Supply Chain Experts

You're Only As Strong As Your Weakest Link

All Blog Posts (130)

Search Blog Posts

Roy Strauss Two Excellent Applications for Voice Recognition

Many companies who use bar code technology are still plagued with excessive writing and/or data entry. This happens when many different types of information must be captured for each item during receiving and supplying vendors only bar code item numbers and/or descriptions and no other fields, or there are numerous potential next steps in the receiving process and they must be identified on the fly. These situations can occur whether for new receipts or returns.

Application 1: a

… Continue

Added by Roy Strauss on November 5, 2009 at 5:01pm — No Comments

Dr. Edward Knab Managing Supply Chain Risk

Supply Chain Experts motto is that you are only as good as your weakest link, weak supply chain links have cost Boeing, the worlds largest airline manufacturer, billions of dollars and caused years of delays in their Dreamliner program. Today, as Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner program is progressing toward its first delivery, the jet maker is still working to repair its weak supply-chain links. At the same time, overall jet sales for the year are way down. As of May 2009 the Boeing web site report… Continue

Added by Dr. Edward Knab on October 19, 2009 at 2:59am — No Comments

Chip Scholz What has Changed?

http://www.scholzandassociates.com/blog/2009/10/how-have-things-changed.aspx Continue

Added by Chip Scholz on October 15, 2009 at 12:19pm — 1 Comment

Roy Strauss Purchasing From a Poor Power Position

Under some circumstances it is the seller not the buyer who has the advantage in a buy/sell relationship, (seller has a monopoly, resources to make products are always in short supply, demand fluctuates causing temporary short supply, etc.) The largest customers, oldest customers or those with personal relationships with the vendor usually get favorable treatment potentially hurting your competitive position. When in a poor power position there are several things one can do to gain the favor of… Continue

Added by Roy Strauss on October 12, 2009 at 6:00pm — No Comments

Pat Lupica Purchasing and Accounting: a Scorecard Issue?

Is a disconnect between purchasing and accounting impacting your supply chain scorecard?

One of the easiest ways to damage a buyer/seller relationship and not even know it’s happening is to toss an invoice over the wall to accounting and assume terms will be met. Payment terms are oftentimes stretched to preserve short-term cash reserves; sometimes breach of contract occurs beca

… Continue

Added by Pat Lupica on September 29, 2009 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Pat Lupica To “Make” or “Buy”?

To “Make” or “Buy”?

This subject is haunting many firms these days. Outsourcing problems include: Lack of flexibility, competing for (far away) resources, protecting proprietary information, challenges with different measurement systems, association with questionable business practices, lack of visibility into external environment factors at point of production, cost of freight, potential loss of competen

… Continue

Added by Pat Lupica on September 24, 2009 at 4:00am — No Comments

Roy Strauss Product Mix vs. Customer Service vs. Profitability

Most companies that we visit have to cope with determining which products to stock to keep their customers happy and what would happen to both their competitive position and profits if they did not stock all items their customers could possibly want. What we often see when we visit those companies is distribution centers in which over 50% of their space is filled with products that sell poorly and overstock on most of those products as well. We can calculate the cost of the extra warehouse spac… Continue

Added by Roy Strauss on September 23, 2009 at 4:46pm — No Comments

Roy Strauss Operational Vs. Marketing Growth Plans

When most companies prepare their growth plans, the plan is conceived by the marketing staff or company ownership without consulting with the operational staff or determining the company’s operational capabilities. The growth plan is memorialized and goals are set. It was not determined if and how well those goals can be achieved, or what resources are required vs. those available to be able to achieve them. The plan usually is a percentage number and does not consider contingencies for better o… Continue

Added by Roy Strauss on September 23, 2009 at 4:42pm — No Comments

Roy Strauss Buying a Supply Chain Business

If you are buying a business it is important to benchmark key variables to determine the true value of the business. These include inventory, space, equipment, staff, and technology. Inventory typically includes slow moving items and overstock which adds to space, staff, and equipment costs and reduces productivity. The real value of the inventory is that of the faster selling items in proper quantities. Space is usually valued by the cost of the property or of the lease. Space also should be… Continue

Added by Roy Strauss on September 23, 2009 at 4:19pm — No Comments

Roy Strauss Lowering the Cost of Moving

When moving a distribution or manufacturing center to a new location, one can significantly reduce costs. The less “stuff” moved, the lower the total cost will be. Ideally, one will sell and ship as many units as possible from the old facility so that product will not have to be moved. It may even pay to have a “pre-move sale” especially for most costly items to move such as heavy items or those requiring special handling during the move. As you get closer to the move date you will therefore wan… Continue

Added by Roy Strauss on September 23, 2009 at 4:12pm — No Comments

Dr. Edward Knab The Science of Selecting the proper ERP Solution

The Science of Selecting the proper ERP Solution

By: Dr. Edward F. Knab

Most organizations are ill equipped to select the most appropriate ERP solution, the task is daunting and if not given the appropriate attention can expose the organization to a significant risk. There is an almost infinite number of horror stories associated with th

… Continue

Added by Dr. Edward Knab on September 23, 2009 at 12:44pm — No Comments

Roy Strauss Outsourcing Overseas, Do You Have Plan B?

We now know of many companies who have chosen to have their manufacturing done in Asia or South America who have been very disappointed by the results. Experiences include: the sample was perfect but the goods received were below standard; they were sure they could get it done in time (but they couldn’t); the chemical formulation was “almost” right; they were sorry but a huge order came in for their best customer so yours had to wait; we’re experiencing charge backs from customers because our la… Continue

Added by Roy Strauss on September 22, 2009 at 11:11am — 1 Comment

Roy Strauss What Is The Optimal Ceiling Height For Your Operation?

Choosing the right ceiling height for a warehousing or manufacturing operation can have a significant impact on both short and long term costs. When initially comparing rents or the purchase price of a building, taller buildings with similar costs and square feet usually are a better bargain, but to determine the best option when comparing buildings with varying heights, foot prints and costs, both growth requirements and the type of business must be taken into consi… Continue

Added by Roy Strauss on September 22, 2009 at 11:03am — No Comments

Roy Strauss Information Technology (IT) Gap Analysis

In the current age of technology it is very important to have the proper software and associated hardware to meet all business requirements. This software could include: ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning); WMS (Warehouse Management Systems); MRP (Material Requirements Planning); TMS (Transportation Management Systems); GTM (Global Trade Management); and other supply chain and operations management software. A gap analysis is performed to determine if and/or when current software should be modif… Continue

Added by Roy Strauss on September 22, 2009 at 10:57am — No Comments

Roy Strauss Good Data = Good Profits

Very often when we begin a consulting project and we request key data required for project success, we’re told the data is not available, can we do the project without it? Reasons include: the data is in the system somewhere; corporate won’t allow us access to it; some of the data is in ERP, some in WMS, and some in other software; we haven’t the tools to extract it, etc. We know then that the company is not being run properly because the data we need to do the project is the data that should h… Continue

Added by Roy Strauss on September 22, 2009 at 10:55am — No Comments

Roy Strauss How to Choose the Correct Warehouse Management Software (WMS)

There are now so many WMS packages presently available that one could literally spend years seeking out, reviewing, and then selecting the best solution. Keys to selecting the correct WMS package include: - Understanding your business’s operational requirements - Determining how future growth will impact business requirements both vertically and horizontally - Defining all needs both for present operations and any and all potential future requirements for your business, e.g.: • New and/or di… Continue

Added by Roy Strauss on September 22, 2009 at 10:52am — No Comments

Roy Strauss The Real Costs of Excess Inventory and Poor Product Mix

Many companies stock numerous products that haven’t sold in a long time and have no hope of selling, without understanding the true costs and consequences. Plans are also in place for proper inventory stocking levels but many companies cannot stick to the plan (there are numerous reasons, too many to list here) and therefore store excess inventory in addition to non-saleable products. Often dead items and overstock account for 25% to 50% or more of total inventory and of storage space as well.… Continue

Added by Roy Strauss on September 22, 2009 at 10:46am — No Comments

Sandy Vosk CSCMP 2009 Annual Global Conference - Day 1

I’m writing this from my hotel room in Chicago where I’m attending the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) annual global conference. Although attendance is down from last year, as in most industry conferences in 2009, there are attendees from over 40 countries. The theme of this year’s event is “Ideas, Tools and Results” and as Rick Blasgen, President and CEO of CSCMP said in his opening address, …”innovation, collabora

… Continue

Added by Sandy Vosk on September 22, 2009 at 7:06am — 1 Comment

Dr. Edward Knab Global Risk and Your Weakest Link!

In a global economy, supply chain risk, means you are “only as good as your weakest link”. Doing business across the globe is an inherently risky business. Supply chain managers have always understood this risk and because of it live in an uncertain universe. After driving prices down across the global supply base for the past four or five years, many supply chain managers have received plenty of accolades from senior management. However, if their supply network begins t

… Continue

Added by Dr. Edward Knab on September 16, 2009 at 1:03pm — No Comments

Roy Strauss New Products, Excess Inventory, and Other Controllable Problems

In company after company we’ve worked with over the years we’ve encountered numerous problems created by a lack of awareness between activities in the office and the resulting problems in the distribution or manufacturing center. Results have included poorer performance, increased operational costs and lower levels of customer service. Typical examples include:

1. New items being ordered and the DC/MC not being aware of their anticipated arrival and/or not having the information requir

… Continue

Added by Roy Strauss on September 14, 2009 at 6:34pm — No Comments

Featured Blog Posts

View All

Latest Blog Posts

Most Popular Blog Posts

Blog Topics by Tags

Monthly Archives

2009

2008

About

Sandy Vosk Sandy Vosk created this social network on Ning.

Create your own social network!

© 2009   Created by Sandy Vosk on Ning.   Create Your Own Social Network

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Privacy  |  Terms of Service