Supply Chain Management
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Resin prices vary a lot more than you think! RTi helps you understand why..
I had a great opportunity to meet with CEO Pete Suerken from Resin Technologies Inc. (RTi), yesterday, and share thoughts on how should-cost models are being actively used to drive improved visibility into the true costs of resin, paper packaging, and […]
Off to another exciting year of student-industry engagement at NC State on cutting-edge supply chain projects
In a prior post on 2018 supply chain predictions, I shared how NC State’s Poole College of Management engages directly with industry through student-led projects. I also predicted how this type of engagement would continue to grow in the future, […]
Low unemployment is great for everyone, right? (Not so much in logistics…)
Unemployment levels are at an all time low. Economists are trumpeting about the economy, and how great this is for everyone. Employers added 228,000 jobs in November, while the unemployment rate remained at a 17-year low of 4.1%, the government reported in […]