Purchase price is always important, but… In Procurement, the critical factor underlying your negotiations with suppliers should be the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the item into your facilities. Financial mistakes caused through not identifying TCO for a buy are more often publicised in government procurement, as spending public money tends to be transparent. Procurement activities in commercial businesses … Read More
Operations in supply chains can have many structures
Operations types Changing customer expectations and the emergence of technologies designed to assist responses to change are the current scenario in developed countries. But, as strategic objectives of the business change does the structure of your Operations? The term Operations incorporates the consolidation of Supply Chains (Procurement, Operations Planning and Logistics) and the Conversion of inbound materials and items (which … Read More
The scope of Supply Chains and operational disciplines
Supply Chain definitions Understanding the scope of a challenge helps in defining how to structure and implement the solution. So it is with supply chains. Supply chains are not new; they have existed since people commenced trading items. But, the term itself was first used in an article written in the early 1980’s and commenced adoption in business about ten … Read More
Change in a country’s logistics performance can be slow
Country logistics performance When evaluating the performance of Logistics Service Providers (LSP) across countries in your supply chains, there must also be an evaluation of the logistics capability for each identified country. Why is this? Because a higher level of performance from logistics services depends on the public sector’s policies and actions, including: attitude to globalisation, regulations, infrastructure, controls and … Read More
To do before your first international shipment of goods
International shipping is different When your small to medium size enterprise (SME) has built some serious traction in the domestic market, it’s time to consider going international. There are many benefits to expanding internationally: New revenue potential Exposure to foreign investment opportunities Access to new customers Government incentives Diversifying markets for the business However, international shipping is different from domestic … Read More