distributors – Ellery's Essays

Central vs. Depots: A Case of a Seemingly Straightforward Solution to a Seemingly Straightforward Problem

My boss at the consumer goods corporation in the Philippines where I worked a long time ago told me the company didn’t need warehouses in the provinces. A central warehouse in the national capital, Manila, would be enough. The field salespeople in the provinces disagreed. Having provincial depots assured on-hand inventories of finished products forContinue reading “Central vs. Depots: A Case of a Seemingly Straightforward Solution to a Seemingly Straightforward Problem”

What Do We Do with ‘Bad Orders?’

One of the most irritating things in supply chain management is handling returned items from customers. We spend plenty of our precious time & resources trying to get rid of them. ‘Bad orders’ or BO for short are otherwise known as unsaleable merchandise or trade returns. BO is a commonplace term in the consumer goodsContinue reading “What Do We Do with ‘Bad Orders?’”

Discerning What We Can Change versus What We Cannot

A long time ago I tried to start a business in which I’d deliver basic consumer products to small provincial stores. I’d buy products from major wholesalers and sell them at small profit margins. I’d offer my customers products at close to wholesale prices and I’d deliver items as soon as there were ordered. AsContinue reading “Discerning What We Can Change versus What We Cannot”