Supply Chain View from the Field

Category Archives: Supply Chain Management

1. Do markets reward sustainable supply chains? The forces of social capital may change the rules…

   May 13, 2013
   by: handfield
   categories: Procurement Sustainability, Supply Chain Management, Sustainability

   In a recent dialogue with Barbara Grey, the author of new research on social capital today, we discovered an interesting anomaly.   It seems that companies who seek to identify problems and issues in their supply chain, and who intend to do the right thing, are not always rewarded by the markets for doing so. [...]

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2. So Your Supply Chain is Banning Bangladesh….and Going to Cambodia?: “The Ugliest Race to the Bottom”

   May 8, 2013
   by: handfield
   categories: Corporate Social Responsibility, Labor and Human Rights in the Supply Chain, Procurement Sustainability, Supply Chain Management, Sustainability

   In our ongoing discussion of labor and human rights violations in the supply chain, we’ve discussed in prior posts the problems that occurred in Bangladesh resulting in over 700 dead.  Companies like Nike and Disney have publicly stated that they are not going to Bangladesh for apparel sourcing in the future.  But that leaves these [...]

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3. 600 Dead in Bangladesh: Is there a soul to the enterprise?

   May 6, 2013
   by: handfield
   categories: Procurement Sustainability, Retail Logistics, Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Relationship Management, Supply Chain Management, Sustainability

   News of the increasing death toll in Bangladesh continues to pour in, with the latest at 600 found dead in the rubble of the Rama factory complex.  Demonstrators are protesting apparel offices (such as Gap’s offices in San Francisco) to demand better working conditions in Bangladesh factories.  But how easy is it for companies to [...]

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4. A Great Meeting – Insights on the Future of Procurement from BP, Caterpillar, Duke Energy, and others

   April 30, 2013
   by: handfield
   categories: Strategic Cost Management, Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Relationship Management, Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Talent

   We had a series of great presentations this week at the SCRC meeting. Bill Knittle from BP first presented his experience on building a supplier performance measurement system, and how this has evolved into a true supplier relationship management system.  He talked about the importance of segmenting the supply base, and building out a small [...]

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5. Random thoughts on “close-to-home-shoring” based on my travels last week…

   April 27, 2013
   by: handfield
   categories: BRIC Supply Chain, Contract Management, Global Supply Chain, Supplier Relationship Management, Supply Chain Management, Supply chain Relationships

   Last week I had the opportunity to travel first to New York and then Monterrey, Mexico, and speak with a number of people to explore perspectives on the current economic situation we find ourselves in. Early in the week I sat in on a lecture given by Clay Christenson (from Harvard Business School) to a [...]

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6. Moving beyond “minimally acceptable” sustainable supply chains…

   April 23, 2013
   by: handfield
   categories: Procurement Sustainability, Supplier Relationship Management, Supply Chain Management, Sustainability

   A lot of people are emphasizing the need to drive sustainable supply chains.  “If we have a more sustainable supply base”, we hear from advocates, “…it will cost less, and we will be better corporate citizens.” I’m not sure I buy this line of thought, although I would certainly put myself squarely in the camp [...]

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7. Managing supply chains in a fragile environment

   April 19, 2013
   by: handfield
   categories: Forecasting, Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Relationship Management, Supply Chain Management

   Gerard Chick and I had a good chat over skype this morning, and we both started jotting down a few facts…. Banks are buying up gold and moving currency out since 2009.  A friend suggests that the banks feel it is very unstable out there, and are hoping for some stability.  But the dollar, the [...]

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8. Do We Need More Lawyers in Procurement? Or Do Lawyers Need More Procurement Managers?

   March 29, 2013
   by: handfield
   categories: Contract Management, MBA Supply Chain Programs, Supply chain Relationships, Supply Chain Risk, Supply Chain Talent

   As I’ve continued with my research on the future faces of procurement, a consistent theme that has come up again and again is the need for increased interaction between the legal and procurement groups in organizations.  Today, this interaction is often poorly handled, with clumsy templates being exchanged between the two groups, and in some [...]

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9. Thinking Differently About Procurement: The SCRC Meeting Theme on April 29-30, 2013

   March 14, 2013
   by: handfield
   categories: Global Supply Chain, Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Relationship Management, Supply Chain Management, Supply Market Intelligence

   Our next SCRC meeting will focus on “The Future of Procurement”, and will be held on April 29-30, at the NC State University Club in Raleigh, NC.  We will be hosting a number of senior executives reflecting on this theme, including Ron Reising from Duke Energy, Pat Murzyn from Caterpillar, Bill Knittle from BP, Jason [...]

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10. College grads – trouble finding a job? Think welding….

    March 5, 2013
    by: handfield
    categories: Commodities forecasting, Strategic Cost Management, Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Relationship Management, Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Talent

    We recently worked on a study examining the market for pipeline construction services.  Across North America, projects like Keystone are only the beginning of growth for pipelines in oil and gas.  The market for pipeline construction is growing, and there will continue to be competition for capable suppliers in the marketplace.  In areas such as [...]

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11. Procurement: Getting Back to the Basics

    February 22, 2013
    by: handfield
    categories: Category Management, Contract Management, Strategic Sourcing, Supply Chain Management

    I’ve been speaking to a number of procurement executives lately, leading to some interesting discussions around risk, category management, shared services, and a lot of other high level concepts that are no doubt important.  There are also a lot of websites and presentations at conferences around the “next big thing” in procurement.  One of these [...]

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12. Controlling the extended supply chain: Horse Bolognese, anyone?

    February 10, 2013
    by: handfield
    categories: Global Distribution, Global Supply Chain, Retail Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Quality, Supply chain Relationships, Supply Market Intelligence

    A recent article in the Guardian shows how uncontrollable supply chains can be.  Managing tier 2 suppliers, in this case, became problematic when supermarkets found that the beef they were selling was not what they thought it was….. Several supermarkets in the UK announced that what they thought was beef in the food they were [...]

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13. The Dreamliner Debacle Continues….the Death of Outsourcing?

    February 5, 2013
    by: handfield
    categories: Aerospace Supply Chain, Business Process Outsourcing, Design for Supply Chain, Supplier Relationship Management, Supply Chain Management

    Tim Cummins, CEO of the International Association of Commercial and Contract Management (IACCM), notes in his blog Commitment Matters that Dreamliner’s battery problems are perhaps due to the lack of procurement competencies that exist in the organization.  This is an interesting observation, and as he predicts, hardly marks the end of outsourcing.  In fact, many [...]

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14. Bangladesh Working Conditions: A Human Rights Issue? Or a Supplier Capacity Issue?

    January 30, 2013
    by: handfield
    categories: BRIC Supply Chain, Global Distribution, Global Supply Chain, Procurement Sustainability, Sales and Operations Planning, Supply Chain Management, Supply chain Relationships, Supply Chain Strategy, Sustainability

    The recent press in the Wall Street Journal and other papers on Walmart’s fire in Bangladesh is raising the ire of corporate responsibility groups and human rights groups alike.   How can retailers like Walmart support buying clothing in factories that are treating workers with such disregard, not to mention exposing them to working conditions [...]

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15. Healthcare Reform Begins with Comparative Cost Effectiveness: A Revolution in Healthcare Management

    January 24, 2013
    by: handfield
    categories: Healthcare Supply Management, Supply chain analytics, Supply Chain Management

    Josh Feldstein from the Center for Applied Value Analysis came to speak in my class today, and provided a fascinating view of the future for healthcare. CAVA started off as a spinoff of Josh’s medical education firm.  He could clearly see that the industry was changing, and healthcare clients managing large hospitals were asking for [...]

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16. Is Walmart Really Ready to Take on Logistics In India?

    January 12, 2013
    by: handfield
    categories: BRIC Supply Chain, Global Supply Chain, Logistics, Retail Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Risk

    Today’s Wall Street Journal printed a great story on the challenges that Walmart faces as it grows its logistics network in India.  The article notes how India is the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world, but that one-third of the produce rots because of its horrendous logistics infrastructure. The story highlights some [...]

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17. The Next Region for Globalization: East Africa?

    January 6, 2013
    by: handfield
    categories: Global Supply Chain, Logistics, Supply Chain Management

    Our logistics study suggests that Russia and Eastern Europe are the regions that 20% of respondents identified as a growth region. Both Russia and Eastern Europe represent high growth but also high risk countries to operate in, that are fed by growing energy resources, but which have a difficult government regulatory environment to operate in. [...]

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18. Is the Chinese manufacturing engine waning?

    January 5, 2013
    by: handfield
    categories: BRIC Supply Chain, China Supply Chain, Global Supply Chain, Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Talent

    A recent post in the UCLA blog features an interview with the former COO of Walmart-China, who makes some very interesting observations on the state of manufacturing in China. Edwin Keh notes that “Net export from the Pearl River Delta has declined over the last few years. The number of foreign-owned factories, the pool of [...]

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19. Handfield’s Supply Chain Predictions for 2013

    January 1, 2013
    by: handfield
    categories: Forecasting, Logistics, Retail Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Strategy, Supply Market Intelligence

    Well we made it through 2012, and it actually turned out to be a reasonably good year, in terms of supply chain news and events.  There were a few disasters of course, but this now seems to be a commonplace theme for global supply chain planners  (the world’s logisics network are impacted at least once [...]

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20. Online Christmas Shopping? UPS and FedEx Will Cater To Your Needs.

    December 15, 2012
    by: handfield
    categories: Logistics, Retail Logistics, Supply Chain Management

    In our recent logistics survey, it is becoming clear that retailers’ number one pressure is reducing cost. No surprise here – as everyone rushes to do their last minute Christmas shopping, it’s easy to look around for the best deal. The increase in online shopping has forced big box retailers to cut prices and push [...]

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21. The Long Beach Port Strike….An Unfolding Economic Disaster

    December 4, 2012
    by: handfield
    categories: Global Supply Chain, Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Risk

    A lot of people at this week’s SCRC meeting were discussing the on-going strike in the port of Long Beach, California. It is remarkable to me how little attention this issue has received in the press, as it is in fact an economic disaster with massive implications that is unfolding as we speak. Most Americans [...]

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22. The Global Economic Outlook: Jason Schenker’s Soothsayings…

    
    by: handfield
    categories: BRIC Supply Chain, Category Management, China Supply Chain, Forecasting, Supply Chain Management

    Jason Schenker spoke at the SCRC conference today and spoke about his forecasts for the global economy. The global economy is expanding, albeit at a modest pace. US GDP and the US labor markets are showing modest improvements. Chinese GDP will grow, but central bank monetary policy at home and abroad is likely to remain [...]

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23. Bio-based Feedstock Supply Chains: Subject Matter Experts Speak in Washington

    November 29, 2012
    by: handfield
    categories: Commodities forecasting, Procurement Sustainability, Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Risk, Supply Chain Strategy, Sustainability

    I attended a conference today in Washington DC hosted by Duke University and Yale University on Biobased Feedstocks. The discussion led to some interesting observations about the tradeoffs and opportunities between biobased and fossil based feedstocks. The bioeconomy is a large and rapidly growing segment that allows everyone to live longer, healthier lives, reduce dependence [...]

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24. SCRC Meeting December 3-4 2012: Coping with Increasing Global Supply Chain Complexity

    November 26, 2012
    by: handfield
    categories: Global Supply Chain, Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Strategy

    It’s a week before our bi-annual Supply Chain Resource Cooperative meeting, taking place at NC State’s Centennial Campus on December 3-4, 2012. This year’s meeting has an exciting lineup of speakers, all sharing insights on how organizations are coping with the brave new world of global logistics. As organizations continue to expand their global footprint, [...]

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25. The Fiscal Cliff’s Impact on Global Supply Chains

    November 24, 2012
    by: handfield
    categories: Forecasting, Global Supply Chain, Sales and Operations Planning, Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Strategy

    It’s the day after Thanksgiving, and we’re still talking about the fiscal cliff….and the days are ticking away. For those of us who study and work in supply chains, the impending decision (or lack thereof) has a few implications worth thinking about. First, let’s talk about the likelihood that it can be averted…The fiscal cliff [...]

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