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”
Tag Archives: transportation
Embracing Supply Chain Productivity in Strategic Planning
“No, we will not change our sales policy,” the general manager of the consumer goods wholesale trading company tersely said. As I was formerly a logistics manager and land transportation service provider (trucker for short), the wholesaler GM was asking me for advice on how to bring down transportation costs, which had been rising sharply. Continue reading “Embracing Supply Chain Productivity in Strategic Planning”
Why Does It Take So Long?
I looked at the bottom of a dog food can at the pet shop to check its expiration date. It said “10/26/2026,” but the production date said “10/27/2023.” I concluded the dog food was safe as I bought the can of dog food on May 25, 2024. I thought, however: why was the production dateContinue reading “Why Does It Take So Long?”
Solving Problems in the Midst of Crises
We who are supply chain veterans have encountered many crises in our operations. Over the decades since Keith Oliver (and Mr. Van t’Hoff) coined the term, supply chain management, we have had our share of challenging crises. But even as many enterprises recognise their critical importance, supply chains remained a not well understood branch ofContinue reading “Solving Problems in the Midst of Crises”
Transitioning from Yesterday’s Trade Routes to Tomorrow’s Supply Chains
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”
A Primer on the Process of Order Creation & Fulfilment
The process of customer order creation and fulfilment is a core task of many enterprises. An order creation & fulfilment process in a business-to-business (B2B) relationship typically consists of the following steps: Enterprises who sell directly to end-users, that is business-to-consumer (B2C, e.g., supermarkets, e-commerce, restaurants) typically have a simpler process: Enterprises who offer services,Continue reading “A Primer on the Process of Order Creation & Fulfilment”
Negotiations Won’t Solve Our Supply Chain Crisis
During a Philippine Senate hearing conducted on June 21, 2023, the chief commercial officer of Cebu Pacific Airlines apologised for recent passenger service disruptions in which he added: “We recognize that global supply chain issues are further worsening the situation and causing additional delays in aircraft deliveries. As a result, we have experienced delays rangingContinue reading “Negotiations Won’t Solve Our Supply Chain Crisis”
Comparing Supply Chain Management versus Supply Chain Engineering
What’s the difference between supply chain management (SCM) and supply chain engineering (SCE)? Supply chain management is the management of people, structures, & systems that underlie the relationships of functions which enable the flow of merchandise & services from their sources to their destinations and users. SCMs work with existing systems & structures as theyContinue reading “Comparing Supply Chain Management versus Supply Chain Engineering”
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”
Solving the Supply Chain Mystery
I once met a regional sales manager of a large consumer good company at Davao City, the biggest city on the island of Mindanao, 978 kilometres (608 miles) south of Manila, Philippines. As I was introduced, the RSM looked at me for a moment and smiled broadly. “You’re a supply chain consultant?” Before I couldContinue reading “Solving the Supply Chain Mystery”
Ellery's Essays 