Ellery

Dedicate, Not Commit

Commitment is placing the highest priority to another. When people marry, they commit; they promise to put their partners above everything else. Enterprises try to enrol employees to do the same. Managers expect subordinates to place first-priority to their jobs. I don’t commit to employers; I dedicate. Dedication is compliance to mutually agreed contracts. FocusContinue reading “Dedicate, Not Commit”

The Supply Chain Surrounds Every Product

The enterprise sells, its customers order, and the enterprise delivers. This constitutes the basic process of demand fulfilment. As the enterprise creates demand through marketing & sales, it fulfils it. The enterprise and the customer agree on the terms and conditions of the latter’s order. Delivery of the order should arrive at the right place,Continue reading “The Supply Chain Surrounds Every Product”

Arguing for Engineering

Engineers have been the go-to people to solve problems or implement pre-decided solutions. Engineers build edifices architects design, install equipment which executives prefer, and fix things that were creating problems no one else could solve. Engineers deal with the complicated technical stuff like designing rockets and constructing skyscrapers, repairing nuclear reactors, setting up oil drillingContinue reading “Arguing for Engineering”

There is No Such Thing as a Benevolent God

How long did the dinosaurs live on Earth? 165 to 180 million years, according to Britannica. That’s a really long time. Humans and ancestors have been on Earth for 6 million years. Homo sapiens, for about 300,000 years. Civilisation as we know it has existed for a mere 8,000 years. The universe began 13.8Continue reading “There is No Such Thing as a Benevolent God”

Ambitions & Fears Help Make Our Dreams Come True

Ambition drives us to work for our dreams. Fear makes us hesitate. Both are important in motivating us. Fear motivates? Yes. While ambition gives us impetus to wake up and work, fear moves us to sense risk and hesitate. We know the sayings and how they seem to contradict each other. “He who hesitates isContinue reading “Ambitions & Fears Help Make Our Dreams Come True”

The Supply Chain Problem Many Don’t See

The escalator at the shopping mall was out of order for four (4) weeks. The mall managers perhaps didn’t think it was a big deal. Mall customers could still walk down the broken escalator from the ground floor to the lower level or take a nearby elevator. Never mind that any elderly person or parentsContinue reading “The Supply Chain Problem Many Don’t See”

Banks Have Supply Chains, Too

I went to the bank to cash a check. The teller said there was no cash available. She also said the automatic teller machine (ATM) also had no cash and was off-line. The teller, however, told me to wait. She then left the bank, went next door to a rival bank, and withdrew cash fromContinue reading “Banks Have Supply Chains, Too”

‘Who You Gonna Call?’

There is no such thing as ghosts. But there is such a thing as unexpected problems. And when unexpected problems do arise, whom do you call to solve them? The 1984 hit film, Ghostbusters had the hilarious premise of ghosts haunting New York City. But it also was about wacky scientists inventing devices to captureContinue reading “‘Who You Gonna Call?’”

All in the Mind

My dad would tell us that any difficulty was “all in the mind.” When I and my siblings were kids and we found anything hard, he’d tell us it was “all in the mind.” It could be whenever we’re sick, we’re stuck in homework, or we’re just not feeling like eating or drinking. He’d justContinue reading “All in the Mind”

The Four Types of Supply Chain Relationships

How do you want your supply chain relationships to be like? Supply chain relationships consist of the connections between enterprises such as those between enterprises and their vendors, service providers, and customers. They also include the interactions between internal operating groups within enterprises, such as purchasing, inbound & outbound logistics, manufacturing, and planning. There areContinue reading “The Four Types of Supply Chain Relationships”