Value Added does not receive attention In a recent blogpost, the term Value Added (VA) was used. It defines the difference between the net income from the sale of products and services and the total purchase cost to the seller of materials and service inputs used to make the item. It is a measure for your organisation’s supply chains. Unfortunately, … Read More
Supply Chains cannot be ‘managed’ but better understood
Supply Chains in your business Supply Chains are not new; they have existed since people commenced trading items for barter or money; but Supply Chains cannot be managed. Instead, consider them as a description of the environment in which the activities of Procurement, Operations Planning and Logistics (your Supply Chain group) are required to operate. A supply chain is identified … Read More
eCommerce supply chains have many future challenges
eCommerce is not different It is generally accepted that after reaching eight percent of the target market, a new product, idea or process gains general acceptance. In 2020, eCommerce broke through that barrier across many countries, due to COVID19 generated demand, although the take-up diverged widely. Unfortunately, there are assumptions that eCommerce, using advanced IT applications and automation, is different … Read More
When Demand exceeds Capacity it hurts Supply Chains
Lead Time Syndrome The flexibility of a supply chain or an operation is based on the time to change (or flex) capacity and the total cost to change. Automotive assembly lines may have a flex time of up to six months to change the output of cars per day and with a substantial cost. The aim of Operations Planning (also … Read More
Supply Chain Financing gets the wrong sort of attention
Why Supply Chain Financing The past few weeks has seen articles in the media about ‘controversial’ Supply Chain Financing (SCF). This has occurred due to the collapse in the UK of a financial services company which provided this form of finance. But is SCF ‘controversial’? Since the start of trading using money, the situation has existed where a seller wants … Read More