Many companies that we have worked with over the years underperformed resulting in poor customer service and excess costs because of poor general management practices that negatively impacted their supply chain proficiency. In each of the following examples not only did the problem exist but management practices left little or no recourse to solve the problems once they started to impact business.

A major division of a large pharmaceutical manufacturer did not have the proper t

… Continue

Are you using Social Media to improve the effectiveness of your Supply Chain?

The buzz is everywhere, we read about in the newspapers, we hear about it on television, and its part of our everyday life on the Internet. We have to be LinkedIn to our professional network, we have our Facebook page to communicate with our friends and neighbors, and likely we are Twittering while we are out for a casual night on the town. Social networking is everywh… Continue

For over 20 years software companies have developed sophisticated technology tools to improve the coordination and control of material moving through the supply chain. Companies have purchased an enormous amount of technology promising end-to-end supply chain visibility; however, there remain a significant number of weak or broken links in the supply chain where shipments simply drop out of sight for considerable amounts of time. Most ofte

… Continue

Global transactions have a sordid history of ethical misconduct, impropriety, inappropriate influence, bribery that extends back through the history of commerce. Based on this history it is critical that global supply management professionals act in accordance with a predefined and consistent set of principles that act as guideposts for professional behavior. While there are a number of organizations that profess to be the standar

… Continue

Globalization has caused the world to shrink and most of us in one way or another do business with individuals across the globe. Developing a global perspective is an important aspect of building a global network which can be extremely helpful to your personal and career goals.

Recognize that building a global network requires commitment, you must keep the network active by initi

… Continue

Is your OD/OM group prepared to support SCM and globalization initiatives?

Technology and Globalization are changing the way business is conducted. As a result, internal groups have to evolve to support these changes.

For years I’ve been focused on Supply Chain Management (SCM) and alignment of the extended Supply Chain, which requires communication, collaboration, and tight coordination. This focus has led me to the internal disconnect pro

… Continue

A properly designed and implemented employee incentive system is an excellent tool for optimizing employee productivity, improving facility throughput, and reducing staffing costs, but when done improperly can disrupt one’s business and have a negative impact on the business for a very long time. Keys to success include: proper communication; planning; benchmarking; fairness; anticipating and being prepared for objections; flexibility; and being able to resolve any disputes that occur. It is ess… Continue

Everywhere you go out today you see products that are touted as green, organic, and environmentally friendly. Often, these products are only environmental friendly in a comparative sense. It is important that we meet these claims with a healthy skepticism and really challenge them to justify the environmental benefits of their products. Below we have listed seven major marketing strategies that can be somewhat misleading when it applies to green products. If any of these things have happened to… Continue

Cycle counting in addition to improving inventory accuracy is also an excellent management tool for products of special interest, with specific characteristics, or for many different circumstances such as:

- Fast moving products or products in short supply that may require rationing or to be set aside for one’s best customers

- Products that are easily resold or have had previous inventory shrinkage

- Products that look similar to others or that can easily be mixed togeth

… Continue

Is Customer Service an Art, a Science, or both? What makes it more one than the other?

The first dilemma regarding customer service is how to consistently deliver something that is often not understood? The second quandary is that once expectations seem clear, they change – so the question becomes how to track changing expectations, and then quickly translate that into a delivery system? One better sti

… Continue