In 2015, Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the world, got terrible publicity when a spy drone flew over farms operated by one of their subsidiaries and took pictures of lagoons filled with pig feces and urine. Sustainability initiatives provide a way for global brands to improve their brand reputation and reduce risks of further damage to the brand. Smithfield has certainly upped their sustainability game. Last week, on May 8th, the company released […]
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Archive for Supply Chain Network Design
Business students are all exposed to the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis tool. This last week I came across several interesting stories – or in one case a presentation – that all centered on different aspects of SWOT in the supply chain realm. First, STRENGTHS; Greg Toornman – the Director of Global Materials, Logistics, and Freight Management at AGCO – spoke last Wednesday (February 14th) at ARC’s 22nd Annual Industry Forum. AGCO is […]
Read More →As the global economic outlook improves, worldwide mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity is predicted to pick up. M&A deal volume and deal value remains strong. According to recent surveys, 56 percent of responding companies expect to actively pursue acquisitions in the next 12 months[1], with global M&A value projected to top $3.2 trillion, up 23 percent from this year[2]. Despite the increasing numbers, failure rates for M&A initiatives are extremely high. Depending on which report you […]
Read More →The best marketing executives have long worked to have an “outside in” view of their products. They want to understand how customers and potential customers think about their offerings. The supply chain profession needs to go much further to get to a similar level of maturity. New CaaS solutions can help.
Read More →Supply chain executives at companies with global supply chains are paying close attention to what happens surrounding import tariffs and trade rules now that Donald Trump is the President elect. On the campaign trail Trump promised to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and impose punitive damages on goods made in China.
Read More →Why Is Supply Chain Design Important? There’s been a fundamental change in the way global manufacturers and distributers operate. The modern supply chain is an increasingly complex and volatile network making the impacts of change harder to determine and increasing the risks involved with being unprepared. The supply chain is a huge opportunity for competitive advantage—and risk. Supply chain design is now a must-have capability for businesses to keep up with the pace of change […]
Read More →Many of Amway’s products that are largely sold overseas, actually leverage “Made in America” as a key selling point. This has led to a global network of plants which prioritizes investment in the U.S.
Read More →There has been some breathless coverage of 3D Printing’s impact on the supply chain. In the supply chain realm is has been speculated that additive manufacturing could be able to transform the spare parts supply chain. The idea is that instead of carrying a plethora of slow moving parts across a network of warehouses, these warehouses could just manufacture the parts as needed. In 2014, one expert thought this was being overhyped. Today he is seeing signs of progress.
Read More →In June the citizens of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. As a result, the political system is in a state of chaos as the various parties jockey for control. Some of the changes expected from a Brexit (i.e. British Exit) vote have already happened. A week from the referendum, the pound was down 10 percent against the US dollar and eight percent against the Euro. The UK Chancellor has said there […]
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Supply Chain Brief
The Business Benefits of “Going Green” with Your Supply Chain
In the not too distant past, when confronted with a decision between investing in sustainability efforts versus corporate survivability, the choice was clear for most organizations. However, as the economic recovery has gained strength and consumers have expressed a desire for corporations to focus on these efforts, green supply chain practices are emerging again. Organizations not only view themselves as being able to “afford” investing resources in “greening” their operations but also see that these […]
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