When people buy a little more than what they usually need, we call it speculation. When they buy much, much more, we call it hoarding. What happens when people hoard? Do the enterprises that supply the goods gain in sales and profits? Do hoarders make money? Hoarding happens when people perceive they might not beContinue reading “Hoarding and How to Discourage It”
Category Archives: The Supply Chain Engineer
Improving the Customer Experience and Gaining Higher Productivity
An automotive service centre in Manila, Philippines advertises that it opens at 8:00am. The doors actually open, however, around 8:15am. Employees time in before and after 8am but pass through the washroom before heading to their desks. A waiting client who would have arrived at 8:00am would probably be served earliest at 8:30am. The automotiveContinue reading “Improving the Customer Experience and Gaining Higher Productivity”
Competitive & Non-Competitive Priorities and How to Deal with Them
In several firms I’ve worked with, I couldn’t help but notice that supply chain managers would sometimes be engrossed with priorities regarding compliance to government-mandated occupational safety & health standards. They would have long meetings and spend much time on the nitty-gritties of reports to be filed and procedures to follow. But in the followingContinue reading “Competitive & Non-Competitive Priorities and How to Deal with Them”
What Collaboration Is and Is Not
Collaboration denotes a cooperative working relationship between parties which leads to mutual benefits. It’s not commonly observed in industries and supply chains despite the potential benefits it can bring. This is because it’s not easy to do and in the first place, many business executives don’t think it’s worth the trouble. Many enterprises, small businessesContinue reading “What Collaboration Is and Is Not”
How Maintenance Can Make the Difference Towards Victory or Defeat
On October 6, 1973, Egyptian and Syrian military forces launched attacks on Israel. It was Yom Kippur, Israel’s holiest religious holiday and despite defensive contingencies, the Jewish state’s citizens were taken by surprise as thousands of tanks, artillery pieces, and soldiers invaded the Golan Heights at the north and at the Sinai Peninsula at theContinue reading “How Maintenance Can Make the Difference Towards Victory or Defeat”
The Three Capacity Types
How much can we make? How much can we buy? How much can we deliver? These are typical questions executives ask their managers all the time. Executives often want straightforward answers; they’d rather be spared the complicated assumptions behind any of them. Calculating capacities can be a headache. It’s never really as straightforward as aContinue reading “The Three Capacity Types”
The Nimble Supply Chain: Is It Even Possible?
Managers like things to turn out elegant. A well-laid out factory that produces flawlessly. A warehouse with more than enough storage space and material-handling equipment. A complete fleet of trucks that delivers all the orders without delay. A smoothly running purchasing system in which supplies and materials are bought at the best price and arriveContinue reading “The Nimble Supply Chain: Is It Even Possible?”
DRP, Deployment and the Role of the Supply Chain Engineer
Distribution Resource Planning (DRP) was my first assignment as supply chain planner for a large consumer goods firm. It was the late 1980’s and Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP 2) was at the height of popularity in the corporate world. The company I was working for was embarking on integrating MRP 2 in anContinue reading “DRP, Deployment and the Role of the Supply Chain Engineer”
A Feasibility Study Starts with Defining the Problem
An employee has an idea and brings it to her boss. The boss says “good idea!” and forms a team to do a feasibility study. The team determines the idea feasible for a new product. The boss authorises the introduction of the new product. The product, however, does not sell. Customers think it’s too expensive. Continue reading “A Feasibility Study Starts with Defining the Problem”
Balancing Unstoppable Production and Benefiting from It
I used to work in a flat glass factory. The flat glass factory I worked at used float technology. It starts with a furnace that melts raw materials such as silica (sand), soda ash, dolomite, and limestone. Molten glass flows from the furnace to a tin bath, a chamber of molten tin, in which theContinue reading “Balancing Unstoppable Production and Benefiting from It”
Ellery's Essays 