We finished dinner. I pressed my neatly folded napkin to my lips. As we waited for coffee, silence hung heavy in the air. My client writhed in her seat and hung her head as she asked, “I read your article on control towers, but I am confused. What is an easy definition? I am embarrassed to ask, but we were discussing the topic at our board meeting yesterday, and I…
As I write this blog, Valentine cards scatter my desk. This is the week for love: a time to send cards and letters to those that we appreciate. I am in the middle of sending the cards to my grandchildren. It is in this spirit, that I write this post. The most unloved employees in the back office are supply chain planners. As supply chain leaders, I would encourage you…
It is 1:00 AM in Antwerp. I cannot sleep. As I stare at the keyboard sitting on my desk, my view is the train station draped in darkness. The quiet streets await the coming of the soft snow. It seldom snows in Belgium: the city sits in anticipation. I hate jet lag. There is nothing worse than trying to sleep when you cannot, and you know that you should. So…
In supply chains, it is easier to add items than to rationalize product portfolios. Only 3% of companies do this well. In this blog post, we share a case study and a methodology to consider.
Lora Cecere, the Supply Chain Shaman, shares insights on seven trends for the supply chain for 2019.
Nick Lynch is the Global Excellence Manager at Shell Lubricants, a division of Shell Global. Located in the United Kingdom (UK), he has more than twelve years of experience in progressive roles driving demand-drive projects for their global supply chain. Nick is a master of influence skills and building cross-functional, horizontal processes. At the Supply Chain insights Global Summit, Nick shared his story on driving demand-based improvements. In this…
Woolly descriptions. Fuzzy definitions. Over-arching superlatives. Last week as I spoke at an European event, I struggled to gain clarity in a world of increased confusion. If I struggled, I am sure that others face the same challenges. Together, we walk in a fog. Let’s reflect. Supply chain innovation is slowly simmering in the face of radical disruption. The supply chain visionary wants novel and new. I find technology providers…
Case study of Clorox’s implementation of value chain segmentation. A decade of focus progress improving business results.
For the past five years, the team at Supply Chain Insights identified Supply Chains to Admire Award Winners by analyzing performance by peer group on the key metrics of growth, operating margin, inventory turns and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC). In 2018, Rockwell Automation won the Supply Chains to Admire Award. To understand the journey, we interviewed Ernest Nicolas, head of the global supply chain at Rockwell to gain insights. In…
Feasibility (noun): The state or degree of being easily or conveniently done. (Oxford Dictionary) In the 1990s supply chain planning was over-hyped. Then it was a new and promising technology category. The ride was wild and wooly. Hype ruled. A decade later, as companies added planners expecting dramatic improvements, the market entered the trough of disillusionment. The promise was not equal to reality. As a result, software sales slowed. The…
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