Category: Processes
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Navigating Supply Chain Worries: Turn Concerns into Action
The award for “most eye-catching headline of the week” in my news feed goes to sponsored content from GS1. The headline was “Stop doom-scrolling your supply chain” and (as sponsored content) is advocating for increasing visibility tools. The article cites three main areas of supply chain concern remaining: geopolitical factors, climate change/natural disasters, and logistics… Read more
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Robots vs. Relationships: Will AI Wipe Out Supply Chain Jobs?
A Visual Capitalist article on the impact of artificial intelligence on various job categories wandered across my news feed a couple weeks ago, and I’ve been pondering it ever since. Following the data trail, this data was a visualization of a white paper by the World Economic Forum (WEF) from September 2023, focused primarily on… Read more
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Mastering the Supply Chain Triad: Delivering Excellence in Delivery, Savings, and Efficiency
How often do you hear or think of the old adage “You can have it fast, you can have it good, you can have it cheap: pick two”? Do you think it’s true? In supply chain, the variation on this “iron triangle” is the conflict between the priorities of Delivery, Savings, and Efficiency. This article… Read more
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The Power of Brevity: Crafting Impactful Executive Summaries for Supply Chain Success
One of my clients had a communication problem. It wasn’t the usual “not enough” problem that so often comes up, it was an executive summary problem. The supply chain leader was doing beautiful, in-depth bid analyses with long spreadsheets and each supplier’s column in a different color. They looked like every bid analysis I’ve ever… Read more
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Understanding the Significance of Perfect Orders in Supply Chain Excellence
What is a perfect order? And why is it relevant? Of all supply chain metrics, the pinnacle metric is the perfect order. It serves as a comprehensive measure, encompassing critical components that lay the groundwork for supply chain efficiency. A perfect order is an order that is delivered on time, in full, with no edits… Read more
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Unveiling the Dynamics of the Supply Chain Cycle: Enhancing Delivery Assurance and Performance Assessment
Unveiling the Dynamics of the Supply Chain Cycle: Enhancing Delivery Assurance and Performance Assessment In the intricate dance of the supply chain cycle, the pivotal roles of delivery assurance and performance assessment come into focus. While often discussed as the concluding components, they seamlessly loop back into the cycle, reinforcing the importance of a well-coordinated… Read more
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Unveiling the Dynamics of the Supply Chain Cycle: Order Generation and Fulfillment
The “order generation” and “order fulfillment” links in the supply chain are where most companies are strongest in the supply chain cycle. This is where the supply chain team cuts purchase orders, commits to purchases with suppliers, and coordinates inbound logistics. Order Generation Supplier production planning and purchase orders compose the order generation link, and… Read more
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Unveiling the Dynamics of the Supply Chain Cycle: From Demand Planning to Supply Planning
In this segment of our comprehensive series exploring the entire supply chain cycle, we delve into the central aspect of the planning function: demand and supply planning. In larger or more mature supply chain teams, these planning functions often form integral parts of core supply chain responsibilities. Conversely, in less integrated teams or certain organizations,… Read more
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Unveiling the Dynamics of the Supply Chain Cycle: From Contracts to Business Planning
Embarking on the first installment of our comprehensive series delving into the intricacies of the full supply chain cycle, we kick off by exploring the critical junctures of contracts, sourcing, and business planning. While we could start anywhere in this cycle, let’s start from the top. Within this model, eight main components encapsulate major processes… Read more
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Elevating Negotiation Mastery: Strategies for Success Beyond the Basics
In our ongoing exploration of negotiation dynamics, it’s high time we delve into fundamental aspects: the basic parameters and rules that underpin successful negotiations. Gone are the days of fixating on the physical placement at a negotiation table—our current era emphasizes virtual interactions, with participants toggling mute buttons and cameras on and off. Nonetheless, several… Read more