While Supply Risk has been a hot topic in procurement and supply chain circles for some time, it’s been difficult to find broad-based empirical information about what organizations are doing on this front. The MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics is looking to do something about that. They are currently conducting a “Global Scale Risk Survey” to determine “experiences...
While there may be some early signs that the global economic recovery has begun, we’re not out of the woods just yet. The “Great Recession” has fundamentally changed the way businesses organize and measure success. and recalibrated supply markets, introducing new cost and operational risks that businesses cannot overlook. It has also created new state of normal for business —...
Earlier this week, Dan Ashton hosted a webinar ( replay here ) with speakers from Travelers Insurance and Kelly Services to discuss the current opportunity for driving value in contingent labor procurement. Here he shares some of the key take-aways. Justin Fogarty is Managing Editor of Supply Excellence. For any questions or feedback on the blog or its contributors, Justin can be reached at jfogarty[at]ariba.com....
One of the recurring themes of the New Normal is the increasing complexity of and reliance on extended supply chains with many participants beyond the Tier 1 supplier. Gibson Guitar was given a first-hand (and very unwelcome) lesson in this reality just yesterday when its manufacturing plant in Nashville was raided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as part of an investigation into the transportation...
A reminder that Supply Risk doesn’t go away just because the economy perks up a bit… Supplies of Eggo waffles were cut off recently due to flooding at a Kellogg factory in the Southeast US . While Kellogg is surely working feverishly to restore supply, the shortages are expected to continue until the middle of next year. Apart from the havoc this is going to wreak on my own household’s...
After sharing his insights into supply risk management , Dr. Uwe Schulte gave a great example of when the best course of action to protect his company from a supply risk was … to do nothing. Of course, he stressed that choosing to do nothing and doing nothing by default are two different things. Has anyone else ever reached the same conclusion about a particular risk and consciously chosen...
In a 29 year career with Unilever, Dr. Uwe Schulte gained a great deal of expertise in managing risks to the supply chain. Last week, I was fortunate enough to see the good Doctor present his insights and then grant us a series of interviews: Justin Fogarty is Managing Editor of Supply Excellence. For any questions or feedback on the blog or its contributors, Justin can be reached at jfogarty[at]ariba.com....
Following on the heels of his analysis of ISM’s October numbers, Pat Furey shared his team’s insights into the current state of the sourcing/procurement/category market. Pat also discussed some of the potentials risks and challenges that procurement departments are likely to encounter in the next 12 months. Justin Fogarty is Managing Editor of Supply Excellence. For any questions or feedback...
Although there are many moving parts in the equation (especially around the health care reform package making its way through the US Congress currently), health insurance premiums, which doubled in the last decade, are on track to repeat that feat over the next ten years. From 1999 to 2008, premiums increased by a reported 119% . The average employer-sponsored insurance premium in 2008 was approximately...
Like other sectors of the economy, news from the credit markets are a mixed bag of good and bad news. On the one hand, you have signs that consumer credit is loosening , which obviously helps the consumer driven US economy and possibly indicates loosening of business credit as well. But then on the other hand, you have dire news like the CIT bankruptcy . While things may be headed in the right direction,...
Last week on SpendMatters , William Busch covered the shutdown at a Canadian Ford Motors factory that was caused by labor unrest at an auto parts supplier facility in India. I provided my views in the Comments , but wanted to share them here as well, since Supply Excellence readers may also have some insights on the topic. Unfortunately for Ford, this case caught them off guard and demonstrates how...
Last week in the Strategic Sourcing & Procurement Group on LinkedIn, I posed the question: “What lessons or changes - brought on by the recession - will you continue during the recovery'” Certainly, with the volatile business climate we’ve all experience in the last 18 months (and are hopefully emerging from), there are adjustments that have been made and take-aways that were...
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