Views on the future Although the COVID 19 infection rate continues to rise in many countries, there are moves to open economies. This has prompted discussions about possible changes to the business models of commercial enterprises. Helpful input to your thinking about options for supply chains is a recent survey ‘Emerging out of the pandemic supply chain report” conducted by … Read More
Structure national Supply Chains for strategic products
A strategic (or critical) product or material The COVID 19 pandemic has highlighted a lack of availability for personal protective equipment (PPE) in healthcare; also, in some countries there has been shortages of imported replacement parts and consumer products, following panic buying. From a national viewpoint, a strategic sector is critical for a country’s ongoing economy, national security or public … Read More
Reality of Adaptable, Agile and Flexible Supply Chains
Is there enough inventory? Commentators are writing that post-COVID 19 supply chains will become more adaptable, agile and flexible, but is this a true reflection of what is possible? The terms are interchangeable and incorporate meanings of ‘willing to change’, ‘versatile’, ‘move quickly and easily’, ‘think and understand quickly’ and ‘well coordinated’. The terms can also be used by management … Read More
‘New customer’ demands and effects on supply chains
Choice and value chains The experiences of people going through the pandemic and expectations in developed countries of 10 percent+ unemployment, could change perceptions enough that the future will not be the same as the past. A report titled The New Customer, downloaded from the Digital Supply Chain Institute, provides their expectations of likely consumer needs in the future and … Read More
Review your supply chains for possible restructure
An acronym lives again To explain how enterprise will structure and perform as the COVID-19 crisis recedes, a speaker at a recent on-line conference used the term VUCA, which required a dig into the archives. The acronym was developed in the late 1980s by the US Army War College, in relation to strategic thinking in a post-Cold War scenario. While … Read More