Supply Chain Management

Sep 20, 2022  |  Director's Blog

The China-Taiwan Semiconductor Question

With the recent visit of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, as well as the passing of the CHIPS Act, the public and the media have more questions than ever regarding the semiconductor market.  Primary among these is:   what is […]

Jan 29, 2022  |  Articles

Jason Miller Blog 2: Will Intel’s investments make a dent in our dependence on foreign semiconductors?

A great deal of hoopla is being made of Intel’s investments in its new $20 billion semiconductor chip plant near Columbus, Ohio, which Intel claims could expand into a $100 billion complex with eight fabrication plants.  This is of course […]

Dec 20, 2019  |  Articles

Rob Handfield Discusses Burning Topics in Supply Chain on the Thomas Industry Update Podcast

By Carson Powell Rob Handfield, distinguished professor of operations and supply chain management and executive director of the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative (SCRC), recently sat down with Tony Uphoff, founder and CEO of Thomas, for the Thomas Industry Update podcast. The […]

Nov 25, 2019  |  Articles

The WSJ Drucker Management 250 List: NC State’s Input into the Ratings

Every year about this time, the Wall Street Journal reveals its list of the Management Top 250 firms, which lists America’s Best-Run Companies.  The announcement, which appeared in today’s WSJ, identifies some of the top companies, with Amazon ranked at […]

Apr 10, 2018  |  Articles

Strategic Roles in Procurement Haven’t Changed Much

A recent post on Public Spend Forum asked the following question: What are the key 4-6 roles (e.g. Buyer, Commodity Manager, etc …) common to all public procurement organizations that help you align the “right skills” with the “right roles”, to achieve […]

Feb 28, 2018  |  Director's Blog

What Buyer-Supplier Collaboration Looks Like in Real Life….

I had the privilege of facilitating and witnessing first hand a great example of what a true strategic partnership looks like recently, when a large pharmaceutical brand met with a large global Contract Drug Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) at their site. […]

Feb 27, 2018  |  Director's Blog

Predictive analytics in procurement means using whatever data is available

Predictive analytics is still relatively new in procurement, but it’s increasingly important, particularly in organizations that have already been through the cycle of spend analytics, supplier leveraging, segmentation, and consolidation. Prediction requires a deep understanding of the technical and commercial […]

Feb 13, 2018  |  Director's Blog

Walgreen’s Acquisition of Amerisource Bergen is based on the need for integration to survive

The news of Walgreen’s potential acquisition of Amerisource Bergen is one of a string of recent announcements that signify efforts by channel players in the massive life sciences market to set up barriers to competition against behemoths by the likes […]

Feb 8, 2018  |  Director's Blog

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 phase is typically summarized in a system concept document. This […]

Jan 31, 2018  |  Director's Blog

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 […]