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”
Tag Archives: purchasing
Avoiding the Wrong Supply Chain Strategy
One mistake enterprise owners make is to use the wrong supply chain strategy for their products. The effects can be costly. The following are some true-to-life cases: Many enterprise owners hire executives or engage consultants that have no knowledge or experience about the products they will work with. In many cases, the executives or consultantsContinue reading “Avoiding the Wrong Supply Chain Strategy”
Building the Supply Chain at Both Ends
A supply chain essentially has two (2) ends: the suppliers (e.g., vendors, service providers) and the customers (e.g., clients, consumers, users). We who manage our businesses work both ends at the same time as our suppliers see us as customers and our customers see us as suppliers. We multitask as both suppliers and customers. InContinue reading “Building the Supply Chain at Both Ends”
The Real Value of Demand Forecasting
“We start our planning with the forecast.” This is what I’ve heard in the last three (3) organizations I’ve engaged with. These three (3) organizations often started their Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) meetings with a comparison of forecast versus actual sales data. In most cases, the actual sales data didn’t come out close toContinue reading “The Real Value of Demand Forecasting”
Why We Shouldn’t Ignore the Purchase Order
Vendors selling to a manufacturing company were really angry, a newly hired purchasing supervisor discovered on her first week on the job. They complained that their bills weren’t paid for months after they delivered materials or parts. At the same time, supervisors from other company departments were voicing complaints that their purchase orders (PO’s) hadn’tContinue reading “Why We Shouldn’t Ignore the Purchase Order”
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”
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”
A Supply Chain Vision with Specifics Would be a Remarkable Feat
Building the supply chain which we & our partners want begins with envisioning. We define a future state for the operational links between our enterprises and our suppliers, service providers, & customers in which we aim to achieve mutually beneficial strategic goals. A vision for our supply chains is not only a narrative about whatContinue reading “A Supply Chain Vision with Specifics Would be a Remarkable Feat”
The Challenge of Working Together in Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP)
Many of our enterprises do Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP). And each of us does it differently. Because we each have our own way of doing S&OP, the results vary from one organisation to the next. It’s no surprise, then, that there would be criticism over S&OP. The absence of uniformity drives us to compareContinue reading “The Challenge of Working Together in Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP)”
The Three (3) Supply Chain Cycles
Supply chains span from sources to users, passing from one enterprise to the next. And we cannot manage supply chains on our own. We need to work together with vendors, customers, and service providers in procuring, producing, and delivering the goods & services. We, perhaps, see supply chains and our individual place in them likeContinue reading “The Three (3) Supply Chain Cycles”
Ellery's Essays 