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

3 tips for supply chains It seems each day highlights new, strategic supply chain risks such as potential: U.S. dockworkers strike, closure of the Strait of Hormuz, upcoming legal requirements, changing customer expectations of your sustainable operations, … How should you prepare for what may, or may not, happen? If you run a large, global… Read More

Competency is king. Did you know a majority of those in leadership believe their workforce doesn’t have the supply chain skills needed for today’s rapidly changing economy and its technical needs? On the other hand, employees are frustrated that available supply chain training isn’t as robust or advanced as they want. The kind of training… 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

Do this, do that – now Or should you? It’s been tough living with constant uncertainty coming from different directions at different time concerning different elements of supply chain and business. If only you could just get one thing off your plate, things would be better. This is where I see many businesses falling into… Read More

Being an engineer, I can’t resist fun numbers. Numbers as in dates like 4-20-24, also known as palindromes. Using the “0” as the pivot point, the date is the same backwards and forwards. After hustling to make your supply chain results (numbers), it’s nice to know some numbers behave just right on their own. Even… 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

… 10 loads of data (The 12 Days of Christmas officially end on Jan 5 every year)   You’re swimming in data from your supply chain. But can you trust it to not be a trojan horse sneaking in bad actors without your or the sender’s knowledge? These 10 data points should help you immensely… 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