Director’s Blog

Jan 19, 2011

Supplier-Customer Partnership

A long-term relationship between a buyer and a supplier characterized by teamwork and mutual confidence. The supplier is considered an extension of the buyer’s organization. The partnership is based on… 

Jan 19, 2011

Reverse Logistics

A supply chain that is dedicated to the reverse flow of products and materials for returns, repair, remanufacture, and/or recycling. Source: http://www.apics.org/ (10th ed.) 

Jan 19, 2011

Preventative Maintenance

The activities, including adjustments, replacements, and basic cleanliness, that forestall machine breakdowns. The purpose is to ensure that production quality is maintained and that delivery schedules are met. In addition,… 

Jan 19, 2011

Order management

Order management involves the seamless integration of orders from multiple channels with inventory databases, data collection, order processing including credit card verification, fulfillment systems and returns across the entire fulfillment… 

Jan 19, 2011

Market Analysis

See: Business-to-Business, Channel Management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Customer Value, Promotions 

Jan 19, 2011

Maintenance

See: Preventative Maintenance, Total Product Maintenance (TPM) 

Jan 19, 2011

Lean Manufacturing

A philosophy of production that emphasizes the minimization of the amount of all the resources (including time) used in the various activities of the enterprise. It involves identifying and eliminating… 

Jan 13, 2011

Business-to-Business Commerce (B2B)

Business being conducted over the Internet between businesses. The implication is that this connectivity will cause businesses to transform themselves via supply chain management to become virtual organizations, reducing costs,… 

Jan 7, 2011

Supply Chain Analytics: Part 2

On Day 2 of the SCRC meeting, Tom Holmes and Rob Ciamarra from BiogenIdec provided great insights into the effort, challenges and success factors associated with building a spend management… 

Dec 2, 2010

Supply Chain Analytics: The New Frontier

Presentations by industry speakers and student teams at this year’s SCRC meeting on December 2 were once again outstanding.  The topic this year, supply chain analytics, provided a wealth of…