Analytics
Rising Interest Rates: Maybe It’s Time to Bring Back the Forgotten Art of Price Analysis
Price analysis is a subject that is often overlooked in supply chain education, (although it is certainly a big part of our chapter on Strategic Cost Management in Purchasing and Supply Chain Management). This is perhaps a “forgotten art” that […]
Dealing with Supply Chain Uncertainty After Covid: Insights from the Experts
A small group of executives enjoyed a particularly interesting set of insights yesterday at our first Supply Chain Resource Cooperative meeting since December, 2019. Meeting on a rainy day at the NC State Faculty Club, we enjoyed some great opinions […]
Behind the Numbers of the SCRC Supply Management Index
The SCRC’s Supply Management Maturity Index was highlighted in a recent Wall Street Journal article, that identified the companies best prepared to weather the storm ahead in terms of supply chain disruptions. In this blog, I’ll explain a bit more […]
Managers Need to be Able to Interpret and Act on Flows of Data
Information flow (data) is critical to creating velocity of action and decision-making. Resistance layers often form between companies, which prevent information from flowing seamlessly to key managers. These layers may include firewalls to ensure cyber security mandates are followed, or […]
Tom Linton’s Advice to Students: “Don’t Listen to the Status Quo!”
“If you go to a hospital and a nursing station in a hospital, there may be 2 or 3 nurses, managing 30 or 40 patients. Each patient has a pulse, and the nurses are monitoring all the patients by exception. […]
The Strategic National Stockpile that Failed Us
The COVID-19 crisis arrived in the United States in February and was largely dismissed as a non-threatening issue. In particular, the CDC was convinced that it had contained the virus and retained control of all diagnostic testing, which later produced […]
Can Digital Twins Result in Total Supply Chain Redesign and Innovation?
Today’s guest blog is written by my colleague Joseph Yacura, who co-authored the most recent Data Quality and Innovation Study. Supply chain innovation has been slow to materialize in most organizations. Supply chain digitization has begun, but the adoption across […]
Supply Chain Predictions for 2020 (Who knew I’d still be writing this blog 18 years later!)
Although I didn’t come out with any new years’ predictions last year at this time, it’s the start of a new decade, so predictions are definitely in order. However, I also came to realize that I’ve been writing this blog […]
The WSJ Drucker Management 250 List: NC State’s Input into the Ratings
Every year about this time, the Wall Street Journal reveals its list of the Management Top 250 firms, which lists America’s Best-Run Companies. The announcement, which appeared in today’s WSJ, identifies some of the top companies, with Amazon ranked at […]
FDA Warns of Significant Drug Shortages – What Gives?
In a recent report, the FDA has warned of significant drug shortages in the U.S. These shortages are affecting approximately 130 drugs that are commonly used in the treatment of medical conditions or used in surgical procedures. The report titled […]