One Sunday morning, a homeless woman at a traffic intersection was approaching cars and begging for alms. Some drivers give but most don’t. But the woman persists anyway; she shows a sign saying she’s homeless and asks for money for food. I thought as I observed the homeless woman: if the government could spend soContinue reading “When Increasing Capacity Becomes a Priority”
Author Archives: Ellery
Weighing the Benefits of Quantities, Streaks, and Trends
People put a lot of weight on numbers, especially those that show significance in terms of accomplishment: 100 days in political office; 10,000 followers for a social media influencer; 100,000 likes for a viral post on the worldwide web; 1,000,000 units sold; 1 billion customers served by a fast-food chain. But as much as weContinue reading “Weighing the Benefits of Quantities, Streaks, and Trends”
When Idle is Not Necessarily Bad
A chief executive officer (CEO) of a large corporation was touring a manufacturing facility. As with all CEO’s touring a factory, he had an entourage of executives accompanying him as he walked and shook hands with workers on the production line. As he strolled through the facility’s main line where the most important manufacturing processesContinue reading “When Idle is Not Necessarily Bad”
Cultivating Passing Thoughts into Aha! Moments
The late Isaac Asimov was a famous author who wrote science fiction stories (e.g. the Foundation series) and essays. In one such essay, The Eureka Phenomenon, Dr. Asimov writes how some scientists made great discoveries out of the blue. He cites: Archimedes who, while taking a bath, solved the problem of determining the volumeContinue reading “Cultivating Passing Thoughts into Aha! Moments”
Weather Forecasting vs. Demand Forecasting: A Case of Different Expectations
Meteorologists predict what the weather will be like, whether it be tomorrow or the next few hours. Demand forecasters predict what customers will buy and how much, whether it be next week, next month or next year. When a weather forecast is wrong, we don’t hold the meteorologist accountable. We may grumble about the inconvenienceContinue reading “Weather Forecasting vs. Demand Forecasting: A Case of Different Expectations”
Solving the Supply Chain Mystery
I once met a regional sales manager of a large consumer good company at Davao City, the biggest city on the island of Mindanao, 978 kilometres (608 miles) south of Manila, Philippines. As I was introduced, the RSM looked at me for a moment and smiled broadly. “You’re a supply chain consultant?” Before I couldContinue reading “Solving the Supply Chain Mystery”
Why We Need to Define the Bigger Problem*
When Apollo 13 astronauts reported an explosion on their space module, NASA’s Houston Mission Control contemplated on continuing the mission and land on the moon. It was only when NASA realized that the problems were life-threatening that it was decided to abort the mission and to have the astronauts return to Earth safely. We tendContinue reading “Why We Need to Define the Bigger Problem*”
Why Telecoms and Banks Don’t Care
I hate telecom companies and banks
What is a Supply Chain, Really?
The first time I heard about supply chains was when I was working as a production planner at P&G Philippines in 1989. P&G’s top management had just reorganised the multinational consumer goods corporation’s operations worldwide, integrating manufacturing, purchasing, and logistics under one group: the Product Supply Organisation or PSO, for short. The aim of theContinue reading “What is a Supply Chain, Really?”
Why Should We Care?
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?”
Ellery's Essays 