German supply chain
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 to Volkswagen spokeswoman, Amanda Plecas, the reason for the German […]
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. The question of how to convert this data to strategic […]
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 lot of misperceptions on how to interact with German managers, […]
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 stability of the overall disposition of populations to the growth […]
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 to step down. The Renault-Nissan Alliance is the majority owner […]
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 […]
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 in procurement, logistics, and technology management over this past year. […]
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 at the following YouTube link.) What was unique about this […]
Hey Mr. President, Why Can't We Be More Like Germany?
For those of you who follow international sports, you know that the king of sports is soccer, and the Superbowl of soccer tournaments is the European’s Champion League. And what teams are playing in this year’s title game? Germany vs. […]