It happens all the time. We go to an off-site strategic planning session (or a seminar or workshop), bond with colleagues in teambuilding exercises, creatively come up with new ideas, and commit to action plans to implement them. As soon as we return to our workplaces, we go back to doing what we have alwaysContinue reading “The Reality Check”
Category Archives: The Supply Chain Engineer
A Supply Chain Vision with Specifics Would be a Remarkable Feat
Building the supply chain which we & our partners want begins with envisioning. We define a future state for the operational links between our enterprises and our suppliers, service providers, & customers in which we aim to achieve mutually beneficial strategic goals. A vision for our supply chains is not only a narrative about whatContinue reading “A Supply Chain Vision with Specifics Would be a Remarkable Feat”
Thirteen (13) Do’s & Don’ts in Supply Chain Envisioning
Before we change, improve, or build our supply chains, we must first have a vision. We must first agree with our partners what we want our supply chains to become. Envisioning is not an activity of a single individual or enterprise when it comes to transforming our supply chains. It requires consensus between stakeholders ofContinue reading “Thirteen (13) Do’s & Don’ts in Supply Chain Envisioning”
Engaging Engineers in Supply Chain Envisioning
Engineers are accustomed to working with tangible things like machines, electrical circuits, infrastructure (e.g., roads, bridges), plumbing, and information & automated technologies. They don’t quite get involved with intangibles like supply chains. Nevertheless, there is a need for supply chain engineers. Supply chain engineers (SCEs) study the input & output of activities occurring within andContinue reading “Engaging Engineers in Supply Chain Envisioning”
Why We Need to Collaborate & Not Accommodate in Improving Supply Chains
We formalise our supply chain relationships via agreements we forge with our partners, who are our vendors, 3rd party service providers, & customers. We manage our supply chain operations to ensure we perform to the agreed expectations of our partners. Most supply chains have existing infrastructure in place when we negotiate with our partners. OurContinue reading “Why We Need to Collaborate & Not Accommodate in Improving Supply Chains”
Bridging the Supply Chain Management-Engineering Gap
Engineers turn scientific ideas into reality. They do it by identifying problems, studying the data, and finally solving them. Engineers apply concepts from the pure sciences, such as Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, & Biology. We see these concepts come to life in the fields of civil, electrical, mechanical, & chemical engineering, and in their sub-specialties suchContinue reading “Bridging the Supply Chain Management-Engineering Gap”
Relationships are What Makes Our Supply Chains
Supply chains are models of the relationships within and between enterprises which govern the flow of merchandise and services from their sources to end-users. We build our supply chains based on these relationships. The systems and structures of our organisations and with the enterprises we do business with stem from strategies and policies resulting fromContinue reading “Relationships are What Makes Our Supply Chains”
The Challenge of Working Together in Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP)
Many of our enterprises do Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP). And each of us does it differently. Because we each have our own way of doing S&OP, the results vary from one organisation to the next. It’s no surprise, then, that there would be criticism over S&OP. The absence of uniformity drives us to compareContinue reading “The Challenge of Working Together in Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP)”
The Three (3) Supply Chain Cycles
Supply chains span from sources to users, passing from one enterprise to the next. And we cannot manage supply chains on our own. We need to work together with vendors, customers, and service providers in procuring, producing, and delivering the goods & services. We, perhaps, see supply chains and our individual place in them likeContinue reading “The Three (3) Supply Chain Cycles”
ESG is an Enemy of Productivity
Our enterprises are under a lot of pressure to comply with Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) mandates. Political leaders & activists have demanded that firms pursue sustainability of resources, climate change mitigation, cultural & social diversity, and ethical & legal responsibilities in our workplaces & professional relationships. So-called pundits (people who call themselves experts orContinue reading “ESG is an Enemy of Productivity”
