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”
Tag Archives: Supply Chain Engineering
The Reality Check
It happens all the time. We go to an off-site strategic planning session (or a seminar or workshop), bond with colleagues in teambuilding exercises, creatively come up with new ideas, and commit to action plans to implement them. As soon as we return to our workplaces, we go back to doing what we have alwaysContinue reading “The Reality Check”
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”
Thirteen (13) Do’s & Don’ts in Supply Chain Envisioning
Before we change, improve, or build our supply chains, we must first have a vision. We must first agree with our partners what we want our supply chains to become. Envisioning is not an activity of a single individual or enterprise when it comes to transforming our supply chains. It requires consensus between stakeholders ofContinue reading “Thirteen (13) Do’s & Don’ts in Supply Chain Envisioning”
Engaging Engineers in Supply Chain Envisioning
Engineers are accustomed to working with tangible things like machines, electrical circuits, infrastructure (e.g., roads, bridges), plumbing, and information & automated technologies. They don’t quite get involved with intangibles like supply chains. Nevertheless, there is a need for supply chain engineers. Supply chain engineers (SCEs) study the input & output of activities occurring within andContinue reading “Engaging Engineers in Supply Chain Envisioning”
Envisioning: The First Step to Building Supply Chains
Supply chains are big, long, comprehensive, and complicated. Managing them means dealing with multiple customers, vendors & service providers. We buy and deliver from and to distant places or just next-door. We sell many types of products and handle much more in raw & packaging materials and in-process inventories. We move merchandise via elaborate sea,Continue reading “Envisioning: The First Step to Building Supply Chains”
Why We Need to Collaborate & Not Accommodate in Improving Supply Chains
We formalise our supply chain relationships via agreements we forge with our partners, who are our vendors, 3rd party service providers, & customers. We manage our supply chain operations to ensure we perform to the agreed expectations of our partners. Most supply chains have existing infrastructure in place when we negotiate with our partners. OurContinue reading “Why We Need to Collaborate & Not Accommodate in Improving Supply Chains”
Bridging the Supply Chain Management-Engineering Gap
Engineers turn scientific ideas into reality. They do it by identifying problems, studying the data, and finally solving them. Engineers apply concepts from the pure sciences, such as Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, & Biology. We see these concepts come to life in the fields of civil, electrical, mechanical, & chemical engineering, and in their sub-specialties suchContinue reading “Bridging the Supply Chain Management-Engineering Gap”
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”
ESG is an Enemy of Productivity
Our enterprises are under a lot of pressure to comply with Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) mandates. Political leaders & activists have demanded that firms pursue sustainability of resources, climate change mitigation, cultural & social diversity, and ethical & legal responsibilities in our workplaces & professional relationships. So-called pundits (people who call themselves experts orContinue reading “ESG is an Enemy of Productivity”
Ellery's Essays 