SCRC Articles Library: SCM Facts & Figures
SCM Facts & Figures Articles
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Labor & Human Rights Supply Chain: Market Research Aerospace & Defense Sustainability Report
Introduction & Key Issues Aerospace & Defense is an industry dependent on high dollar contracts to deliver high end products such as airplanes, fighter jets, tanks and other high dollar…
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Industrial Manufacturing Industry Sustainability Report
Key Sustainability Issues in the Industrial Manufacturing Industry (Construction, Industrial, Automotive, Farm, and Miscellaneous Manufacturing) Green is “popular” right now; therefore, finding more information about environmental sustainability on the company…
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Key Sustainability Issues in the Electronics Industry: Sustainability Industry Report
Executive Summary In general we learned sustainability is not as simple as recycling or ‘being green’. To be sustainable is to look after the environment, the people living and working…
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Energy (Utilities) Sustainability Report
Key Sustainability Issues in the Energy Industry Reliance on coal (especially on the east coast) Limited suppliers Expense of constructing new Nuclear Plants Issues with current plants – Florida’s Crystal…
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Food and Beverages Sustainability Industry Report
Introduction Today Food and Beverages industry is more competitive than ever. As the companies in the various sectors compete and grow sustainability becomes a very important concern. Sustainability issues in…
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Consumer Products Sustainability Report
The apparel toys/games, and general merchandise industries have a wide range of variability in their sustainability efforts. Overall, the literature review showed a high level of effort on the part…
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A Brief History of China: Democracy or Communist Bureaucracy?
Just recently, the Wall Street Journal published an article stating the incredible growth in automotive component manufacturing in China, as well as other industries. Many people are mystified by the…
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A Brief History of the Highway Transportation System in the U.S.
Related site link: The Transportation Crunch The highway infrastructure as we know it today began expanding rapidly after President Dwight Eisenhower, 50 years ago this month, signed the Federal Aid…
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Current Strategies and Tactics in Staffing
The following report is introductory to Dr Handfield’s research on Current Trends in Production Labor Sourcing. Contingent work force Call it downsizing, rightsizing or a layoff. Companies throughout the 90’s…
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A Brief History of Outsourcing
The following report is introductory to Dr Handfield’s research on Current Trends in Production Labor Sourcing. Since the Industrial Revolution, companies have grappled with how they can exploit their competitive…
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Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) - An IS Strategy for ERP Implementation
The following is based on Dr. Bozarth’s research on “ERP Implementation Efforts at Three Firms: Applying lessons from the SISP and IT-enabled change literature” which is scheduled to appear in…
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IT-Enabled Change
The following is based on Dr. Bozarth’s research on “ERP Implementation Efforts at Three Firms: Applying lessons from the SISP and IT-enabled change literature” which is scheduled to appear in…
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Important U.S. Trade Legislation
Abstract: Trade agreements have a clear impact on Supply Chain security as they determine the countries with whom we trade. NAFTA and GATT are two important trade arrangements the U.S.…
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Partnering for Lean Manufacturing
“Arm’s length” and “partnering” are two terms that are commonly used to describe the nature of contractual relationships between customers and suppliers. The former is considered to be a more…
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Managing the Cold Chain
Cold chain management is vital in many industries, but particularly in the transportation of vaccines, insulin and blood. Managing the cold chain requires keeping a product within a particular temperature…
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RFID … A larger audience of believers
Powerful and influential retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, Tesco, and Metro who began the implementation of the revolution, now insist that their business partners get on board with radio frequency identification…
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The Logistics of the Relief Supply Chain: Help for Tsunami Victims
The recent tragedy suffered by the coastal nations along the Indian Ocean has realigned priorities and helped many of us to understand how lucky we are, even facing our worst…
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Supply Chain Metrics
What are supply chain metrics and how are they most useful? Beginner Readers: Do you know what it means to have a Perfect Order Measure of 94%? How about an…
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Supply Chain Metrics
What are supply chain metrics and how are they most useful? Beginner Readers: Do you know what it means to have a Perfect Order Measure of 94%? How about an…
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Supply Chain Management During the Holidays
Gift giving and receiving is a big part of the holiday season. Supply chain and logistics processes must be efficient to handle the increased gift giving. Gifts must be available…
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C-TPAT Membership Facts
Improving the security at the nation’s borders became a priority following the events of September 11, 2001. Greater scrutiny was placed on the shipments into the U.S., resulting in longer…
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The SCOR Model for Supply Chain Strategic Decisions
The supply chain operations reference model (SCOR) is a management tool used to address, improve, and communicate supply chain management decisions within a company and with suppliers and customers of…
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What is Evaluated Receipt Settlement?
Evaluated Receipt Settlement (ERS) is a procedure for the automatic settlement of goods receipts. It was pioneered by General Motors (GM) to save the company time and money (1). Major…
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Trends and Services Offered in the 3PL Industry
The third party logistics (3PL) provider industry is expanding as global companies are realizing the cost savings of outsourcing their logistics services (1). The 3PL market grew by 6.9 percent…
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Growing Emphasis on Product Lifecycle Management
To improve the communication between suppliers, customers, vendors, and distributors, companies are beginning to invest in product lifecycle management (PLM) software. Product lifecycle management is “an integrated, information-driven approach to…
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Effects of Weather on the Supply Chain
Weather plays a big role in what consumers buy at the store or what customers buy from their suppliers. Producers must pay attention to this information because having the wrong…
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The Antonov: Fast Shipping for Large Items
While not a household name, Russian-built Antonov aircrafts have played an important role in transportation and logistics. The Antonov 124 was initially built to move Russian military cargo, but its…
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The Increasing Necessity for Reverse Logistics
Due to environmental regulations and consumer pressures to increase customer service, companies are focusing on reverse logistics. Reverse logistics can lead to improved relationships with supply chain partners, improved profits…
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Cost Reduction Measures
According to a study by the Center for Applied Purchasing Studies (CAPS) Research, the primary goal of most purchasing executives is to reduce total costs (1). Supply managers in general…
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Unification of Bar-Code Standards
Within bar-coding, there have historically been two distinct standards, North America’s Uniform Product Codes (UPCs) and the rest of the world’s European Article Numbering (EAN) codes. The “Sunrise 2005” initiative,…
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U.S. and China Trade Relations
China’s entrance into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 was met with protests and resistance from some groups, particularly human rights organizations. Many businesses saw expansion into China as…
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China and the World Trade Organization
Having joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in late 2001, China has begun to open its doors to foreign investment. There are still restrictions that impede competition, but most of…
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Supply Chain Visibility at GKN
GKN Driveline North America (GKN DNA) sees the upside of a world in which it could view and share identical business information with both its customers and its suppliers, regardless…
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Supply Chain Improvements: Defined by Progress
Supply Management at Progress Energy realizes that, as the energy industry becomes more competitive, the effective management of the entire supply chain becomes an increasingly important contributor to the top…
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Initiatives to Increase Maritime Supply Chain Security
Several government and industry initiatives have been introduced in the past two years to improve the security of the supply chain segment that deals with shipping containers that travel across…
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Negotiating for Success
Excellent negotiation skills not only influence the outcome of individual transactions, but also relationships with suppliers and overall success. One common misconception of negotiation is that one party has to…
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Transportation Cost Trends
Supply chain managers know that the cost of fuel and the cost of labor are important determinants of the cost of transportation services. Recently however, seemingly less obvious but important…
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Purchasing Manager Survey Says…
Business people have long used survey-based reports to observe markets and aid forecasting. In this regard, reports of purchasing manager surveys, in particular, are popular because they quickly furnish both…
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Supplier Development: A Survey of Risks and Benefits
Though Japanese firms first embraced supplier development after the end of World War II, it has only begun to take hold in the United States in the past three decades.…
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Six Sigma: Where is it now?
Six sigma is a statistical level that represents 3.4 defects per million. Six Sigma is a process that has been around since the late 1970s and mid-1980s. It was developed…
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The Global Information Economy
Between 2000 and 2001, China’s spending on information and communications technology grew faster than any other country, 27%. The following is reprinted with permission from the World Information Technology and…
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Iraq and the U.S. Economy
The uncertainty concerning war in Iraq has recently left the U.S. economy stuck in neutral. Many economists have begun to paint a gloomy picture for the rest of the year…
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Longer Warranties: Jacking up sales or costs?
In 2000, the Big Three automakers’ annual warranty costs were around $6 billion, or averaged roughly $500 per unit in North America (1) 90% of automotive suppliers say they believe…
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So what! (Web Site Statistics)
On a worldwide basis, Mondays account for 15.0 percent of internet traffic for the week. Saturdays generate 13.5 percent. Source: DarwinMag.com Mondays are a mere 1.5 percent more popular to…
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Who Can Do IT?
By 2005, spending on IT outsourcing services worldwide will increase at a five-year compound growth rate (CAGR) of 12%, exceeding $100 billion USD By 2005, 30% of the Global 2000…
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The Future of RFID’s
When will RFID be as ubiquitous as bar codes? Today – 6.51% Next year – 10.65% Two years – 17.16% Five years – 42.01% Ten years – 13.61% Longer –…
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Transportation Outsourcing Decisions
According to a KPMG survey, almost 77% of survey respondents outsource at least 10% of their transportation functions. In addition, almost 55% of respondents outsource 91% or more of their…
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The Electronic Marketplace
Trade through e-marketplaces is expected to grow from 7.8% of e-commerce activity in 2002 to 48% of online trade by 2006. So far, 15 percent of all Fortune 2000 companies…
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West Coast Lockout Costing $1 - $2 Billion a Day
This past week’s failed contract talks between dockworkers and shipping lines are costing the U.S. economy dearly. Estimates range from $1 Billion (by economists at Indiana University and UC Berkeley)…
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The Warehousing Management Survey
It is safe to say that warehouse activity can be used as a barometer for how well the economy is doing. A recent survey of warehouse operations by Warehousing Management…
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The Warehousing Management Survey
It is safe to say that warehouse activity can be used as a barometer for how well the economy is doing. A recent survey of warehouse operations by Warehousing Management…
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Sizing Survey Benefits Many Manufacturers
SCRC member Milliken & Company, Textile/Clothing Technology Corporation ([TC]2), and NC State University plan to obtain data to improve the way clothes fit the U.S. population. Results will be used…
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Does your company have high quality data?
48% do not have a data quality plan 78% need education to maintain data quality 44% believe data quality is worse than everyone thinks Source: Data Warehousing Institute 2001 Survey…
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