We who are supply chain veterans have encountered many crises in our operations. Over the decades since Keith Oliver (and Mr. Van t’Hoff) coined the term, supply chain management, we have had our share of challenging crises. But even as many enterprises recognise their critical importance, supply chains remained a not well understood branch ofContinue reading “Solving Problems in the Midst of Crises”
Tag Archives: enterprises
Deliberate Scarcity
Whenever I go see my doctor at her clinic at the hospital, I always would find myself waiting in line with other patients. The clinics adjacent to my doctor’s would also have patients waiting, in which sometimes the queues would overflow into the corridor. Even if I had called ahead and set an appointment, IContinue reading “Deliberate Scarcity”
What Does ‘Back-to-Basics’ Even Mean?
Back-to-basics is a line I had heard in just about every enterprise I worked with. Executives would say to subordinates, “we should go back to basics,” with me and the subordinates wondering if the executives knew what that even meant. Do the executives know what they were talking about? When we say back-to-basics, we probablyContinue reading “What Does ‘Back-to-Basics’ Even Mean?”
It’s Bad When We Turn Away Customers, Very Bad
Customers are the lifeblood of our businesses. If we don’t have customers, our businesses die; it’s that simple. Yet, many of us who are business owners turn away customers for any number of reasons. Sometimes, the reasons are due to the limits our businesses have. Restaurants turn away customers because they have no more tablesContinue reading “It’s Bad When We Turn Away Customers, Very Bad”
About The Supply Chain Engineer
Supply chain management has figured prominently in organisational priorities since Keith Oliver in a reported conversation with a Philips manager, Mr. Van t’Hof, coined the term in the 1970’s, and it has become even more so at the onset of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Supply chains are operational relationships made up of activities that transformContinue reading “About The Supply Chain Engineer”
The People First Proposal
I would like to propose organisations put people first when it comes to their priorities. Organisations may say they already do but based on my observations, they aren’t. Two (2) banks asked me one day to update my business’s account information. They gave me a pile of forms for my business accounts’ signatories to fillContinue reading “The People First Proposal”
Why We Need Engineers
I spent fifteen (15) minutes one morning pounding several pills into powder. The powdered pills are medicinal supplements for my pet cat, to fight against liver ailments. One of my cats tested for high SGPT, an enzyme when found high in a blood test, indicates problems with the liver. The vet prescribed the cat neededContinue reading “Why We Need Engineers”
Appreciating the Value of Veteran Employees
When I was a young industrial engineer at the food production division of a multinational company, the accounting department asked me to find out why there was a large reported loss of refined coconut oil. They’re the ones we always look for when we need something. I went to the production manager and he toldContinue reading “Appreciating the Value of Veteran Employees”
Why Redundant Systems are Out-of-the-Question Necessary
We expect nothing less from those who provide what we feel we deserve.
Four (4) Guidelines for Available Transportation
Many small business enterprises don’t put too much thought into deliveries. For those who are into e-commerce and sell one or very few items via the Internet, the enterprise’s flow of work is typically receiving orders, preparing the items, and booking & delivering via a 3rd party service (e.g., Grab, Lalamove). Many enterprises have seenContinue reading “Four (4) Guidelines for Available Transportation”
Ellery's Essays 