Kaoru Ishikawa was a Japanese professor who championed quality improvement. He is credited with the formation of quality circles, groups of workers & supervisors who work together to improve their operations. We remember Kaoru Ishikawa for his namesake Ishikawa Diagram, more popularly known as the fishbone diagram, a tool quality circles would use to identifyContinue reading “Making the Most of Ishikawa’s Fishbone Diagram”
Tag Archives: customers
Engineering Supply Chain Productivity
We are only as productive as that of our vendors and customers. If vendors don’t deliver the materials we need when we need it, we wouldn’t be able to make available products no matter how efficient our manufacturing & logistics operations are. And if customers habitually cancel or change their orders which they booked withContinue reading “Engineering Supply Chain Productivity”
Why We Need Policies and Why They Can Make or Break A Business
A young businessman had set up a wholesale business selling consumer goods in downtown Manila. His competitors, however, told him he won’t succeed. Competition was indeed fierce. There were several wholesalers already established and they sold at cut-throat prices at razor-thin profit margins. To get market share, the new wholesaler would have to offer betterContinue reading “Why We Need Policies and Why They Can Make or Break A Business”
Building the Entrepreneur’s Business via Supply Chains
All businesses begin from entrepreneurship, in which creative individuals turn ideas into profitable realities. There had been many who tried their luck as entrepreneurs. Many failed; some succeeded. It didn’t matter if the products or services entrepreneurs introduced seemed mundane or looked grandiose. What mattered was that entrepreneurs worked hard to develop their ideas intoContinue reading “Building the Entrepreneur’s Business via Supply Chains”
Who’s Responsible for Collections?
It’s a question that bothers many organizations. Who should be responsible for collecting debts from customers? Some people say it should be Sales, because a sale to a customer ends not with an order that is delivered but with an order that is collected. Others say it should be the Supply Chain, particularly Logistics, orContinue reading “Who’s Responsible for Collections?”
Why Does It Take So Long?
I looked at the bottom of a dog food can at the pet shop to check its expiration date. It said “10/26/2026,” but the production date said “10/27/2023.” I concluded the dog food was safe as I bought the can of dog food on May 25, 2024. I thought, however: why was the production dateContinue reading “Why Does It Take So Long?”
Understanding the Supply Chain Engineering Roadmap
We know what we want, i.e., we have a vision. We know where we’re at versus what we want, i.e., we did our reality check. We see the disparities between our present-state & future-state performances, i.e., we mind the gaps in our supply chain operations. The next step in building our supply chains is toContinue reading “Understanding the Supply Chain Engineering Roadmap”
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”
Envisioning: The First Step to Building Supply Chains
Supply chains are big, long, comprehensive, and complicated. Managing them means dealing with multiple customers, vendors & service providers. We buy and deliver from and to distant places or just next-door. We sell many types of products and handle much more in raw & packaging materials and in-process inventories. We move merchandise via elaborate sea,Continue reading “Envisioning: The First Step to Building Supply Chains”
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”
Ellery's Essays 