Category Archive

Risks challenge businesses. Last week two events occurred that illustrate the risks you can face in operating global supply chains. The first concerned leather balls used in Australian Rules football games. Like many companies in developed countries, the brand company sources its products from low cost countries (LCC). If your company approaches suppliers that have low labour costs, the procurement staff are … Read More

Promotion events are successful. Last week I was invited to take part in an information evening about careers in Procurement, for students at the University of Melbourne. It was a very successful event with about 50 undergraduate and post graduate students attending. The outcome was that 50 more people knew about the potential benefits to themselves and employers from careers … Read More

Where to locate your warehouse. The decision about locating a new distribution centre or warehouse will not be made that often in the course of a company’s business – the review of location suitability will be about every five to seven years. Selecting a site a location that is close to a freeway can be a sensible decision; new warehouses … Read More

Work and flexibility. I was recently talking with a sales representative from a freight forwarder and noticed that his mobile phone was not switched off for our conversation. I asked if the mobile phone was also on in the evening and he replied that the phone was never off and that he was expected to respond whenever it rang. For … Read More

Logistics strategy for your market. An interesting question was recently asked of Sir Terry Leahy, the retired chief of British retailer Tesco. The question related to the penetration of private label items as a percentage of total sales. His response was that in the UK, private label had acquired a reputation with consumers, through the policy of retailer Marks and … Read More