Supply chains had been under a lot of pressure. Since year 2020, supply chain managers had to deal with shortages in merchandise and rising costs for reasons traced to the coronavirus pandemic, natural disasters, deteriorating trade relations between countries, and military conflicts. The need for supply chain engineering was mentioned repeatedly as a newContinue reading “Managing Demand”
Tag Archives: supply chain
We Should Be Grateful to People We Don’t See
We say ‘thank you’ when people send us a gift, open a door for us, or treated us to lunch. We thank people we see. But how about people we don’t see? When we eat at a restaurant, we thank the waiter. But do we thank the chef, his assistants, the dishwashers, and the administrativeContinue reading “We Should Be Grateful to People We Don’t See”
What Should We Do When There’s Clamour?
In November 2022, this happened: One month earlier, in Manila, Philippines (and similarly in other places around the world), this also happened: And from mid-year 2022 to April 2023, as demand for travel spiked after many countries lifted three (3) years of coronavirus pandemic restrictions: When demand for products & services and enterprises are unableContinue reading “What Should We Do When There’s Clamour?”
Formulating the Operations Strategy
Every enterprise has a strategy. Not all have an operations strategy. A strategy is not a vision nor is it a mission. A strategy is also not a goal and nor is it an action plan. A vision is a desired future state. Where do we want to be 1 to 5 years from now?Continue reading “Formulating the Operations Strategy”
Dissecting Demand and Its Four (4) Stages
What do we think of when we discuss demand? We tap it, capture it, deliver it, and get people to pay for it, but do we really know what it is? We equal demand with how long a line is at a restaurant, or by the sheer number of customers at a shop. We sayContinue reading “Dissecting Demand and Its Four (4) Stages”
The Supply Chain Orchestra
In August of 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. The United States of America led a coalition of nations to counter the invasion via a military campaign that started with Operation Desert Shield and then with Operation Desert Storm. In November 1990, General Fred Franks, Jr., commander of the US Army VII Corps, deployed the Corps’ fiveContinue reading “The Supply Chain Orchestra”
What to Do with Unserved Orders
A global fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) corporation had set up a contact centre in Singapore to centralise sales orders management in the Asia-Pacific region. Customers and field sales of the Southeast Asian market of the FMCG company would inquire or send their orders via email, SMS, or via internet calls to the Singapore office. TheContinue reading “What to Do with Unserved Orders”
Supply Chain Engineers Have Much to Offer
‘There were nearly 2.2 million mentions of “supply chain” on Twitter in the fourth quarter of 2021, some five times more than in any quarter in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic…’ Global supply chains were a mess in 2022, so it seems when one reads any business news article or video that year. SinceContinue reading “Supply Chain Engineers Have Much to Offer”
The Pros & Cons of Steady-Stream Supply Chains
The two (2) managers of the large multinational consumer goods corporation coined it steady-stream. Both managers, one from sales and the other in charge of orders processing, agreed that the constant volume rushes every month-end were not acceptable. It would be more beneficial to have a smooth flow of supply rather than a spike atContinue reading “The Pros & Cons of Steady-Stream Supply Chains”
Scarcity and Abundance Depend on What We Need and Where We Are
My bedroom gets sunlight for only a few minutes every morning. Because my room faces the north-east and because there are trees nearby, the morning sun’s rays shine through my window for only a moment, passing through a break between the tree branches. Then it’s gone, for the rest of the day. The sun’s raysContinue reading “Scarcity and Abundance Depend on What We Need and Where We Are”
Ellery's Essays 