Using a wrong term Partnership is one of the most overused terms in business and particularly when discussing supply chains. The dictionary meaning of the word is a sharing of risk and reward. Do any of your organisation’s relationships with suppliers match the meaning? The more familiar approach for buyers is you take the risk and I take the reward. ... Read More ..read more

Know supply markets Surveys conducted since the COVID pandemic indicate that even well-resourced companies know the production location details of only about half of their Tier 1 suppliers, about 20 percent of Tier 2 suppliers and less than 5 percent of Tier 3 suppliers. Yet it is at these lower Tiers where the risks to supply are highest. The ‘need ... Read More ..read more

Are two maps required? The previous blogpost discussed three aspects of Sustainability built into government regulations. It noted that Sustainability in the EU regulations is focussed on the ESG elements of environmental (e.g. climate change), human rights (social) and due diligence (governance) that requires a business to identify, manage and mitigate risks in its value chains. The ESG risk reduction approach ... Read More ..read more

Sustainability Directive in Europe Momentum is increasing, with this year seeing the introduction or enforcement of Sustainability laws concerning Operations through supply chains. The laws may initially only relate to large businesses, but if they are your customers, their Procurement people will be asking questions, so you will need to ask questions of your suppliers, wherever they are located. The ... Read More ..read more

The Climate and change In 2015, most countries signed the Paris Agreement with an objective to ‘limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels’. Over the past twelve months to February 2024, global temperature increase has been 1.56 degrees Celsius (Source: EU Copernicus Climate Service), yet there has been little reaction. Ten years ago it was considered that ... Read More ..read more

Selling technology solutions A LAL blogpost written one year ago discussed the potential uncertainties of developing and using artificial intelligence (AI) within your supply chains. As the rate of promotional activities has not slowed, think about the steps to take before AI. In competitive technology situations, there are products to sell and concepts for potential buyers to get excited about. ... Read More ..read more

Uncertainty in Supply Chains What new risks in your organisation’s supply chains have been identified? In the past week articles have discussed the potential (new?) risks to global supply chains from the outage of communication cables under the Red Sea. Also that the current lack of rainfall in Panama could be a risk to the long-term viability of the Panama ... Read More ..read more

Why change? Does your company or organisation employ a person responsible for all aspects of supply chains and who reports to the CEO or a senior executive? Surveys indicate that the majority do not. But with all the media coverage of events that disrupt supply chains, why is this? It could be that the majority of businesses are structured as ... Read More ..read more

Procurement and Availability The role of the Supply Chains group (Procurement, Operations Planning and Logistics) is to provide Availability of finished products that satisfies customers’ demand. The lead role of Procurement is to enhance that capability through providing Availability of input items. When asked about the role of Procurement (or Purchasing), most people will answer ‘buys things’. But, no matter ... Read More ..read more

Different requirements In manufacturing businesses, production run lengths have become shorter, due in part to the real or imagined need for product extensions that address narrow customer and consumer needs. There is less of high volume Make to Stock (MTS) and more of High Mix, Low Volume (HMLV) under descriptors of Make to Order (MTO) and Assemble to Order (ATO). ... Read More ..read more