Forecasting
Excess and Obsolete Inventory: An Outcome of a Series of Unfortunate Events!
Inventory continues to be a problem for many companies. In particular, inventory that is considered “Excess and Obsolete” often accumulates and has to be dealt with – often at the end of the fiscal year. During tax season, this is also […]
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 components. Anyone who is working in this industry knows that […]
Thoughts on Supply Chain Impacts (After Listening to Trump’s State of the Union)
I listened to all one and a half hours of Trump’s State of the Union address last night, and while it was certainly very positive in terms of the economy, it also left me with some unanswered questions about the […]
Sorting out Risk in FinTech Source Chains
Most big banks (MUFG, Citi, Deutschbank, HSBC, JP Morgan, and others) have been forced to re-examine their external supplier relationships in a highly regulated environment. This is old news. But emerging technology is now beginning to create new ways to […]
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 executives from a variety of different industries and backgrounds. […]
Missy Cummings from Duke on Logistics Automation: We’re Going in Reverse!
I had the opportunity to listen to Missy Cummings, a Professor in the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University. Missy shared some insights on automation in the logistics sector, at a conference that was awash with discussions on block […]
Procurement Must Contribute to Competitiveness to Become Relevant!
Procurement is always thinking about cost savings, year over year. But is this really a true measure of competitiveness? So procurement will have a budgeted amount for, say 4.5 cents per unit for a product, when the current price is […]
Navigating the Future in an Uncertain Political and Regulatory Environment
The Supply Chain Resource Cooperative held its bi-annual Industry Partner Meeting in the Talley Student Center at North Carolina State University this past week. The theme, Navigating the Future in an Uncertain Political and Regulatory Environment”, included a keynote […]
Post-mortem on Christmas Logistics Chaos: On Customer Commitments and Transparency
As we look back on the chaos that erupted during the pre-Christmas rush, discussions with executives suggest that there is still a long way to go. Most logistics companies are still far from being able to fully integrate data and […]
Handfield's 2017 SCM Predictions: Impact of the Trump Presidency on the Supply Chain
OK, so Trump won, Clinton lost. Get over it, it’s a done deal. Time to move on, and figure out what this means in terms of how the global economy will be impacted, and in particular, how the supply chain […]