Facts & Figures

Feb 3, 2004

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… 

Jan 7, 2004

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… 

Dec 31, 2003

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… 

Nov 13, 2003

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… 

Oct 28, 2003

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… 

Sep 16, 2003

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… 

Aug 20, 2003

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… 

Aug 7, 2003

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.… 

Jun 24, 2003

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… 

May 29, 2003

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…