“Behind every great leader there was an even greater logistician.” -M. Cox On a trip to Saudi Arabia in 1990 at the start of preparations preceding Desert Storm, the American-led military operation to take back Kuwait from invading Iraqi forces, United States Air Force General Chuck Horner was granted only one companion to accompany him. Continue reading “Why Enterprises Need A Chief Supply Chain Officer”
Tag Archives: supply chain management
Four (4) Supply Chain Scenarios and What to Do When They Change
We don’t know when it’s going to rain. So, we build dams. Dams are reservoirs, inventories of fresh water. Having a reservoir assures an adequate supply of water to meet the continuous demand of communities. Supply chain managers face a myriad of challenges in their operations. But one can categorise some of these challenges whenContinue reading “Four (4) Supply Chain Scenarios and What to Do When They Change”
What Is the Right Supply Chain Model for New Products?
A lot has to get done when it comes to launching a new product. Aside from marketing and selling, enterprise executives need to know how much to make, how much to stock, and how they’ll spread that stock. If the new product is replacing an older one, the enterprise would need to figure out whatContinue reading “What Is the Right Supply Chain Model for New Products?”
Twelve (12) Things Supply Chain Engineers Do for Enterprises
Supply Chain Engineers (SCE’s) are much like any other engineer. Just as engineers design, build, and install structures and systems, SCE’s do the same specifically for supply chains. Supply chain engineers shape the networks, processes, and systems that underlie product and service streams. Their projects are either big and small. Project scopes can range fromContinue reading “Twelve (12) Things Supply Chain Engineers Do for Enterprises”
A Letter to All Industrial Engineers: Time to Rise Up
Dear Industrial Engineer: I come to you as a fellow Industrial Engineer (IE) with a message. It’s time for us to rise up. For years, or should I say decades, Industrial Engineering (IE) has been an un-recognized engineering discipline. Many engineers—e.g. civil, mechanical, chemical, electrical—look at us as fakes. IndustrialContinue reading “A Letter to All Industrial Engineers: Time to Rise Up”
The World Needs Supply Chain Engineers
Not leaders. Not managers. Not business executives. We have plenty of leaders, both real and wannabes. Managers and executives too; we have enough. We need supply chain engineers. The global supply chain is a present-day 21st-century reality. We get much of our goods from all over the world. We buy shoes from Europe to sellContinue reading “The World Needs Supply Chain Engineers”
Where are the Supply Chain Experts?
Supply chain managers are noticeably invisible amid the COVID-19 crisis. There have been no supply chain executives standing beside national leaders as they made speeches and announcements. There have been rarely any interviews with supply chain experts about how to deal with shortages of food and difficulties in transportation. If there were, much of whateverContinue reading “Where are the Supply Chain Experts?”
We Need a Playbook and It’s the Last Thing We Need
Many enterprises and countries around the world have playbooks to deal with pandemics such as COVID-19. These range from ISO standards and those based on the United States’ Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), Center of Disease Control & Prevention, and even the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USARMIID). But asContinue reading “We Need a Playbook and It’s the Last Thing We Need”
