Why are inventories increasing? The risks in your organisation’s supply network can be reduced in two ways. At the strategic level, supply chains and operational processes can be changed, but to achieve this outcome takes time. The more likely approach is for Logisticians to manage capacity and inventory. However, in the era of globalisation, the opportunity to manage capacity has … Read More
Complex supply networks are facts of life to understand
Supply Chain thinking. Understanding how your supply network functions is critical for professionals engaged with their supply chains. Understanding enables the scope and responsibilities of professionals to be defined and importantly, allows management at senior and middle levels in disciplines affected by supply chain decisions to understand why. How supply networks function became a core interest of mine in the … Read More
Analyse sources of information in a supply chain report
Rights and wrongs in supply chains. The visibility of supply chain professionals is increasing in organisations. Therefore it is more likely that you will be asked by senior management or the board of directors for input to decisions about such factors as the future business model (including off-shoring and global procurement) and technology investments. The challenge in writing the report … Read More
Logistics challenges of distribution in Smart Cities
Smart City Logistics. A United Nations report estimates that by 2050, there will be more than eight billion people living in urban societies; an increase of 100 percent on the current situation. Because the figures are for 2050, it is easy to dismiss them as ‘future guessing’ that does not apply to the ‘here and now’. However, the increases may … Read More
Use inventory tools or supply network intelligence
Getting excited about ‘new’ tools. It can be refreshing to learn about new tools and techniques that will make our supply chain lives easier. But, as always, wear your sceptics hat and ask such questions as ‘better for who’ and ‘free for whom’? I recently read an article about the benefits of implementing ‘multi-echelon inventory optimisation’ (MEIO). This article is … Read More