Support a decentralised business with one system. Discussions about the benefits of either centralised or decentralised IT systems often assume a business has a main focus, with performance measures structured to improve the focus. However, what should be the approach to IT systems if your business has an overall reason for being, but is structured to be very decentralised, with … Read More
Know the Logistics Service Providers that support your business
Global trade and increased complexity. Global trade continues to increase, together with the length of trade routes, increasing the complexity of supply chains. This in turn, increases the reliance that shippers have on their logistics service providers (LSPs), that can change the power structure in supply chain relationships. There is an old saying which states ” It is not the … Read More
Your Supply Chains group will affect Working Capital
Be noticed at board level. To ensure the board of directors at your business take notice of Supply Chains and Logistics, the board must review financial performance measures that are the responsibility of the supply chain group. The most applicable measures are: cash flow, working capital and return on investment (ROI). Of these, working capital and its derivative, the cash … Read More
Know your Cost To Serve for increased profitability
The real profitability of your customers. How much does it cost to serve your customers? What changes to product mix, order size and delivery times will increase your profit.How profitable are your customers, or a particular channel or a market segment? It is difficult, if not impossible, to know if the analysis is not done. But to do the analysis, … Read More
Measure your Customer Service through Logistics
Achieving the perfect order. An empty shelf at a supermarket results in dissatisfied consumers, less sales by the retailer and if the item is not available at the retailer’s warehouse, then questions of the supplier, For logistics, the overriding requirement of your customers is that each of their orders is a ‘perfect order’. A perfect order means: the initial customer … Read More