Cut costs to get a better business I read this week of more businesses cutting costs – a copy of what so many businesses do when the going gets tough. This may gain favourable articles in the business media and shows shareholders that management is doing something. In addition to retrenching employees, favourite cost reduction actions are to: outsource non-core activities … Read More
Mixing up a value chain and a supply chain
Using the right term. If you are telling a story about climbing a mountain, you would not use the term ‘descending the mountain’ when talking about going up the mountain. But when it comes to logistics we are not so sure about the terms to use. I have read articles this past week where the authors talk about value chains. … Read More
Management by Walking Around is not that Difficult
Your focus – metrics or observation. As a business gets larger, the challenge for managers is whether to only believe the performance measures (metrics) presented or to also take notice of the views from staff and customers. If only metrics are considered, managers are entering dangerous territory. I have been reading about a major retailer in Australia that relied on … Read More
Does Logistics Play a Part in Your Capital Investments?
Reduce spending in your business. Are ‘savings’ in maintenance expenditure real savings? In a future time, when the original decision maker has moved to another job, additional expenditure will be required to keep the items or equipment operational. A recent court case in Australia found an electricity utility guilty of causing a devastating fire that killed a number of people … Read More
Getting Procurement from good to great – where to start
Starting the improvement process. How should an effective Procurement function operate? There will be different ideas at the detail level, but are there some main points that would find general agreement? These thoughts came about recently while having coffee with a colleague who has recently completed a consulting assignment. The assignment was to advise on ‘reducing the cost of purchased … Read More