Design for Supply Chain

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… 

Sep 29, 2019

What does the global trade chess board look like lately ?

Global trade is becoming more and more confusing, given the vast array of different tariffs, trade wars, 301’s, customs duties, and other shifts in global trade. I had the opportunity… 

Jul 13, 2019

Closed Loop Recycling Systems are Key to Sustainable Concessions for the Portland Blazers

One of the big changes occurring in the food service packaging industry is the use of biobased food containers at sports events. Stadiums are “closed loop” systems, meaning that all… 

Mar 5, 2018

Get Ready for the Electronification of Everything …and More Global Component Shortages!

I had an opportunity to speak with some executives this week that are frequently in Asia, negotiating with suppliers of everything from memory, semiconductors, and multiple other types of electronic… 

Feb 8, 2018

Is the FAR getting in the way of Early Supplier Involvement in defense projects?

Product development within the U.S. defense industry tends to follow a waterfall-phased lifecycle development approach beginning at the concept level and concluding at the subsystem/component level. The concept level design… 

Nov 6, 2017

Excess and Obsolete Inventory: You’re All Responsible for It!

The Supply Chain Resource Cooperative held its first ever “Executive Roundtable on Excess and Obsolete Inventory” on the NC State campus on October 25, 2017.  The event was attended by 25… 

Mar 16, 2017

Procurement Leaders '17: Supplier enabled innovation is a foundation for procurement's strategic repositioning

I had the opportunity to sit in on a number of sessions at Procurement Leaders American Congress 2017 in Miami this week.  Despite the snowstorms that prevented many from making… 

Dec 12, 2016

Caterpillar BCP Tour opens up executive eyes to "Big Iron" supply chains

Over the course three days last week, a group of executives from a variety of different companies came together to share ideas and thoughts on the future of supply chain.… 

Nov 30, 2016

Exploring the Era of Global Transparency in the LIVING Supply Chain

We are at the beginning of a completely different era in the history of global trade: the era of the digitized  real-time supply chain. In the 25 years I have… 

Sep 14, 2016

Outsourcing: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – Lessons from Nortel Networks

Jeff Townley, former Chief Procurement Officer at Nortel Networks, provided some fantastic insights in my MBA class this evening.  In so doing, he shared some great insights about “Outsourcing:  The…