What’s all the fuss about supply chains? An Evergreen container ship, the Ever Given, got stuck at the Suez Canal in late March 2021. The solution was simple: dig out the sand it’s grounded on and tow the ship to a nearby lake. Unfortunately, because it’s a big heavy ship and the Suez Canal isContinue reading “Supply Chains Must Have These Five (5) Traits”
Tag Archives: demand
Why Shifting from the Month-End Surge to Delivery by Demand is Common Sense
“We just have to live with it,” the General Manager replied. The GM was responding to my comment that month-end surges in sales orders were causing inefficiencies in the company’s logistics operations. I was presenting an operations assessment report to a company that distributed name-brand computer printers and accessories. One of the key observations fromContinue reading “Why Shifting from the Month-End Surge to Delivery by Demand is Common Sense”
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”
Four (4) Supply Chain Scenarios and What to Do When They Change
We don’t know when it’s going to rain. So, we build dams. Dams are reservoirs, inventories of fresh water. Having a reservoir assures an adequate supply of water to meet the continuous demand of communities. Supply chain managers face a myriad of challenges in their operations. But one can categorise some of these challenges whenContinue reading “Four (4) Supply Chain Scenarios and What to Do When They Change”
What is the Right Way to Serve Customers?
A manufacturer of metal parts hires a management consultant to help stimulate sales. The consultant at once suggests the manufacturer prioritise production of its top twenty (20) best-selling items. The manufacturer thus makes one month’s worth of stock of each of the twenty (20) top-selling items. Three (3) months later, the stock is hardly selling. Continue reading “What is the Right Way to Serve Customers?”
Ellery's Essays 