An automotive service centre in Manila, Philippines advertises that it opens at 8:00am. The doors actually open, however, around 8:15am. Employees time in before and after 8am but pass through the washroom before heading to their desks. A waiting client who would have arrived at 8:00am would probably be served earliest at 8:30am. The automotiveContinue reading “Improving the Customer Experience and Gaining Higher Productivity”
Tag Archives: Supply Chain Engineering
Why and How Banks Should Improve their Services
In the late 1990’s, Asiatrust Development Bank, a relatively newcomer to the Philippine banking industry, expanded its banking hours from 8:30am to 6:00pm. It was a break from the traditional 10:00am to 3:00pm schedule that was the mainstay of other Philippine banks. Many small businesses and individuals particularly those who worked until evenings, flocked andContinue reading “Why and How Banks Should Improve their Services”
What Collaboration Is and Is Not
Collaboration denotes a cooperative working relationship between parties which leads to mutual benefits. It’s not commonly observed in industries and supply chains despite the potential benefits it can bring. This is because it’s not easy to do and in the first place, many business executives don’t think it’s worth the trouble. Many enterprises, small businessesContinue reading “What Collaboration Is and Is Not”
DRP, Deployment and the Role of the Supply Chain Engineer
Distribution Resource Planning (DRP) was my first assignment as supply chain planner for a large consumer goods firm. It was the late 1980’s and Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP 2) was at the height of popularity in the corporate world. The company I was working for was embarking on integrating MRP 2 in anContinue reading “DRP, Deployment and the Role of the Supply Chain Engineer”
What is the Right Way to Serve Customers?
A manufacturer of metal parts hires a management consultant to help stimulate sales. The consultant at once suggests the manufacturer prioritise production of its top twenty (20) best-selling items. The manufacturer thus makes one month’s worth of stock of each of the twenty (20) top-selling items. Three (3) months later, the stock is hardly selling. Continue reading “What is the Right Way to Serve Customers?”
We Need Better Monitoring Systems
Most executives like performance measures. Otherwise known as metrics, key performance indicators (KPI’s), analytics, or scorecards, enterprises embrace performance measures as a means to assess how their businesses are doing. The point of a performance measure is to check how an individual or team is doing against a target that is set by superiors. (NoContinue reading “We Need Better Monitoring Systems”
Seizing Opportunity and Addressing Adversity via Supply Chain Engineering
We should not focus just on adversity. We should also focus on opportunity. We tend to point to adversity when there’s disruption. But as much as there is adversity behind every disruption, there is also opportunity. This should be common business sense but it can be difficult to accept when there’s a raging disruptionContinue reading “Seizing Opportunity and Addressing Adversity via Supply Chain Engineering”
Ellery's Essays 