It’s hard to find a supply chain success story. Either there isn’t any or enterprises would prefer to keep it private, not wanting to share any secret they consider proprietary. Some so-called experts (ones like me who write blogs and claim they are) say companies like Apple, P&G, Walmart, and Toyota are supply chain successes. Continue reading “Collaboration: The Secret to Supply Chain Success”
Tag Archives: logistics
A Recap of Insights
From all that has been said and written about supply chains, perhaps a recap of insights is in order: Every enterprise, every organisation, and every firm have some sort of supply chain within it and beyond it. Enterprises procure ‘input,’ convert them to ‘output,’ and deliver the latter to customers. Enterprises which trade with oneContinue reading “A Recap of Insights”
I Build Supply Chains, So What?
“We do not share a common definition of supply chain management across the industry. Just take a look at the various professional associations to which you belong. Procurement organizations and logistics associations alike claim supply chain management as their expertise. And to be fair, APICS, which defines supply chain management from end to end, hasContinue reading “I Build Supply Chains, So What?”
Working What We Have vs. Changing What We Work With
We who are supply chain managers have their hands full doing their jobs. The problem is we work with what we only have. Executives of enterprises determine our scopes; executives also decide what resources & assets we will have at our disposal or have authority over. Supply chains extend beyond the borders of enterprises, andContinue reading “Working What We Have vs. Changing What We Work With”
Shifting the Supply Chain Management Paradigm
Supply chains consist of interdependent relationships within and between enterprises. No one enterprise dominates an entire supply chain, though many have tried. And because we who work in supply chains participate in these relationships, we need to learn to work with each other, if not together. We, therefore, require a paradigm shift. Most of usContinue reading “Shifting the Supply Chain Management Paradigm”
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”
Embracing Supply Chain Productivity in Strategic Planning
“No, we will not change our sales policy,” the general manager of the consumer goods wholesale trading company tersely said. As I was formerly a logistics manager and land transportation service provider (trucker for short), the wholesaler GM was asking me for advice on how to bring down transportation costs, which had been rising sharply. Continue reading “Embracing Supply Chain Productivity in Strategic Planning”
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?”
Ellery's Essays 