Technologies and their applications. The three main functions of an organisation’s Supply Chains are Procurement, Operations Planning and Logistics. To improve the performance and productivity of supply chains, technology investments are made and typically justified within a capital expenditure (Capex). The requirement is for the investment to exceed the organisation’s return on investment (ROI) ‘hurdle’ rate. The justification process places … Read More
Electric powered vehicles and ‘last mile’ deliveries
Internal combustion engine has a limited life. Managing transport in an effective and efficient manner is a core requirement of an enterprise selling goods. While the physical part of transport operations will be undertaken by either a 3PL organisation or the in-house transport department, developing and implementing the strategy is a role for your supply chain group. Among the reasons … Read More
Changes that could be critical to your supply chains
Change is not just technologies. Three recent events emphasise that changes to supply chains over the next 10 – 15 years are unlikely to be driven by new technologies. Instead change will come from economic, political and environmental events and movements. The first event (economic) was an update about the three main shipping container alliances. These influence close to 80 … Read More
Agile is the way we want to do business, or is it?
Agile sounds a good place to be. Being Agile in your core supply chains is gaining prominence in media articles and conference streams. This is in comparison with past years and the push for a ‘Lean’ approach. Agile is “having the power of quick motion; nimble”, but can (or should) your business have this objective? Before rushing into an Agile … Read More
Segmentation for structuring supply chain relationships
Commercial relationships in supply chains. The essence of your Supply Network is to manage relationships between buyers and sellers in the core supply chains and to better understand the uncertainties associated with your extended supply chains. Within your core supply chains, the techniques and procedures of planning, buying, inventory storage and distribution are to achieve the expectations concerning ‘delivery in … Read More