The SCOR model provides a framework for all the steps that comprise a supply chain – plan, buy, make, move, store, sell and return. I praise all of the work poured into the elements it takes to get product from design to the consumer hands. But there is something missing: the stages for capturing incremental revenue through the back end... Continue reading

I had the pleasure of presenting at the SITL conference in Paris last week alongside Dell. Our presentation’s theme focused on the need for supply chain to evolve from being “reactive” to “predictive & proactive.” Supply chains today, to remain competitive and to achieve greater market share, must evolve from simply being good at being reactive. The only way to... Continue reading

I am excited to participate in the premier supply chain conference in Europe, SITL, this week in Paris. Not just because I get to present in my native French tongue (that in and of itself should make anyone want to come by!), but also because I'll be discussing a very important supply chain issue: how visibility is only the first... Continue reading

A new supply chain era is upon us - the age of “flash demand”. This is a world where social media channels spread news in a matter of seconds and a "fat finger" financial trade can ripple across global markets in a fraction of that. For the supply chain, this means seasonality is no longer the only event-based driver shifting... Continue reading

Seasonality is nothing new for supply chains, especially those in the retail and consumer space. For years, businesses have planned for Black Friday, hoping to turn their sales into the positive right after Thanksgiving or drive sales leading up to Christmas. There is also the traditional seasonality around Valentine’s Day (chocolates and flowers), the dog days of summer (beer and... Continue reading

Governments and nations are in current movement around the world - the Arab spring, presidential elections in France and the US, political upheaveal in the Euro Zone, just to name a few. All these events have had repercussions across supply chains. In a recent statement made by President Obama, US companies were called upon to ensure they come up with... Continue reading

Earthquakes, political uprisings and unforeseen every-day disruptions are just some of the stressful events that supply chain executives face daily. For any supply chain exec – especially those managing networks that span diverse geographies and markets – having visibility into the extended supply chain is a key component to staying on top of issues, improving responsiveness and meeting SLAs. All... Continue reading

While many on the economic front were drawn to two numbers - the unemployement rate which was lowered to 8.5% the lowest it has been in 3 years and consumer spending/confidence was inching upwards - two signs that the economy is slowly moving upwards. There is another report, less heralded, but just as interesting: inventory levels. The wholesale inventory levels... Continue reading

Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become just as much a part of the Christmas holidays as stockings, midnight mass, a large man with a white beard in a red suit, candycanes and packed malls. North American retailers look to this season as their...well...Christmas. A time when they will push their finances into positive territory, make profits and fill coffers... Continue reading

Happy Holidays to all! I always enjoyed reading predictions for industries and technologies this time of the year, some times it is even more entertaining to read them years later when we can gasp in awe at our predictions or wonder what were we thinking...so here are some predictions for the supply chain space for 2012. I started writing these... Continue reading

A few weeks ago, I took part in a lively Twitter Q&A with our official Twitter feed, @ProgressSW. If you missed out on the real-time action, you can check out the discussion below. Looking forward to doing more of these and, as always, I welcome your thoughts on #scm topics, questions and issues to discuss in the future! @progresssw @gcourtin... Continue reading

For those of us in the United States, we have already been bombarded with holiday promotions and I am not speaking of the Thanksgiving celebration but the Christmas one. Many have deemed this "Christmas creep." (yes it has a wikipedia page...but what doesn't these days?). I am used to the Christmas marketing efforts to start after Thanksgiving, granted it usually... Continue reading

I have been fortunate enough to have had worked for some incredible visionaries and leaders during my career. One such person is Sanjiv Sidhu, one of the founders of i2 Technologies. I learned a tremendous amount from my time spent at i2 and much was gained from the passion, intelligence and vision exhibited by Sanjiv. One simple, yet powerful, mantra... Continue reading

With Halloween rapidly approaching, coupled with continued interest in zombies, I thought to myself: how could we apply some supply chain principles to surviving a potential zombie out break? First let us make the following assumptions about the zombie outbreak – it mimics the characteristics of the zombies on the poplar show “The Walking Dead.” Yes I admit I am... Continue reading

I was just at the annual North American CSCMP event in Philadelphia. I had the pleasure of spending time with some leading supply chain influencers and friends such as: @bob_ferrari, @lcecere, @arnoldmarkwells, @jeffashcroft to name a few. What struck me was the absense of supply chain planning was from the event. Well I guess it should not be a real... Continue reading

Picture t he following: you are on a long haul flight from Sydney to London, because you have status you were able to get a seat in Business Class. You settle down nicely for your flight, stretch out, maybe have a glass of champagne and some mixed nuts. 3 hours into your flight you see the crew exit the plane,... Continue reading

I have been fortunate to particpate in the 2011 Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference in London, an assembly of leading supply chain practictioners where we spend 3 days listening to latest thinking for Gartner/AMR Research analysts (I will always think of many the AMR analysts in that light!). The underlying theme for supply chains is that we are moving to... Continue reading

Earthquakes, hurricanes, power outages, SARS outbreak are all examples of external events that can create disruptions to your extended supply chain. What about other events? How about a sporting event? For those of you that are not fans of the oval ball (the rugby ball that is) the Rugby World Cup has kicked off this past week. So what does... Continue reading

Companies do not compete, supply chains compete…have you heard that one before? If you have, you probably are well aware of all the factors that go into running your business rely upon a host of partners and service providers that do not have your logo on their business cards. Globalization and competiveness has created a business world where no company... Continue reading

So in the past week two regional events and one national (really international) event have captured the headlines. For those of us of that live or have acquaintances on the East Coast, we had an earthquake and a hurricane - those are the regional events I mentioned. The national event was the announcement that Steve Jobs was stepping down as... Continue reading