouse in the United States for delivery to major

Managing the Financial Supply Chain - Part 3

2006-11-06T08:48:00.000-06:00

In Managing the Financial Supply Chain - Part 1 and Managing the Financial Supply Chain - Part 2, I reviewed the first two parts of a recent Supply Chain Management Review article titled - Managing the Financial Supply Chain by Roland Hartley-Urquhart in their online magazine.In this concluding post of the series, I want to review Roland's proposed solutions and recommendations for

Managing the Financial Supply Chain - Part 2

2006-11-03T17:13:00.000-06:00

In Managing the Financial Supply Chain - Part 1, I reviewed the first part of Supply Chain Management Review recent article titled - Managing the Financial Supply Chain by Roland Hartley-Urquhart in a recent edition of their online magazine.In this post, I want to go deeper into Roland's article about Managing the Financial Supply Chain because of its critical importance in how the efficacy and

Managing the Financial Supply Chain - Part 1

2006-11-02T09:23:00.000-06:00

Supply Chain Management Review has an article titled - Managing the Financial Supply Chain by Roland Hartley-Urquhart in a recent edition of their online magazine.Understanding and managing all aspects of the financial supply chain is an essential ingredient for business success. While that statement has always been true, it takes on a new level of importance in today's world of global sourcing

Creating the Optimal Supply Chain - Review (Supply Chain Enterprise Systems: The Silver Bullet?)

2006-10-30T13:35:00.000-06:00

In this concluding review of the report titled - Creating the Optimal Supply Chain published by experts from Wharton and BCG, I take a look at the section titled - Supply Chain Enterprise Systems: The Silver Bullet?. In earlier posts, I had reviewed the first three sections namely, You Can't Manage What You Can't Measure': Maximizing Supply Chain Value, Avoiding the Cost of Inefficiency:

Creating the Optimal Supply Chain - Review (Flexibility in the Face of Disaster: Managing the Risk of Supply Chain Disruption)

2006-10-24T10:32:00.000-05:00

In the continuing review of the report titled - Creating the Optimal Supply Chain published by experts from Wharton and BCG, I took a look at the section titled - Flexibility in the Face of Disaster: Managing the Risk of Supply Chain Disruption in this post. In earlier posts, I had reviewed the first two sections namely, You Can't Manage What You Can't Measure': Maximizing Supply Chain Value and

Creating the Optimal Supply Chain - Review (Avoiding the Cost of Inefficiency: Coordination and Collaboration in Supply Chain Management)

2006-10-18T19:34:00.000-05:00

In Part 1 of Creating the Optimal Supply Chain, a report made available publicly by Supply Chain experts from BCG and Wharton, I reviewed the section titled You Can't Manage What You Can't Measure': Maximizing Supply Chain ValueYou Can't Manage What You Can't Measure': Maximizing Supply Chain Value. In this post, I want to review the next section of the report titled - Avoiding the Cost of

11th Annual Third-Party Logistics Study 2006

2006-10-17T15:06:00.000-05:00

As reported previously here, the summarized results of the 11th Annual 3PL study 2006 are now available at the site - www.3plstudy.com. The authors and objectives of the study were:The 2006 study is produced by C. John Langley Jr., Ph.D., of the Georgia Institute of Technology, with industry experts from Capgemini, DHL, and SAP, and is an extensive study about using 3PL services in North America,

Creating the Optimal Supply Chain - Review (You Can't Manage What You Can't Measure': Maximizing Supply Chain Value)

2006-10-16T17:40:00.000-05:00

Earlier last week, I linked to a special report published by experts from BCG and Wharton regarding the topic - Creating the Optimal Supply Chain. I want to get this week off to an early start because I know that this week is crunch time at work.Read the rest of the review - You Can't Manage What You Can't Measure': Maximizing Supply Chain Value here.

Creating the Optimal Supply Chain

2006-10-09T16:13:00.000-05:00

Experts from Boston Consulting Group and Wharton have released a report titled - Creating the Optimal Supply Chain that discuss strategies for maximizing the value of supply chains, avoiding inefficiencies, managing the omnipresent risk of disruption, and evaluating the pros and cons of supply chain enterprise systems.There's so much meat in that paragraph and the attached report that it will

Creating Supply Chain Value w Cycle Time Inventory Yield - Part 2

2006-10-05T17:29:00.000-05:00

In Part 1 of Creating Supply Chain Value w Cycle Time Inventory Yield, I looked into what I considered an excellent piece by Thomas Craig concerning what he identified as key drivers in a Supply Chain - Cycle times and Inventory yield management. In this concluding part, I want to explore the specifics of both Cycle time and Inventory yield management.Read more on the article: Creating Supply

Creating Supply Chain Value w Cycle Time Inventory Yield - Part 1

2006-09-28T17:22:00.000-05:00

You might have heard the oft repeated caveat - Truth in Advertising... What I knew vaguely was cleared up quite easily by running a google query - that there are actually truth-in-advertising rules that apply to advertisers, courtesy of the FTC. Here's the link to the FAQs concerning truth in advertising.So, what about truth in supply chains? That's what Thomas Craig sort of has in mind in his

Supply Chain Meets Risk Analysis

2006-09-25T14:08:00.000-05:00

In today's business world, managing the risk that businesses are exposed to on a daily basis is getting the much needed buzz - it's called supply chain security sometimes and supply chain risk. An article in InformationWeek.com - Supply Chain meets Risk Analysis, highlights one such adoption of risk management techniques for a real world supply chain.Elena Malykhina is the author of the piece,

MPMLT Model development continues...

2006-09-22T16:32:00.000-05:00

With the aim of developing usable tools for Supply Chain planning, I began working on a tool that I have christened MPMLT (Multi Product Multi Location Transshipment). The details are available at the sister site: MPMLT toolEnjoy! Tags: Transshipment, Supply Chain Planning, Supply Chain Strategy, Optimization, Lp-solve

The Intimate Supply Chain - Part 3

2006-09-20T10:04:00.000-05:00

In this concluding part of The Intimate Supply Chain - Part 3, I want to expand on the view that David Ross takes of the customer of the intimate supply chain. The two other parts of this series were: The Intimate Supply Chain - Part 1 and The Intimate Supply Chain - Part 2.Many a business adage would read - "The customer is King" (Do you ever wonder why "The customer is Queen" doesn't seem to

The Intimate Supply Chain - Part 2

2006-08-29T21:23:00.000-05:00

In The Intimate Supply Chain - Part 1, I laid out the background of what is occurring with respect to inventory levels in firms that have gone the route of globalization (either global sourcing or serving global markets or both carried out simultaneously). This commentary is based on an article - The Intimate Supply Chain, published at Logistics Management by David Ross.I ended the last part by

The Intimate Supply Chain - Part 1

2006-08-23T17:18:00.000-05:00

Supply Chain Management Review magazine has a new article titled The Intimate Supply Chain. Writes David F. Ross in the teaser:After all the excess inventory and nonproductive processes have been removed, what's the next stage of supply chain advancement? This article contends that it lies in the creation of “intimate” supply chains. Intimate supply chains create value for customers at every

Achieving Continuous Improvement in Complex Supply Chains Today - Part 2

2006-08-21T09:46:00.000-05:00

In Part 1 of Achieving Continuous Improvement in Complex Supply Chains Today, I reviewed Robert Bowman's article in GLCS "Achieving Continuous Improvement in Complex Supply Chains Today" and took a closer look at the P&G example cited there. In this post, I intend to focus on the application of Business Intelligence and its role in continuous improvement.Robert brings up the notion of Managing by

Achieving Continuous Improvement in Complex Supply Chains Today - Part 1

2006-08-19T20:55:00.000-05:00

Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies magazine has an article about Achieving Continuous Improvement in Complex Supply Chains Today at their site. The author Robert Bowman contends that:Has the march toward continuous improvement come to a halt? Far from it. The idea lives on, under new labels.What? No one told me that.Robert continues:Remember continuous improvement? A decade or so ago, it

Researcher Developing Anti-RFID Device

2006-08-17T10:06:00.000-05:00

InformationWeek reports on a recent development in the RFID space - Researcher developing Anti-RFID Device. Or perhaps, the more accurate reading would be - anti-RFID space.Researchers in Amsterdam say they have completed a device that prevents radio frequency identification tags from being read. The university professor overseeing the project says the goal is to protect people from a technology

Apologies for the lack of updates

2006-08-15T09:06:00.000-05:00

I'm in the process of getting Wordpressed. I've decided to start using Wordpress for further blogging. For an interim period, I'll be making simultaneous posts on both this site and the new one: @ Supply Chain Management. I think that Wordpress offers a set of new features, functions and flexibility that will be invaluable to the blogging process. That said, update your bookmarks and links just

IBM looks to RFID to fight counterfeit drugs

2006-08-10T15:22:00.000-05:00

IBM has released a new RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag designed to combat counterfeit products flowing through a supply chain. Aimed primarily at pharmaceutical companies, the RFID tags are placed on the product at the unit, case and pallet level and is tracked through the entire supply chain. Apparently, a pharmaceutical product changes hands as many as 10 times from the manufacturer

How to go about selecting a 3PL?

2006-08-08T16:50:00.000-05:00

Tompkins Inc has a great web presentation that outlines some of the key steps that any firm undertaking the journey of selecting a 3PL must consider before taking that step.Jim Tompkins outlines the following warning not too far into the presentation:“Taking the plunge into outsourcing strategic non-core functions without a robust process will not only prevent an organization from achieving the

Third Party Logistics Study 2005 & 2006

2006-08-08T12:47:00.000-05:00

A study of third party logistics providers carried out by John Langley Jr., Ph.D., of the Georgia Institute of Technology, with Capgemini, DHL, and SAP, conducted an extensive study about using 3PL services in North America, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, South Africa, and the Middle East to examine critical trends and issues among key markets and key customers in the 3PL industry.

The coming wave of Supply Chain Convergence...

2006-08-08T10:26:00.000-05:00

Logistics Quarterly has an article about The Coming Wave of Supply Chain Convergence in their latest issue. The lead in describes the following:Over the past decade, we have seen warehousing companies become logistics companies, watched logistics managers become supply chain professionalsThat sort of describes where I work right now as well as my current role. Nevertheless, the author Benjamin

Theory of Base6© - Successfully Implementing the Lean Supply Chain - Part II

2006-08-04T17:01:00.000-05:00

In Theory of Base6© - Successfully Implementing the Lean Supply Chain - Part II, Robert Martichenko and Dr. Thomas Goldsby elaborate on their Theory of Base6 reviewed in a previous post. In the previous post, they summarized the common themes that find their way into the Theory of Base6:Customer Focus Vision Deployment Process Management Teamwork Quality at the Root Continuous Improvement In this

Six Key Trends Changing Supply Chain Management Today

2006-08-03T13:44:00.000-05:00

Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine has an article about the Six Key Trends Changing Supply Chain Management Today. Whatever be the success rate of prognosticators or prophets like Tim Vaio, your own success is predicated by your ability to spot successful trends, sport mastery of those trends and support others in acquiring mastery over those same trends. So here are Tim's six trends that

What should an ERP software possess? Part deux...

2006-08-02T12:29:00.000-05:00

In an earlier post: What should an ERP software possess, I was in the process of running up a list of things that an ERP innovator ought to think about. Today, I sat through a presentation of SAP Business One (More information about SAP Business One), an ERP software that SAP targets at Small and Medium sized enterprises (SME) and had the opportunity to brainstorm about critical features that a

Supply Chain Software providers report their successes!

2006-07-27T16:17:00.000-05:00

The latest edition of GLCS magazine is out at the site. I scanned the magazine for reports of successes claimed by Supply Chain Software providers in various industries. Some of the successes reported were:1. IBM reports that its new Dynamic Inventory Optimization Solution (DIOS) helped reduce inventory for a German Retailer - Max Bahr by upto 40%. This they did integrating Point of Sale (POS)

Logistics costs under pressure

2006-07-27T08:58:00.000-05:00

Logistics Management highlights from their 17th Annual State of Logistics report a finding that rising prices and interest rates will soon push logistics costs above 10% of GDP. They refer to a report written by economist Rosalyn A. Wilson for the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) that places logistics expenditures at 9.5% of GDP.That's a sharp departure from the three

What should an ERP software/tool possess?

2006-07-25T10:10:00.000-05:00

The question that I ask myself today is not what particular features/functions an ERP must possess but what kind of experience must users as well as firms experience with an ERP software/tool? So, I decided to draw up a list of things that ERP software/tools must deliver in three broad experiential areas:1. Understanding - A concept level requirement. Here the idea is that the assumptions,

Shopping for an ERP system

2006-07-24T17:30:00.000-05:00

How does one go about getting an ERP system? That's what this article: ERP Shopping Tutorial from Managing Automation sets out to do. According to MA's resident ERP expert Joshua Greenbaum, there are some initial steps that must be taken that are crucial to success when it comes to selecting the right ERP solution.He elaborates that one must:Wrap your mind around the critical business issues your

What maketh an ERP software?

2006-07-24T11:11:00.000-05:00

What maketh an ERP software system? An innocent question like this could subject you to a lot of harassment (sarcasm overfloweth here) - the magnitude and kind of undue attention would vary depending on the source of the attention. For example, an ERP salesman could subject you to a 3 hour presentation (If you're like me and lose your mind after the first 15 minutes) and I shudder to think that

Systems Dynamics and The Beer Game - Got Beer?

2006-07-23T12:18:00.000-05:00

Cyber Sam has a post about systems thinking and how it is applied to Supply Chain Management at his site Cyber Sam. if you've taken a course in Systems thinking or familiar with the kind of beer that doesn't leave you all woozy at the end of the night - then you're used to the Beer game (or the Beer distribution game as it ought to be aptly called - first, its a game with a point to make and

Lean Accounting vs Throughput Accounting

2006-07-21T14:26:00.000-05:00

While hashing through the concepts of Lean Accounting and Throughput Accounting, I came across this presentation that seeks to outline the two concepts, compare and contrast them. The presentation is available for free on the web and was prepared by Peter Milroy of Constraints Management Systems Inc. So let's dive into the presentation right away:Peter summarizes Throughput Accounting the

What is throughput accounting?

2006-07-20T12:39:00.000-05:00

If you're even slightly familiar with "Lean thinking", then you would have heard the phrase - "Lean is all about flow!". There is a good deal of sense in capturing the essence of Lean in that pithy way. (And if you're familiar with linear programming as well) You might also aver that "Lean is about eliminating waste" - the latter phraseology being the dual of the former i.e. maximizing flow does

Middle East logistics: high opportunity in a complex region

2006-07-20T08:01:00.000-05:00

Logistics Management has a new article that outlines why the Middle East is a booming regiong for logisitics and supply chain services. At least, that is the conclusion of a recent study released by the research firm - Transport Intelligence. The logistics sector has been benefited as companies invest in upstream and downstream infrastructure projects. And, other opportunities are presenting

Theory of Base6© - Successfully Implementing the Lean Supply Chain

2006-07-13T15:41:00.000-05:00

A featured story (in three parts no less) at the Council of Supply Chain Management's website describes the Theory of Base6 - Successfully implementing the lean supply chain. The authors of the article are Robert Martichenko and Dr. Thomas Goldsby. In the first part of the article, a list of persistent ideas in business are listed on account o fthe fact that these ideas have some value

The False God of the Almighty algorithm

2006-07-12T14:56:00.000-05:00

Evolving Excellence has a great article (that gave me some pause when I read it) about the False God of the Almighty algorithm. The reason that I read the article at least twice and then all the following comments as well is because I do have a deep interest in algorithms as well as lean principles and the article made it seem as the twain shall never meet. Perhaps, they should and perhaps they

Where the Supply Chain Planning Players are at?

2006-07-12T11:15:00.000-05:00

Gartner Research has published its magic quadrant (nothing magical about it but its an informative quadrant though) about the relative competitive position of Supply Chain Planning software vendors for the first half of 2006. There are three key sectors (Process Manufacturing, Discrete Manufacturing and Distribution Intensive) for which the quadrants were created. They're available free of charge

Making sense of the alphabets (ERP, SCM, MRP, MRP II, CRM, PLM... hmmmm)

2006-07-11T08:35:00.000-05:00

There is no doubt in my mind that if I were to ever come up with a product offering in one or all of the above spaces, I'd christen it hmmmm without thinking a second time - market research be damned. Then again, the world is spared the notion by the appropriate coincidence that I haven't come up with such a product offering but boy its getting there. There is little doubt in my mind that I

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) - What is it?

2006-07-10T10:51:00.000-05:00

Another buzzword, another hyped up same ol' thing or something new, looking at an age old problem with new glasses - what is PLM exactly all about? I came across Arena solutions which is in the business of selling PLM tools and went through their demos to ascertain what they're upto. In a nutshell, PLM software:Products as ERP:Finance and CRM:Customers. Attendant to the described associations is

SCOR Model Version 8.0

2006-07-09T22:49:00.001-05:00

Ehsan of SupplyChainer.com has done a review of the latest SCOR model (Version 8.0) that has been released by the Supply Chain Council. Ehsan has reviewed some of the changes with the new SCOR model at his site here. I hope to review the SCOR model in depth at a date not too far into the future. Enjoy the review! Tags: SCOR, SCOR ver 8.0, Process Model, Supply Chain Council

Six rules for finding IT value

2006-07-06T13:35:00.000-05:00

Paul Strassman has a relatively older article that has a rather frank discussion on finding value in IT projects. Given my interest in the enterprise application software, which could be classified as one gigantic IT project which has nothing much to do with IT, this article certainly had my antennae up.Paul begins:So far - to my best knowledge - nobody has been able to demonstrate that there is

Introduction to Supply Chain Council's SCOR Methodology

2006-07-05T16:59:00.000-05:00

Paul Harmon of Business Process Trends has an oldish whitepaper on the Supply Chain Council's SCOR Methodology and how firms can go about systematically designing and implementing supply chain processes according to the SCOR methodology. The whitepaper is quite detailed and goes into every part of the SCOR methodology. What I would like to know is how well this process methodology has worked out

RFID ROI — Not what it seems

2006-07-03T14:01:00.000-05:00

I was having a recent discussion over lunch with an executive from a specialty grocer out west who admittedly didn't know what the big hoopla was about RFID. The mother of all grocers and supermarketers is into it in a big way but he didn't know what the point of it was except maybe for pallet level or truckload level tagging. I suggested - maybe its volume throughout the entire supply chain that

Taking a peek at mySAP (Transportation area)

2006-07-03T13:33:00.000-05:00

This post is a continued peek into the capabilities of mySAP's solution space. Transportation is one of the specialty areas of the firm that I work for (GENCO) and so I am more than familiar with all aspects of the transportation area and it should be a whole lot of fun exploring the capabilities of mySAP in this area. So let's dive right in. There are three main areas in the Transportation

Follow up on Response Management

2006-06-30T16:22:00.000-05:00

Randy Littleson of Response Management had a few comments regarding my initial post on Response Management. As I learn more about Response Managment, I offered this comment at his site regarding Response Management and Quick Response Methodology (QRM):In your comments, you have referred to "breakthrough" in responsiveness that can be achieved by empowering the many stakeholders involved in making

The blind spot in cost calculation...

2006-06-30T10:45:00.000-05:00

Early on in my career (i.e. just after my undergraduate degree), I interviewed with BCG. (The only thing I learnt from those heady days was not to be a pompous arrogant ass). Personal distraction aside, I worked through a case with one of the consultants about "saving" a business making tractors from almost certain ruin given such and such market conditions. Coming from a mechanical engineering

Archived webinar on Inventory Optimization in Electronics

2006-06-29T16:29:00.000-05:00

An archived version of the recent webinar on Dynamic Inventory Optimization presented by the Electronics Supply Chain Association (ESCA) is available here. Registration is requied and free. The webinar will be available for a year from now. I found some of the items in the presentation especially from the Aberdeen Group as well as IBM's DIOS group quite interesting and that makes watching the

You can't plan your compromises ... Yes, you can.

2006-06-29T08:43:00.000-05:00

Randy Littleson of Kinaxis on Response Management blog has a post about how firms are often kicked into "response mode" where in they're trying to respond to the latest fire that is about to kill their customer service ratings. Isn't it always like that or doesn't it always feel like that? He is of the opinion, no doubt earned by consulting practice that it is virtually impossible to plan out

Smarter, faster and cheaper Supply Chain Technology...

2006-06-28T10:54:00.000-05:00

Logistics Management has an article on their website (Free registration required to view the article) which summarizes a survey of current trens with respect to SCM technology - likes, dislikes, loves and gripes. The respondents were surveyed about the type of SCM or related software that they intended to purchase/upgrade/deploy in the near future, important factors w.r.t SCM software and who in

The Interactive Global Supply & Demand Chain Map

2006-06-27T09:04:00.000-05:00

Supply and Demand Chain Executive has on their website an interactive global supply and demand chain map that has identified enablement options and solution providers for the different functional areas in the SCM space. (Note: The map requies Macromedia Flash Player to work properly).Look at the map here.

Taking a peek at mySAP (Strategic Supply Chain Design area)

2006-06-26T13:23:00.001-05:00

What is the scope of mySAP's solution space? While dealing with SCM, one has to meddle with the ERP system that one finds within a firm. mySAP is one of those leading ERP providers that is making inroads into the SCM space as well. Here is the solution space of mySAP as outlined on their website.The main solution function areas are captured in the figure below (which I shamelessly copied from

Supply Chain Assessment isn't child's play. You need a true specialist.

2006-06-26T13:23:00.000-05:00

So advises Jane Lee, a director of supply chain solutions at SupplyChain Consultants in the June edition of GLCS. She begins her article by saying what may seem as obvious but in a fad fed world, it may not be first on your agenda.The first step to improving your supply chain is very basic: you have to understand what is working and what is not./blockquote>And that's the segue for introducing

Developing the Super Supplier

2006-06-23T16:03:00.000-05:00

A central component of getting your firm to run through its daily operations is the quality of the supplier relationships and the inbound materials that are processed. So in the natural progression of superlatives, if the supplier relationships that were the base description at the beginning of the SCM initiatives, then it is quite natural that we must have by now arrived at the "Super Supplier".

IBM's Dynamic Inventory Optimization Solution

2006-06-22T14:05:00.000-05:00

I am currently watching a webinar sponsored by the Electronics Supply Chain Association (ESCA) on Dynamic Inventory Optimization from IBM. The Center for Business Optimization (CBO) group has two individuals - Terry Gleason and Michael Datovech, presenting their DIOS (which I suppose stands for Dynamic Inventory Optimization System) tool in a brief manner. According to the service template that

Creating Competitive Advantage in Supply Chains - Real Differentiation

2006-06-22T10:35:00.000-05:00

In a previous post on Creating sustainable competitive advantage in your supply chain, I ended it thinking that the true source of competitive advantage that is available for firms is differentiation. Here is an article by James Conley that describes the competitive advantage created by Apple with its iPod series of MP3 players.Frog Design's Luke Williams suggests that the "clean" look of this

Fine-tuning your supply chain

2006-06-22T09:34:00.000-05:00

David Margulius writes about the recent McKinsey Quarterly (registration required) article about the data capture for supply chain in his column titled Fine-tuning your supply chain. Just reading the headline made me think about i2's ABPP system post wherein I was thinking about whether it was really "fine tuning" or "fine tinkering" that managers are upto in the supply chain.McKinsey research

Top 25 3PLs

2006-06-21T11:24:00.000-05:00

The top 25 third party logistics (3PL) providers as reported by Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies magazine are:1. Exel, PLC - $13,3352. Kuehne & Nagel - $10,7003. Schenker - $10,7004. DHL Global Forwarding - $9,5005. UPS Supply Chain Solutions - $7,7006. Panalpina - $6,3207. CH Robinson - $5,6898. TNT - $4,2709. Expeditors - $3,90210. Schneider Logistics - $3,85211. NYK Logistics -

Marrying business cycles with business activities

2006-06-21T10:47:00.000-05:00

InformationWeek's Q&A with UC professor Peter Navarro about Riding the Business Cycle more wisely...According to the professor, Enterprises can be more competitive by better managing the ups and downs of the business cycle, notably via sharper control of inventory and capital outlays such as technology spending.Well, that's something that harkens me back to my days working in the semiconductor

Things that make you go hmm... - What is i2 upto?

2006-06-20T16:52:00.000-05:00

SupplyChainDigest reports on what i2 plans as its "Next Generation" solution in the supply chain space.Whatever i2 is pushing is based on its Agile Business Process Platform (ABPP) - so it helps to ask what exactly is the ABPP? ABPP is explained on i2's website as:The i2 Agile Business Process Platform is a finely tuned, synergistic development suite designed to support new-generation supply

Logistics Cost Survey - 2006

2006-06-20T16:07:00.000-05:00

SC Digest released its Logistics Cost Survey for 2006 in March of the year. I'm catching up on it here.

Drucker on Real Transformation

2006-06-20T14:55:00.000-05:00

Bill Waddell at Lean Affiliates writes about Principles for Real Manufacturing Transformation:Sixteen years ago, Peter Drucker's article, "The Emerging Theory of Manufacturing", appeared in the Harvard Business Review. That is probably about the right incubation period for the rest of us to catch up to his thinking. Drucker points to four principles that defines what's needed for real

Supply Chain Execution Applications Lead SCM Market Growth

2006-06-19T14:31:00.000-05:00

Supply Chain Execution Applications Lead SCM Market Growth, says Arc Advisory Group.What are the key takeaways?1. Supply Chain Execution (SCE) solutions that include Collaborative Production Management, Warehouse and Transportation Management is a key growth area.2. Supply Chain Synchronization - The role of a manufacturing plant is becoming the focal point in a supply chain network and is often

2006 Supply Chain Pros

2006-06-19T13:48:00.000-05:00

The cool dudes and dudettes!Supply & Demand Chain Executive honors today's supply chain leaders in many categories.

Creating sustainable competitive advantage in your supply chain

2006-06-19T11:15:00.000-05:00

If I were to saunter down to a manufacturing/operations floor and impress upon the line managers that what they should really be doing in their operations is creating competitive advantage, chances are I'd be shown the door toute suite. Perhaps, I should be. A wise consultant does not get his head chopped off by spouting well worn academic/business terminology even if it is essential to business

Leverage Supply Chain as Competitive Advantage - the how to?

2006-06-19T11:12:00.000-05:00

The article deals with a new book put out by two partners at PRTM - Shoshanah Cohen and Joseph Roussel called Supply Chain Management: The 5 Disciplines for Top Performance. Too many senior officers don't view their supply chain as a strategic business asset," commented Cohen, co-author and partner at PRTM. "But when aligned with the overall business strategy, supply chain management provides

RFID Reshapes Supply Chain Management

2006-06-19T09:22:00.000-05:00

Is RFID reshaping Supply Chain Management?If you go by the talk of the town or are collared by the US Department of Defense or Walmart, then chances are that RFID is one of those uber initiatives that are top priority. From my viewpoint, which is from that of a large warehouser (GENCO is a large warehousing company principally) and that of a 3PL provider, RFID is at the pilot stage but nothing

Logistics best practices - American Identity

2006-06-15T16:02:00.000-05:00

Logistics Management announced American Identity as the winner of Logistics Best Practices (Gold Winner)Here's what they accomplished:Logistics Best Practice: Helped clients cut expedited freight usage by 50 percent and reduced shipping-related complaints by 92 percent with the help of its proprietary freight-quoting module. Used a similar module internally to improve inbound routing decisions.

Thinking Lean, Acting Lean = Being Lean...

2006-06-15T11:25:00.000-05:00

Says Bruce Tompkins in ...Lean Thinking for the Supply ChainA lean supply chain is one that produces just what and how much is needed, when it is needed, and where it is needed.That's brevity for you that masks the utter transformation that an entire firm - its supply chain, manufacturing, personnel, accounting, finance, sales and management, have to go through in order to be lean. And that's the

What's the best practice with "Best Practices"?

2006-06-15T10:47:00.000-05:00

I've always been suspicious of "Best Practices" but that probably is because of my background in R&D and the irrelevant pride that often goes with - the NIH (Not Invented Here) syndrome. Atleast, I recognize it in myself. However, "Best Practices" is the "lazy" approach to execution in the Supply Chain space as opposed to the "hard" approach which is to knock yourself against the immutable laws

With Supply Management - Technology Rules...

2006-06-14T16:21:00.000-05:00

Says Patricia E. Moody in the May 1, 2006 edition of Supply Chain Management Review (...)Technology may not necessarily be the be-all and end-all. But in the supply management space, it's certainly the quickest and most direct route to cutting costs and improving profitability. The companies profiled here show how - with the right people and processes in place, technology can deliver stunning

Since I work as a Supply Chain Professional...

2006-06-14T15:42:00.000-05:00

There is no one reason why I wanted to set up this blog. Actually, there are several reasons. I made the jump from R&D into Supply Chain Management about 4 years ago. I'd like to think that blogging is one way to expand my thinking on Supply Chain Management.So here it is!!