Design for Supply Chain

Sep 19, 2023

How will the United Auto Workers strike impact automotive companies?

The UAW is not on its fourth day of strikes.  This is on the back of several profitable years for the Big Three, including an announcement by Stellantis that they… 

Apr 18, 2023

“Through Thick and Thin”: Sprucing Up Buyer–Supplier Relationships!

Another great guest post from Rajinder Bhandal! Have you heard of “the language of supply chains”? Back in January (2023), I talked about the possibility of applying the five love… 

Apr 2, 2023

Supply Chain Executives are building “Centers of Excellence” – because they support business strategies!

The term “COE” is often a commonly heard term in supply managers’ vernacular, but it’s interesting to note that Centers of Excellence as an organizational entity have been around for… 

Sep 26, 2022

China, Taiwan, and Semiconductor Risks – Part 2

As I alluded to in an earlier post, the scenario of China invading Taiwan, and halting all semiconductor production is highly unlikely, for a number of reasons. First, the Taiwanese… 

Sep 23, 2022

US Air Force Defense Acquisition and Contract Officers Come to NC State

We were proud to host a group of 20 contract officers from a number of different US Air Force bases across the country, including Wright-Patterson (Ohio), Hill (Utah), Pope (NC),… 

Mar 17, 2021

The Big Texas Chemical Freeze Raises Issues on Resiliency of the Petrochemical Supply Chain

Today’s Wall Street Journal article on the impact of the Texas winter storm on the petrochemical industry highlights many of the challenges that exist with this supply chain, that have… 

Dec 17, 2020

Key Takeaways from our Vaccine Supply Chain Webinar on December 16

As the Pfizer vaccine is rolling out across the country this week, Major Dan Finkenstadt and I delivered a webinar, in which we identified a list of possible concerns and… 

Aug 9, 2020

Double Bullwhip Effect Impacted Trade in the First Half of 2020

Evolutionary design requires individuals to constantly look for emerging patterns in how material moves through their supply chains. Force or action must be taken to change the path of supply… 

Apr 23, 2020

Lessons Learned from the COVID Pandemic Part 2: Stockpiling!

In Part 2 of this series on pandemic planning, I am again “dusting off” portions of a study I wrote for the IBM Business of Government in 2011, titled “Planning… 

Jan 15, 2020

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…