Supply Chain Quality

Jul 16, 2018

Pharmaceutical offshoring makes recalls more costly with more quality headaches

I spent some time working on a study of how offshoring impacts quality issues, specifically product recalls, with a number of researchers at the University of Palermo, led by Manfredi… 

Aug 3, 2017

Real-time Data will Impact How Quality is Managed in Supply Chains

At a recent meeting I attended, several members of a quality team noted that suppliers sharing process capability data from their line would provide enormous benefit. Emerging real-time quality data… 

Jun 17, 2016

Nike Learns to Mass Customize Shoes While Near-Shoring

  I had the opportunity to speak with a Nike executive about how the company has moved into the world of mass-customization.  Many people have heard about their partnership with… 

Feb 12, 2014

Local Food Systems Insights from the Front Lines: It's About the People!

Sebastian Naskarkis learned more about the ins and outs of produce quality inspections than he ever dreamed.  Sebastian is a first year MBA student and NC Growing Together Research Fellow… 

Jan 28, 2014

So what exactly is Supplier Relationship Management, anyway?

A lot of terminology is being thrown in pubic forums, using terms such as collaboration, partnering, relationship management, and other themes.  These terms are, in my opinion, being over-used, without… 

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… 

Aug 18, 2013

Another Fall semester brings a new batch of 50 SCRC company projects…

As we go into our 2013 fall semester, the SCRC team is pulling together the list of project summaries from our 15 corporate partners.  This is indeed a busy time… 

Feb 10, 2013

Controlling the extended supply chain: Horse Bolognese, anyone?

A recent article in the Guardian shows how uncontrollable supply chains can be.  Managing tier 2 suppliers, in this case, became problematic when supermarkets found that the beef they were… 

Aug 15, 2012

Using the Influence Model to Improve Quality and Cost in Product Design

I recently spoke to an individual whose title was Director of Engineering Operations at a major technology company.  He shared with me details regarding his role, and the relationship to…