Archive for January, 2009
More Questions About Software-as-a-Service
· CommentsIt’s been almost a year since I wrote “A Beginner’s Guide to Software-as-a Service (SaaS)” in response to the many questions I was getting on the topic. Back then I was surprised that so many people were still unfamiliar with SaaS (aka “on demand”) despite all the coverage this topic was getting by the press and analysts (search for SaaS on Google and you’ll get 232 million hits). A… Continue reading
It’s hard to think about “talent management” when every day there’s a new announcement about layoffs and unemployment (e.g., Kodak announced this morning that it’s cutting up to 4,500 jobs, or about 18 percent of its workforce). But from a long-term perspective, I believe that talent management, particularly in supply chain and logistics, will separate tomorrow’s industry leaders from the laggards.
That’s why Marshall Goldsmith’s article this week… Continue reading
“Upping truck weights and mandating speed limiters in the name of sustainability is irresponsible and ridiculous. Those things have nothing to do with making trucking more ‘green’ and everything to do with adding more ‘green’ to the pockets of large corporations.”
And so commented Todd Spencer, Executive Vice President, Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association (OOIDA), in a press release OOIDA issued yesterday. This was OIDA’s response to the testimony… Continue reading
I recently completed a study of the Supply Chain Planning (SCP)software market. In doing this study, I came across solutions that could not be cleanly classified as either Supply Chain Planning or Supply Chain Execution.
First, a quick background on supply chain planning and execution solutions. SCP solutions are typically based on optimization algorithms. I will spare you a detailed definition of optimization (it might make your eyes… Continue reading
IBM’s New “Green” Consulting Offering
· CommentsBack in November, I commented on how I was feeling a bit “greened out,” how there were fewer and fewer new developments to discuss or analyze, and how all the case studies presented at conferences were sounding the same to me (“All Greened Out (Until the Asteroid Comes)“). I was ready for the next phase of innovation, and I highlighted a couple of hypothetical case studies that I was… Continue reading
The legal battle continues between the Federal Maritime Commission and the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. As I wrote about last month (“California and the Trucking Industry“), the ports had planned to collect the Clean Truck Fee starting November 17th ($35 per loaded twenty-foot equivalent unit and smaller; $70 for larger containers), but they delayed implementation due to legal action taken by the Federal Maritime Commission. … Continue reading
The ‘War for Cash’ in Supply Chains
· CommentsThere was a very interesting article in the Financial Times this week that highlighted how companies are delaying payments to suppliers, while trying to get paid faster themselves, in response to the weak economy (“Tactics that deliver in a ‘war for cash’“-registration required). The article correctly points out that while this tactic may improve working capital, it could have damaging effects on the supply chain (e.g. put small suppliers… Continue reading
I guess the folks on Wall Street weren’t listening to Barack Obama’s inauguration speech yesterday, or maybe they missed the part about “choosing hope over fear.” When the closing bells rang, The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 332 points (more than 4 percent), the S&P 500 lost 38 points, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 88 points. I guess there’s more fear than hope on Wall Street these days… Continue reading
