The kind your CEO appreciates The Conference Board’s CEO global outlook study for 2024 includes the following top high focus, internal issues: Attract and retain talent, Accelerate pace of digital transformation, Enhance product and service innovation, Improve customer experience, Reduce costs, Upskill and reskill talent Luckily, supply chains integrate each element listed above. But only… Read More

Or is it? U.S. President Eisenhower said “…plans are worthless, but planning is everything”. Typically, in supply chain the word plan is used as a verb instead of a noun: plan instead of planning. Having done planning: when risks enter your supply chain scene, you’ve already got a mitigation plan for that risk or for… Read More

… 12 integrations (It’s officially the last Day of Christmas – Jan 5)   I started as a manufacturing engineer designing assembly lines, inventory flows, and machinery to make or test product, automating the factory to increase global competitiveness, and working with amazing people producing quality product. Manufacturing was the supply chain (although the phrase… Read More

… 11 Planners planning (BTW: the 12th Day of Christmas is Jan 5)   With all the change going on, you might think taking the time to plan makes your supply chains too slow. That would be an incorrect thought. Without planning, everyone gets to set their own path – not an easy or effective… Read More

… 9 regulations (BTW: for those unfamiliar with the 12 Days of Christmas – they end on Jan. 5)   You’ve heard both angst and excitement over sustainability disclosures for the past year. But what is the basis for all the discussion? As with everything at its start, there is much to be confused about…. Read More

… 7 suppliers sinking A report by the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) found that organizations that reported more than 20 supply chains disruptions in a year jumped by a staggering 500% in 2020. And that was in the past. Today, disruption is a constant. To prevent all the great solutions your supply chain professionals put… Read More

… geese a laying Not just any geese; the geese that lay the golden eggs. Unfortunately, too often we squash the eggs in our handling of our supply chains. Maybe not intentionally, but let’s take a quick look at 6 areas where some of your golden geese can be found that may be getting squashed:… Read More

…5 gold returns “Thar’s gold in them thar hills” The saying is part of my US heritage. But are the hills still made of gold, or should we look at gold another way? Grass AF GmbH helps by posing this question to you: Which yields more gold? a gold mine with moderate yield? or a… Read More

…4 financial requirements Country regulations around financial disclosure for business sustainability in climate disclosures is spreading fast. In fact, U.S. states, like California, are passing legislation ahead of federal legislation. The EU leads the world and has put business on notice that practice time is up. A lot of required disclosure data comes from your… Read More

…3 calling customers And the calls weren’t so great. 1st call from management: Why the increase in customer complaints? Thirty percent of U.S. online customers told Forrester that they plan to do more in-store holiday shopping this year. At the same time, Forbes reports that 1 in 3 customers found it difficult to get help… Read More