Remember the Peter, Paul and Mary song, Puff the Magic Dragon? It was a song from my youth. While there is a raging debate on song intent—Was the goal of the song to celebrate a children’s story from Oliver Wilde about the loss of innocence or is it a statement about the use of drugs?—in this blog, I am going to rely on the account of the songwriter, that the…
…the weekend is just around the corner. Happy Valentine’s Day to all my blog readers. This is my 440th blog post and the tenth anniversary Supply Chain Shaman. It seems hard to believe that I have been typing away over all these years building an audience of over 20,000 global readers. My friends would tell me to relax and get my Groove on ;but, today, I find myself deep into…
At what point does erosion cause the side of a mountain to give way? It is usually the small shifts….over time, there is degradation. And, then suddenly, the mountain gives way collapsing to the land below. S&OP Slip Slidin’ Away …the same is happening in supply chain processes. This week, as I worked on my Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) report, I found myself tapping my foot to the same music…
My aged hand drapes the barre on the celebration of Global Ballet day. Dutifully, no matter how bad I performed in the last class, I return to the barre, extend my right hand and start a new class. There is a soothing familiarity to refine the moves that defy my capabilities. On these days, like most, my teacher sighs and reminds me to listen harder to the music. I frustrate…
Across from me, sits an empty chair. In fact, sadly, there are many empty chairs in the room. Five people canceled at the last minute due to travel restrictions. Today, I am facilitating the Network of Networks share group in Antwerp. The reason the seats are empty? While all supply chain leaders are interested in the topic of building value networks, only a few companies are actively investing in building…
It has been awhile. After the Supply Chain Insights Global Summit, I took the time to recharge and took a month off from writing. The presentations from the Summit are posted now on the Supply Chain Insights You Tube Channel. Next year’s conference will be on September 8th-11th in Franklin, TN, south of Nashville, TN. The design of the conference includes tours of several modern warehouses and centers of excellence….
For the past six years, I have spent my labor day weekend preparing for the Supply Chain Insights Global Summit. Next week, I will welcome over 100 participants to the annual event. The event is designed to Imagine Supply Chain 2030. The format of the conference is different than most. There are no vendor booths or paid speaking engagements. I handpick each of the speakers and work with industry leaders…
I watch news channels on mute. The reason? I hate political pundit debates. When the nonsensical banter reaches a crescendo, I shake my head and ask myself the question of “Why?” I wonder why people are listening. Fondly I remember the days of Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather with eye-witness accounts and on-the-ground reporting. Phenomenal photography brought the stories to life. In my lifetime, the 24-hour news cycle eroded the…
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