Tag Archives: disruptions

What’s the Metric for Resilience?

Many executives insist their organisations need to be resilient.  Given all the adversities and disruptions businesses had experienced, it’s understandable to believe resilience is vital. Resilience is “an organization’s ability to adapt to and recover from disruptions, such as natural disasters or market shifts, while maintaining core operations and continuing to function.” But how doesContinue reading “What’s the Metric for Resilience?”

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”

What Are We Responsible For?

An old shop proprietor was lying sick on his bed.  His wife and children, fearing the worst, were at his bedside.  “My dearest wife, are you here?” the proprietor asked weakly.  “Yes, I’m here, my husband,” the wife replied. “My dear eldest son, are you here?” the proprietor asked.  “Yes, father, I’m right here,” answeredContinue reading “What Are We Responsible For?”

Transitioning from Yesterday’s Trade Routes to Tomorrow’s Supply Chains

We use maps to guide us to a new destination.  If we don’t have one, we’ll end up lost and asking people on the way for directions.  We then would remember the route we took in case we’d return to where we went.  Thanks to apps like Waze, Google Maps, and Apple Maps, it’s easyContinue reading “Transitioning from Yesterday’s Trade Routes to Tomorrow’s Supply Chains”

Supply Chain Engineers Have Much to Offer

‘There were nearly 2.2 million mentions of “supply chain” on Twitter in the fourth quarter of 2021, some five times more than in any quarter in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic…’     Global supply chains were a mess in 2022, so it seems when one reads any business news article or video that year. SinceContinue reading “Supply Chain Engineers Have Much to Offer”

The Pros & Cons of Steady-Stream Supply Chains

The two (2) managers of the large multinational consumer goods corporation coined it steady-stream.  Both managers, one from sales and the other in charge of orders processing, agreed that the constant volume rushes every month-end were not acceptable.   It would be more beneficial to have a smooth flow of supply rather than a spike atContinue reading “The Pros & Cons of Steady-Stream Supply Chains”

Allocating an Hour a Day For Oneself is a Fantasy

There are those who recommend we set an hour a day to step back from our busy schedules. I would really wish that could be true.  We all could use an hour a day to reflect on what we’ve achieved, organise our thoughts, develop ideas, and plan.  Experience, however, shows it can’t happen for mostContinue reading “Allocating an Hour a Day For Oneself is a Fantasy”

A Letter to the IE: More than Ever, We Need to Lead the World to Productivity

Dear Industrial Engineer* The year 2020 ended without a happy ending. The SARS-CoV-2 virus had not gone away. It continues to be a global threat going into 2021. Political and enterprise leaders have done all they can to defeat the virus.  There was hope.  Thanks to record-breaking world-class collaboration efforts, vaccines have become realities andContinue reading “A Letter to the IE: More than Ever, We Need to Lead the World to Productivity”