Category Archive

A survey of interest There are many surveys concerning supply chains and their disciplines, with the majority generated by consultants and software companies with a commercial interest in promoting their offering. However, a recent survey report by DHL had a better approach for discussing selected trends within Logistics. It was reported that responses were from more than 2,500 supply chain … Read More

Emissions reduction by 2035 This month, nations that are signatories to the Paris Climate Agreement have submitted their Nationally Determined Contribution for emissions reduction by 2035. Although individual countries use different criteria, the stated aim is to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and hold global warming to about 2C (the original target of 1.5C is a lost cause). To … Read More

Value and a Business Business operates on the principle of value exchange, which is to provide a finished product, service, or an experience, for which customers and consumers are willing to pay money. This is for the perceived value that has been added to the purchased inputs, which must be maintained over a long period for the business to be sustainable. … Read More

Integration is not advised The tight integration of systems and data is promoted as enabling a more effective organisation. However, as an organisation becomes more tightly linked, there is an increased risk that systems become fragile and something will break when events in supply chains generate Uncertainty (derived from complexity, variability and constraints). Too much structure and integration can result … Read More

Finance and Supply Chains compatibility Over the years, there have been articles written that promote the ‘leading role of Finance in the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process and more generally, the integration of Supply Chains and Finance data in real-time, to provide ‘instant’ visibility for a business. This is supposed to “accelerate the decision-making process and enhance the organisation’s … Read More