What has happened to self driving vehicles? An article in the New York Times of late 2018 argued that autonomous, self-driving vehicles were “a technology in search of a purpose”. But the media promotion continued, often highlighting the ‘obvious’ acceptance of the technology by ‘leading’ transport companies. The factor that can often pass us by when reading about new technologies … Read More
Supply Chains group provides Customer Care with profits
Customers are necessary in commercial organisations But what is the collective view about customers inside the business? It is driven by the chief executive, guided by corporate performance measurements that are approved by the board of directors – ‘we behave how we are measured’. This can result in a mixed message. Companies may promote that they are ‘customer focussed’ or … Read More
Drivers to change trade lanes that serve Supply Chains
Is the current reality just transitory? Forecasting is a worthy activity, because it requires people to think about the future. However, be careful about accepting forecasts until you know how the forecast is structured and source of the data used. For supply chains, which are geopolitical in structure, the forecasts say that changes will happen, but the unknown is where … Read More
Supply Chains types and structure for better Planning
Suitable solutions in Planning Because an organisation’s relationships within its supply chains differ to those of other businesses, it is not advisable to promote a single solution for a situation in supply chains. However, there are various approaches that supply chain professionals should have that enables the most suitable solution to be identified. To provide some background to the selection … Read More
CoV links Supply Chain Class and Demand Amplification
‘Bullwhip’ effect The ‘Bullwhip’ effect is Demand Amplification, where a change in demand at a Node in a supply chain has a more substantial change in demands further upstream in the chain. Orders placed on suppliers tend to have a higher variability than sales made to buyers. Retail stores place orders on warehouses (owned or at wholesalers) can reflect ‘just in … Read More