Yowza: Excitement or approval Get a cup of coffee. This is a long post. <Bear with me….> Here I share a nine-step process in an attempt to help companies unravel the process for buying supply chain planning software. The genesis for this post stems from frustration. I get the same questions over-and-over again, and see companies making the same mistakes. Let’s face a hard fact: the supply chain planning market…
There are over 10,000 change management books on Amazon. The return of search on the site gives a list of endless titles. You might ask, “Why are so many people writing about change management?” Followed by, “Does anyone read the books? Why then is Lora writing about it?” These are all good questions. Background Three weeks ago, I attempted to put my life back together from a recent move. Each…
This morning the Washington Post rang. The reporter wanted to discuss the implications of Hurricane Florence. The question was simple, “What will be the impact of Hurricane Florence on the supply chain?” The answer is not so easy. The implications are far-reaching. Quite simply no one knows. North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia sit squarely in the storm’s path. Each state has a rich manufacturing economy. The supply chain…
It was not my goal; but by accident, it became my mission. At Supply Chain Insights, as we combed through over 9000 quantitative responses on supply chain management from business leaders to understand what drives supply chain excellence in preparation for the Supply Chain Insights Global Summit. In the process, we proved Hau Lee’s theorem in the Famous Harvard Business Review Article, “Triple A Supply Chains.” Here is an excerpt…
This week, after ten years, I am test-driving cars. I have not owned a car for a decade. City living has come to an end and it is time for me to get some wheels. Buying a car is overwhelming. I just want one that works. I find the process of negotiation, and comparison shopping tiring. My goal is safety and comfortability. It is hard to sort through the options. As…
mo·jo: noun. A magic charm, talisman, or spell. “Someone must have their mojo working over at the record company.” In the 1990s supply chain had MOJO. Then it was sexy. Today, it is not. 90% of public manufacturing companies are treading water. There is a struggle. Improvement on the key metrics of growth, inventory turns, operating margin and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) is elusive. Here I want to share a perspective…
In 1960, when I was in the first grade, healthcare spending was 5% of the US economy. Today, it is 17.9%. By 2025, the projection is 19.9%. Yowza! This is trillions of dollars. To put it into dollars and cents, health care spending rose 4.3% to $3.3 trillion in 2016, or a cost of $10,348 per person. Being a supply chain gal, I think that supply chain leaders can help….
Companies asked for integrated supply chain planning. They got it. It does not work so well. Now what? Sharing A Story Last week, I met a client for breakfast in Frankfurt. Let’s call her Sally. As a leader of a global supply chain organization, her goal was simple. She was trying to define and drive supply chain excellence. In the last year, she worked with three consulting companies. Each recommended…
Global growth is slowing to levels of GDP. Notice that the average growth for consumer nondurables (often termed household products) is 1.7%, as shown in Table 1. This is a far cry from the pre-recessionary growth rate of 6%. Public markets reward growth. As the rate of year-over-year revenues slows, companies attempt to grow through tactics. In consumer good supply chains, this includes new product launch, price incentives, and trade…
“…the art of the possible, the attainable — the art of the next best” ― Otto von Bismarck This morning I landed in Frankfurt. Keeping with my normal Sunday night ritual, I poured myself a cup of tea to pen my weekly post for the Supply Chain Shaman. I have been writing weekly posts for this blog for eight years. The length of time is hard to believe. I thank…
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