When we get a job in an enterprise, we generally assume it’s for work the company advertised and interviewed us for. We would find it kind of funny if the company assigns us to do something we didn’t get hired for. But it happens. We sometimes are given work that are not on ourContinue reading “Why Should We Care?”
Author Archives: Ellery
The Path Towards Becoming a Supply Chain Expert Begins with Basic Competency
Sometimes identifying a problem is not in observing what’s going on; sometimes it’s noticing what’s not there. In my blog, “Where are the Supply Chain Experts?”, written last March 2020, I wrote there were no supply chain experts seen working side by side with business and government leaders in solving supply issues at the heightContinue reading “The Path Towards Becoming a Supply Chain Expert Begins with Basic Competency”
Six (6) Reasons Why We Need to Learn How to Manage Supply Chains
Why do we need to learn how to manage supply chains? The answer to the question may seem straightforward at first. We need to learn how to manage supply chains so that we can ensure the availability of products and services at the right quantity, right quality, at the time they’re needed, and atContinue reading “Six (6) Reasons Why We Need to Learn How to Manage Supply Chains”
What is a Manager, Anyway?
What is a manager? That was the first question the group of line managers asked me. I just got hired by as a management trainee at a consumer goods company and was on my first month at its Manila manufacturing facility, going through orientation. I was required to undergo a qualification test with senior managersContinue reading “What is a Manager, Anyway?”
Appreciating the Value of Veteran Employees
When I was a young industrial engineer at the food production division of a multinational company, the accounting department asked me to find out why there was a large reported loss of refined coconut oil. They’re the ones we always look for when we need something. I went to the production manager and he toldContinue reading “Appreciating the Value of Veteran Employees”
Why Redundant Systems are Out-of-the-Question Necessary
We expect nothing less from those who provide what we feel we deserve.
Three Questions Every New Manager Should Ask
Every new manager should always ask three (3) questions about an operation he or she will be in charge of: What does the book say should be happening? What do the people say should be happening? What is really happening? Chances are each answer would be totally different from the others. What does the bookContinue reading “Three Questions Every New Manager Should Ask”
Just About Every Enterprise is a Supply Chain Enterprise
I and ten million people in Manila have the same problem every day. Mobile phone reception—it’s lousy. It would take several tries to call someone on my mobile phone and when I do, chances are the conversation would stop in the middle. Poor cellular reception is a norm in the Philippines. It’s just so hardContinue reading “Just About Every Enterprise is a Supply Chain Enterprise”
The Heroes Among Us
It’s easy to criticise. It’s simple to call someone stupid. Social media in the Philippines has been abuzz since the pandemic began in 2020. Not that it hasn’t been abuzz before; it was more so after as people stayed home and expressed their frustrations. As vaccine supply remained scarce, the COVID-19 virus continued to wreakContinue reading “The Heroes Among Us”
Supply Chains Must Have These Five (5) Traits
What’s all the fuss about supply chains? An Evergreen container ship, the Ever Given, got stuck at the Suez Canal in late March 2021. The solution was simple: dig out the sand it’s grounded on and tow the ship to a nearby lake. Unfortunately, because it’s a big heavy ship and the Suez Canal isContinue reading “Supply Chains Must Have These Five (5) Traits”
Ellery's Essays 