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”
Category Archives: The Supply Chain Engineer
The First Step is Always the Hardest
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” In building a supply chain, that single first step can be a doozy. When we construct a home or facility, the first thing we think we of doing is plan. Seek a site. Draft a layout. Determine our budget. Schedule the construction. But thatContinue reading “The First Step is Always the Hardest”
The Changing & Un-Changing Supply Chain
Since Keith Oliver and a Mr. Van ’t Hoff coined the phrase in the 1980s, supply chain management has evolved from an obscure middle-management responsibility to a high-echelon business priority. Supply chains had become hot topics in executive suites and business school lecture halls. At the same time, operations managers face endless enigmatic problems asContinue reading “The Changing & Un-Changing Supply Chain”
What’s the Big Deal About 300?
People celebrate milestones; I’m no exception. Birthdays, anniversaries, victories. We celebrate sentimental times and achievements. Sometimes, we play down some these things because whatever we’re celebrating doesn’t stand up to what others had done or had been awarded with. We compare notes; we look small; we decide not to make a big deal. I onceContinue reading “What’s the Big Deal About 300?”
Demand Fulfilment Means Keeping One’s Promises
The airport lounge no longer granted access via my platinum credit card. The credit card’s fine print did warn that perks may be withdrawn without notice. The bank dangled the lounge perk on top of other benefits. I took it and the bank succeeded in selling me the card. But I’m unhappy because I noContinue reading “Demand Fulfilment Means Keeping One’s Promises”
Knowing Your Inventory ABC’s
A business owner asked me: how can I manage my company’s inventories more efficiently? The business owner imported soap, luggage, and cell phones, in short: assorted merchandise. He shipped in and kept hundreds of items in inventory, in which he had trouble keeping track. Sometimes he had too many items in storage or had tooContinue reading “Knowing Your Inventory ABC’s”
Productivity: They Still Don’t Get It
Leading global consultancy McKinsey defines productivity as Gross Value Added (GVA) per work-person and reports that the world needs productivity growth on top of balance sheet profitability. McKinsey still doesn’t get it. The world doesn’t need labour productivity, it needs supply chain productivity, which is how fast and how much organisations sell merchandise and collectContinue reading “Productivity: They Still Don’t Get It”
The Good Problem
The repairman sighed. No one called; there was nothing to do. The ad said it best: we make dependable appliances. That meant that the repairmen, even though employed and salaried, had no jobs pending. They were there just in case, nothing else. It was a lonely life, and the repairmen complained about the loneliness. ForContinue reading “The Good Problem”
The Need to Change the Supply Chain
When a parcel arrives at my doorstep, I see myself at the end of a supply chain process—a process which involved multiple operations from procurement, manufacturing, to logistics. But I could care less. What mattered is I got my parcel and the items I ordered. The individuals in the respective supply chain processes which enabledContinue reading “The Need to Change the Supply Chain”
Four (4) Starting Points to Getting the Reliability You Want
MANILA, Philippines, October 3, 2019. An electrical transformer (rectifier) at the Light Rail Transit Line 2’s (LRT-2) commuter railway tripped and caught fire. The fire knocked out train service from downtown Manila to the eastern suburbs of Marikina and Cainta. Thousands of commuters from workers to students were forced to find alternative transportation. The dayContinue reading “Four (4) Starting Points to Getting the Reliability You Want”
Ellery's Essays 