Inventory Management
The Lowly Wooden Pallet is a Critical Conveyance in the Supply Chain
In a recent interview, discussions with Patrick Atagi, VP for Advocacy & External Affairs at the National Wooden Pallet and Contain Association (NWPCA) helped to educate me on just how prolific wooden pallets are in the global supply chain. Patrick […]
Excess and Obsolete Inventory: An Outcome of a Series of Unfortunate Events!
Inventory continues to be a problem for many companies. In particular, inventory that is considered “Excess and Obsolete” often accumulates and has to be dealt with – often at the end of the fiscal year. During tax season, this is also […]
Navigating the Future in an Uncertain Political and Regulatory Environment
The Supply Chain Resource Cooperative held its bi-annual Industry Partner Meeting in the Talley Student Center at North Carolina State University this past week. The theme, Navigating the Future in an Uncertain Political and Regulatory Environment”, included a keynote […]
Post-mortem on Christmas Logistics Chaos: On Customer Commitments and Transparency
As we look back on the chaos that erupted during the pre-Christmas rush, discussions with executives suggest that there is still a long way to go. Most logistics companies are still far from being able to fully integrate data and […]
Reflections on the LIVING Supply Chain SCRC Meeting
The SCRC meeting was a huge success yesterday. I led off the discussion and took this opportunity to share some of the highlights of my new book, The LIVING Supply Chain, (with Tom Linton as co-author), and try out some […]
A "Swiss Army Knife" of Supply Chain Talent Requirements: Views from a Former Wolfpack Student
Stuart William was in one of my former MBA classes at NC State in 2008, and graduated into one of the worst economies ever in May of 2009. Upon graduation, there simply weren’t any jobs available at all! During that […]
Nike's Global E-Commerce Distribution Center in Leuven Belgium
I had the opportunity to accompany a group of executives from Anheuser Busch Inbev on a tour of Nike’s global distribution facility in Leuven Belgium this week. Shipments arrive from Nike’s network of global manufacturers in Asia, including footwear, apparel and […]
Nike partnership with Flex producing innovation coupled with digitization
I spent the last two days meeting with members of the Global Supply Chain and Manufacturing team at Nike, in Beaverton, Oregon. Nike has developed a partnership with NC State’s Supply Chain Resource Cooperative, and we are working together to […]
Black Friday isn't What it Used to Be…E-Commerce has Changed the Landscape
As retailers prepare for “Black Friday”, what used to be the “biggest shopping day of the year” (the day after Thanksgiving), expectations are actually rather low. A reporter on CNN noted that it was a “non-event”, and that even “Cyber […]
EMC runs a lean operation: Playing hockey with doughnut holes
I had the opportunity to visit EMC’s manufacturing facility in Apex, NC this afternoon. Brent Taylor, who I met the week before at Procurement Leader’s, took me on a tour of the plant. One of the first interesting things about […]