German supply chain

May 4, 2021

Semiconductor Scarcity Harms Volkswagen and Other Automotive Companies

From May 7th to May 12th, production at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga Assembly Plant ceased action due to insufficiency with circuitry capacities, and this is because of the global semiconductor shortage. According…

May 4, 2023

First Case of Human Rights Violations is Filed under the German Due Diligence Act

A little-noticed but important development occured this week, that demonstrates how labor and human rights is impacting the supply chain landscape- and also shows how ESG laws are evolving much…

May 11, 2023

Shining a Light on the EV Supply Chain: A Poor Environmental and Human Rights Record

For years, the public has been going around buying electric vehicles, claiming that they are promoting “clean energy” and contributing to less global warming, feeling very smug about themselves. However,…

Jul 9, 2019

Lead Logistics Provider Capabilities Will Require Customized Innovation

With the onset of cloud computing, automation, and machine learning, organizations are integrating their global supply chains, and finding themselves with more transactional data than they could have ever imagined. …

Jun 2, 2017

Managing Supply Chain Relationships with German Managers

Germany companies are becoming more commonplace in not just automotive supply chains (BMW, Bosch, Daimler), but in chemicals (BASF), pharmaceuticals (Bayer), industrial manufacturing (Siemens), and software (SAP). There are a…

Jul 2, 2016

Considering the Impact of Brexit on Global Supply Chains

The vote by the British population to leave the European Union (“Brexit”) was greeted with massive volatility by financial markets worldwide. It also raised a number of concerns regarding the…

Apr 11, 2016

Bo Andersson's Supply Strategy Collides With Vladimir Putin's Russia: The Performance Triangle Collapses

Automotive news seems to be coming up a lot lately. A story in the Wall Street Journal revealed that Bo Andersson, the current CEO of Russia’s largest car maker AvtoVAZ, plans…

Nov 26, 2015

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…

Dec 16, 2013

Handfield's Supply Chain Analytics Predictions for 2014

2013 has certainly been an interesting year! I’ve had the good fortune to be presented with opportunities for compelling discussions with a significant group of leading thinkers, senior executives…

Nov 7, 2013

Interview at BVL International Conference: The Meaning of Collaboration

I was recently interviewed at the BVL International Congress in Berlin, and shared some of the key results from the recent Global Logistics Trends and Strategies study. (View the interview…