Cost of holding inventory There is not a ‘right’ decision about the level of inventories that work best for your business. However there is a need to know the cost and potential for cost reduction from decisions about inventories. To cover for unplanned events, an organisation can reduce its total operational costs by holding a calculated ‘safety stock’ in excess … Read More
Is there too much Inventory through your Supply Chains?
Slowing sales and rising inventories Reports concerning retail product sales in various countries indicate a slowing rate of sales growth as consumers are again able to access services. For all businesses in product supply chains, this will provide a challenge for managing inventories. An example of the challenge is a major online non-food retailer in Australia which has experienced a … Read More
Scenario Planning for analysing future supply chains
A major change could be happening We generally have the assumption that things are always changing, but there are epochs (a particular period of time in history) when a more dramatic change occurs. This affects the outlook of governments, such that geopolitical and commercial decisions are made from a different perspective. And the world could be entering one of those … Read More
Supply Chains Risk Management is knowledge and a skill
From Uncertainty to a Risk Managing risks in your organisation’s supply chains is an investment in responding to future events. The greatest risk is that an organisation remains in a reactive mode to events and only responds when it could be too late. Uncertainty in an organisation’s Supply Network is enhanced due to factors that interact and amplify each other: … Read More
Balance of Power at ports can influence Supply Chains
Power in Supply Chains As scenarios for the future of global supply chains change, supply chain professionals must regularly review their organisation’s Supply Chains Network Design map. The map identifies the attributes of the Network at the Nodes and Links. The Review is an opportunity to ‘look over the fence’ that surrounds the daily life of your business, to focus … Read More