SupplyChainGuru

 I wrote this article with a business alliance partner.  It isn't exactly about supply chain, but does relate to what your suppliers can be doing to promote the environment and sustainability.  Castings are critical to the valve and industrial products industries. This article puts into perspective what AI (Artificial Intelligence) and IoT (Internet of Things) can do to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by improving the quality of castings. By reducing scrap, and re-melts, we can reduce overall energy consumption or think of it as improved yield per energy unit consumed! READ THE ARTICLE

  This is a great summary article! It neatly packages eS&OP (Executive Sales & Operations Planning) into a 3 minute read while hitting the main points we find in the works to Thomas/Stahl. There are (3) key segments to the article - benefits, challenges and counter-measures. As the article title asks - Why aren't more businesses deploying eS&OP? READ THE ARTCILE hashtag # salesandoperationsplanning hashtag # SOP hashtag # supplychain

  The headline on this article grabbed my attention. I started by asking myself if software really can solve a lack of manpower in the factory. Certainly human resource and skills shortage is a common affliction for many of my customers across industries and across North America. I read the article. I agree with the statements of functionality that an MES can provide. I recommend them to solve specific point issues around data collection, batch/lot tracking, scheduling, etc. However, I would first-and-foremost suggest companies focus on *eliminating waste* and *non-value added activities* in their factories and offices. Use all the tool of lean manufacturing to improve processes then let's talk about technology . READ THE FULL ARTICLE Agree or disagree - feel free to comment.

There certainly has been lots of interest and talk about nearshoring. This short article, from one of my favorite supply chain management journals, puts some facts and figures on the topic. This growth itself will likely bring new challenges to Mexico. At some point one would have to think the cost of real estate and access to talent may become problems that are seen in other geographies. The question is "when"? READ THE FULL ARTICLE

  Procurement’s data problem Majority of respondents to SpendHQ survey say they don’t trust the data they have By  Brian Straight  ·  June 16, 2023 in Supply Chain Management Review There's work to be done to leverage existing tools before investing in (expensive) spend-management software solutions. See my discussion of this article on LinkedIn.    Check out the post by clicking this link or the photo!

I follow author and consultant Giles Johnston. He wrote a recent blog post that I would like to share.  If we ignore the sales pitch for the author's book, this article hits the nail on the head. The analogy might be a sprint - you need to get out of the starting blocks well in order to perform well. Focus on customer delivery in the last phases of production/shipping is too late. I once managed an improvement event focused on the process from order entry to the delivery of engineering data to support the planning process in an ETO environment. We found ways to cut weeks out of the upfront process that could then be used for supply lead times and production. Saving time up front gives you time to get aligned for performance down the line. Read the post