Category Archive

Bad data example There continues to be a deluge of articles, videos and conferences extoling the benefits of Artificial Intelligence. But there is less emphasis on what businesses must do internally to implement the technologies. One of the major requirements is to use clean data, otherwise it is ‘garbage in, garbage out (GIGO) for IT systems. The lack of clean … Read More

Select your skills As a supply chain professional, it is unlikely that you will possess all the skills required to cover all jobs in the Supply Chains group. However, it is a sign of a good professional to know which skills are required and to help build the team around those requirements, which includes for all to upgrade knowledge and … Read More

Challenges for global trade The current uncertainties in global trade will challenge companies to review the effectiveness of their supply chains. If the uncertainties convert to real risks for businesses, then over time, there is the potential for a realignment of trade relationships and the emergence of different economic blocs. For improved economic cooperation, these trade alliances could be structured … Read More

A Supply Chains Network When considering an individual supply chain in a business, it appears that each step identifies where inputs are consumed and value is added to the eventual finished product. But this picture is not complete. Commentators incorrectly discuss ‘the supply chain’ for a business, which appears to assume that all inputs and outputs for a business behave … Read More

Planning and Uncertainty In response to supply chain uncertainties, articles and podcasts have advised businesses about actions to take. Popular advice is to expand the network of suppliers, source items from suppliers located geographically closer and accelerate the implementation of automation. An action that is rarely mentioned is to improve the planning and scheduling process within a business. Planning at … Read More