Hub transport locations Investment decisions in Logistics are typically made by individual entities for their own policy or profitability reasons. The objective is usually to reduce the unit costs for the entity – not to reduce total Logistics operations costs across the affected Supply Chains. An example has been the development of ‘Hub’ sea and airports and multi-modal centres. Providing … Read More
Implementing Supply Chains Tactical Planning software
Using planning software A speaker at a recent presentation stated that when the implementation of Supply Chains Tactical planning software began at their company, record accuracy was estimated at about 70 percent. Because there was not an implementation checklist and audit process, where the 30 percent of data that was incorrect remained unknown. Similar stories have been told since software … Read More
Improve Flows through your organisation’s Supply Chains
Flows in Supply Chains The critical perspective of your organisation’s supply chains’ success is not the efficiency of individual departments, but the effectiveness of Flows that provide customers with their orders ‘in full, on time, with accuracy’ (DIFOTA). A Flow in supply chains is a process, or ‘how things are done’. A business is likely to have between five and … Read More
DIFOTA model for Supply Chains to measure Availability
Optimize flows not the functions To better understand the performance of their supply chains, organisations should measure the performance of Flows – items (going out and reverse); money; information and data, rather than emphasising the ‘efficiency’ of individual departments. The core Flow of the Supply Chains group (Procurement, Operations Planning and Logistics) is to provide Availability that satisfies customers’ needs … Read More
More Procurement skills for knowledge of Supply Chains
Changing skills in Supply Chains The disruptions to supply chains over the early 2020s has provided a likely foretaste of the future. New terms, such as Sustainability and Resilience are being used. As in past decades, new terminology means change for the expected skill set for professionals working in supply chains. While policies, processes and information technology are important elements … Read More