Supply Chain Archives - Page 4 of 15

January 20, 2016January 30, 2016

News You Can Use: 1/20/2016

Why the customer is not always right

There are two fatal flaws in this model, both having to do with managing expectations. First, clients need to understand that they are unlikely to get every deliverable without some compromise – particularly in custom software, where nobody knows exactly what’s involved until the project is more than half done. Second, the project lead on the consultant side must actively manage expectations during every client meeting. If the project lead on the client side is weak – technically or politically – s/he will not successfully propagate the realities of prioritization and negotiation to executives in the client organization. This means the project is in trouble before it starts … and, worse, the trouble can be totally invisible to the client until it’s way too late.

http://www.cio.com/article/3020698/it-industry/why-customer-is-not-always-right.html#tk.rss_all
Can blockchains drive supply chain transparency in 2016?
Background:

In short, a blockchain provides a shared database that is both transparent and tamper-proof. Specifically, it is a public ledger of all Bitcoin transactions that have ever been executed and has complete information about addresses and balances right from the genesis block to the most recently completed block.

How it relates to Supply Chain:

Baker said: “We have three levels that we are thinking about. The first is the business level: so who is this company? What do they do? Do they pay tax? Then the product level, which is around supply chain mapping. The blockchain component is more item level tracking, so is this particular item what it says it is? Is it really organic? Has it really been made by this company, in this place? So it’s a bit of a hybrid.”

http://www.supplychaindigital.com/procurement/4205/Can-blockchains-drive-supply-chain-transparency-in-2016
Despite Social Media’s Popularity, Most Americans Don’t Want to Give Up Private Data

Of the six outlined scenarios, respondents were uncomfortable with the privacy tradeoffs required to access free social media. In that scenario, Pew outlined a social-media site — a clear Facebook stand in — which gives users free access in exchange for the ability to sell them ads using their personal data. Only a third of respondents thought this tradeoff was “acceptable,” 15 percent said it depended on the situation, and 51 percent found the tradeoff “unacceptable.”

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/269581
5 Healthcare Supply Chain Trends to Watch in 2016

1. Operational Experimentation: Now that most hospitals have identified the supply chain as an area not only for cost savings, but also as a resource for significantly improving patient outcomes, 2016 will mark the start of major operational experimentation. Backed by sophisticated, enabling supply chain technology, hospitals will embrace process and product flexibility to find the right formula for both patient- and business-focused success.

http://hitconsultant.net/2016/01/14/healthcare-supply-chain-trends-to-watch-in-2016/
You Might Be Getting the Basics Right, but That’s Not Enough

Similarly, it’s not enough to do a proper, verbal, invitation over the phone, give the supplier a chance to include references, case studies, and suggest alternative proposals, if you know that one of the critical requirements of the bid or organizational preference (or prejudice) would preclude the supplier from getting the award. It’s not professional to invite the supplier unless you believe the supplier has an honest chance.

http://sourcinginnovation.com/wordpress/2016/01/14/you-might-be-getting-the-basics-right-but-thats-not-enough/
Shakeup at Citrix continues: CloudStack products sold off

When Citrix announced in November that it would spin off its popular GoToMeeting and affiliated products into an independent publicly traded company, some questioned if other parts of the company may be destined for change as well.

Today, Citrix announced it has sold its two cloud infrastructure management products: CloudPlatform and CloudPortal Business Manager, both of which are based on open source CloudStack.

Citrix is selling the cloud products to Accelerite, which is owned by Persistent Systems. Accelerite focuses on cloud backup and recovery as a service. Persistent has a broader portfolio of cloud and other IT consulting products and services.

http://www.cio.com/article/3020666/cloud-computing/shakeup-at-citrix-continues-cloudstack-products-sold-off.html#tk.rss_all
3 open source tools for supply chain management

The last tool in our supply chain management roundup is Odoo, which you might recognize from our previous top ERP projects article. In fact, a full ERP may be good fit for you, depending on your needs. Odoo’s supply chain management tools mostly revolve around inventory and purchase management, and connectivity with e-commerce and point of sale, but it can also connect to other tools like frePPLe for open source production planning.

Odoo is available both as a software as a service solution, as well as an open source community edition. The open source edition is released under an LGPL version 3, and the source is available on GitHub. Odoo is primarily written in Python.

https://opensource.com/business/16/1/open-source-tools-supply-chain-management
“Never Touch Things Twice”
This is lovely in thought, impossible in the real world. Additionally as someone who writes, you have to walk away and come back to things.

Never touch things twice. That’s it. Never put anything in a holding pattern, because touching things twice is a huge time-waster. Don’t save an email or a phone call to deal with later. As soon as something gets your attention you should act on it, delegate it, or delete it.

http://lifehacker.com/never-touch-things-twice-1752117533

Photo: Gerrit Vermeulen

January 13, 2016January 30, 2016

News You Can Use: 1/13/2016

A.T. Kearney Is Just Plain Wrong

Not only are more than half of US manufacturers considering reshoring now, we have some really great examples of success stories including GE Appliance Park, Starbucks, Apple and others. In addition, we can point to other companies such as Haier, Nissan and Smithfield Foods where Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has directly resulted in the establishment of more manufacturing in America.

All of the signs and statistics (other surveys by Boston Consulting Group, Alix Partners and several European studies) point to the rebuilding of manufacturing in America and in Western Europe. The trend is strong and we are very optimistic that it will continue to be so. US jobs loss to offshoring is now about equivalent to jobs created or reshored to America. We need to be reshoring supporters and make more of this happen, not detractors.

http://www.scmr.com/article/a.t._kearney_is_just_plain_wrong
How Quitting Can Get You Exactly What You Want

Quit selling those cheap houses to those unqualified, needy people who he didn’t like working with. If he was going to attract million-dollar sellers, he was going to have to give up on working with $100,000 homes. That meant reaching way out of his comfort zone and giving up on what he had built so far. If Jon was going to gain traction, pick up luxury sellers and earn more money, he was going to have to project the image of expertise, confidence and exclusivity. Exclusivity meaning he had to be selective of who he worked with. The days of taking on any old client were gone. If they didn’t fit the luxury mold, he had to refer them out.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/253924
PAGING DR. ROBOT: THE COMING AI HEALTH CARE BOOM

More than six billion dollars: That’s how much health care providers and consumers will be spending every year on artificial intelligence tools by 2021—a tenfold increase from today—according to a new report from research firm Frost & Sullivan. (Specifically, it will be a growth from $633.8 million in 2014 to $6,662.2 million in 2021.)

http://www.fastcompany.com/3055256/elasticity/paging-dr-robot-the-coming-ai-health-care-boom
Strategic Sourcing predictions for 2016

the doctor is already seeing a number of 2016 posts about how this is the year we replace “negotiate” with “collaborate” (which the thought leaders have been saying since strategic sourcing decision optimization started becoming common in the leading Sourcing organizations, also known as the Hackett Group top 8%), that analytics will take off (which is the same speech we heard 15 years ago when Business Objects and Cognos were the names in analytics), that the skills gap will finally be addressed (which reminds the doctor of conversations he was having nine years ago), and so on. It looks like the amount of future sh!t that is going to be dumped upon you this year is greater than the truckload Biff Tannen had dumped upon his head in the original Back to the Future movie, way back in 1985. (A reference that is very appropriate because every year at this time it seems we get taken back to the future.)

http://sourcinginnovation.com/wordpress/2016/01/04/sis-prediction-for-2016-it-will-only-get-hotter/
To connect to last week’s podcast, How Millennials Are Affecting the Supply Chain

Respondents said that the biggest impact millennials will have on the supply chain is in terms of how they change the way consumers buy. The move towards new marketplaces – online, mobile, via social media – will be one of the transformative ways supply chains will be affected.

http://mhlnews.com/labor-management/how-millennials-are-affecting-supply-chain
In 2016, Intel’s Entire Supply Chain Will Be Conflict-Free

Since Intel and other manufacturers began the program, the profits from mines have started flowing to miners themselves rather than to war. In the last study of three of the major materials—tungsten, tantalum, and tin—a nonprofit called the Enough Project found that the amount of money going to conflict had dropped 65%, and it continues to fall.

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3055066/change-generation/in-2016-intels-entire-supply-chain-will-be-conflict-free

Photo: Ricky Kharawala

December 30, 2015January 30, 2016

News You Can Use: 12/30/2015

Why you should prioritize a sustainable sourcing strategy in 2016

Making complex supply chains more understandable. This included providing better traceability, simplifying what is asked of suppliers by using agreed standards and generating better relations with producers.

Mitigating risk. Rigorous auditing, transparency of origin, and outsourcing assurance of responsible practices to local experts helped companies mitigate risks of sourcing from complex supply chains.

Ensuring sustainable supply for the whole industry. Several companies noted that by their investment in certification, they were strengthening the reputation and ensuring a sustainable future for the whole sector.

Meeting consumer expectations. By communicating compliance with sustainability standards, companies said they were increasing consumer awareness of sustainable sourcing and creating market differentiation for their products.

Reflecting a company’s values and heritage. As well as aligning companies’ goals with their values and maintaining trust, certification also provided a way to engage more deeply with employees.

http://www.procurementleaders.com/blog/my-blog–guest-blog/why-you-should-prioritise-a-sustainable-sourcing-strategy-in-2016-589190
Study finds companies are failing to modernize IT

If your IT team is already overloaded with work and doesn’t have enough employees to get the job done, you can’t expect them to squeeze successful modernization into their schedules. BPI Networks found that businesses report lacking in application development, software engineering and data analysis; all crucial elements of IT modernization. Not to mention that 82 percent of respondents said that they spend half their time managing emergencies and conducting maintenance, which leaves little time for innovation. Business leaders need to ensure that the right people are recruited and that the money exists for these new hires.

http://www.cio.com/article/3018436/it-industry/study-finds-companies-are-failing-to-modernize-it.html#tk.rss_all
AHOY! Whaling is the new Phishing

“Emails appearing to be sent from the CEO or CFO are used to trick finance staff into making illegitimate wire transfers to the attackers,” the company said in an advisory. “Whaling emails can be more difficult to detect because they don’t contain a hyperlink or malicious attachment, and rely solely on social-engineering to trick their targets.”

http://www.fastcompany.com/3054978/elasticity/ahoy-whaling-is-the-new-phishing-is-your-boss-really-your-boss
Decide Who You Are, or Have it Decided for You (Podcast)

Minshew understands how growth can change a company — and not always for the better. In this podcast, she explains how a communicating a carefully-crafted list of core values drives everything from hiring to promotions at the company. She says being realistic — and accountable — to your values can shape what ‘great’ means and keep initiative and experimentation alive. “You have to live your values,” says Minshew. “It’s about execution.”

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/254111

Photo: Brandon Redfern

December 23, 2015January 30, 2016

News You Can Use: 12/23/2015

What unscrupulous attorneys do to win and how to fight back

Selectively reading

This goes to contracts. Taking contract clauses out of context, reading them without punctuation, inserting lines that aren’t in the agreement, and making clauses up are all tactics I’ve seen used in negotiations. Make sure you read along with the attorney and before entering a negotiation you know every major clause nearly by heart. You need to have a good grasp of the case as well so you understand the core elements of the case otherwise you can get maneuvered into agreeing to items that seem minor, but turn out to be pivotal to your effort.

http://www.cio.com/article/3016783/legal/what-unscrupulous-attorneys-do-to-win-and-how-to-fight-back.html#tk.rss_all
Brevity Is the Secret to Pitches That Nail It Every Time

We start our pitches with a 30-second introduction that covers who we are and just a couple bullet points why we’re credible. Beyond that, the focus is on delivering a tight, concise presentation about our product. Investors’ eyes glaze over when teams talk too much about themselves. Get to the point quickly.

Use clean, well-designed slides, and always be prepared with more in-depth financial projections and analytics in case they ask.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/253879
There’s More Value in Your Attitude Than Your Bank Account

If you wake up every day intent on being happy and exuding happiness, success will follow. Strahan’s latest book is “Wake Up Happy: The Dream Big, Win Big Guide to Transforming Your Life”
MBA grad uses SCM knowledge to combat HIV in Cameroon

Muffih said his day-to-day duties in the capital city of Cameroon, Yaounde, include improving stock management systems, coordinating with other partners, and capacitating health workers to develop accurate forecasting and efficient supply chain systems for HIV commodities. He said he is still learning a lot on the job, but his experiences at SAU have helped him cope with the demands and responsibilities of his career.

https://web.saumag.edu/news/2015/12/16/mba-grad-uses-scm-knowledge-to-combat-hiv-in-cameroon/
Should You Work From Home?

The main question to ask yourself is why you want or need office space. How will you weight the pros versus the cons? Which things are more important to you? If there are cons that are important to you, are there ways to mitigate the negatives? For example, if working at home would make you feel isolated, could you deal with this by attending networking events and working at a local coffee shop at least some of the time?

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/253932
Societal Damnation 50: Talent Tightness

It’s not all about money, and that goes double for top talent, but that being said, money is a factor, and if your competition is offering 20%, 30%, and even 40% more, that’s a little hard to turn down. Especially if they are also offering flexible hours, training, course reimbursement for any course taken on the employee’s own time where the employee gets a minimum / passing grade, etc. So if your training budget is still 0, your corporate policy still mandates being in the office from 9 to 5 (even though your suppliers are in a time zone 9 hours shifted and this means everyone would be working 11 hours any day a supplier has to be consulted), and there are pay ceilings in effect from 5 years ago, the chances of getting anyone talented to join your Procurement department are slim to none, with an emphasis on none.

http://sourcinginnovation.com/wordpress/2015/12/15/societal-damnation-50-talent-tightness/
Top 5 reasons agile is a good idea

Perfection is not required to stay on track. As just mentioned, if something is overlooked, it isn’t the end of the world. I ran a $1.2 million software implementation project for a large government entity while at a professional services organization. The dev manager overlooked something very critical which resulted in a large amount of rework which used up all of the budget when we were only 60% through the engagement. It ultimately resulted in the cancellation of the entire engagement. What a waste. This is an extreme example and agile would not have saved that project, but in the agile world, if something is omitted from a sprint, it can go in the next functional rollout. No high costs, no big rework.

http://www.cio.com/article/3014972/project-management/top-5-reasons-agile-is-a-good-idea.html#tk.rss_all

Photo: Louis Magnotti

December 16, 2015January 30, 2016

News You Can Use: 12/16/2015

6 Ways to Salve Burnout Before It’s Career Terminal

Do more of what you enjoy.
Are you really spending your work time doing what you really enjoy? Or does that get pushed to the side while other, mundane, tasks take priority? Take an inventory of how you spend your day by keeping a journal. Divide a page into two columns, one for the things you don’t enjoy and one column for those you do. Each time you perform a task during the day, record it in one of the two columns along with how much time you spent doing it. Tally the number of tasks and hours spent at the end of the day, or week. If your “don’t like” column towers over the “like” this may be what’s causing your burnout.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/253618
Procurement Study Pays Attention to Younger Generation

“In our experience,” says Rudzki,, CPOs can dramatically improve their internal credibility with the executive staff by relating their proposed agenda (including the need to transform supply management) to the metrics that the senior staff and the Board of Directors already monitor.

“Rather than having Procurement introduce a new metric for itself (which may come across as self-serving), we have generally found it to be more productive — and quicker at achieving credibility — to relate the proposed CPO agenda directly to the particular metrics currently in use by the company’s senior management,” he says.

http://www.scmr.com/article/procurement_study_pays_attention_to_younger_generation
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR YEAR-END PERFORMANCE REVIEW

Remember, the reason you’re having a review in the first place is to give you feedback that will hopefully help you improve at your job. Avoid going on the defensive or blaming others for your performance failures. In fact, don’t discuss your teammates at all and focus solely on your own performance.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3054456/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-year-end-performance-review
Why There Will Always Be Human Sourcers

Will we, sourcers, become obsolete? I am not sure about that…..As a global sourcer, I pride myself in my creativity. Sometimes I use a gutsy approach and I approach candidates that would not be the first choice for this role – They could be either too senior, he may have just started a new role, he may be of another industry – Hell – when I start being creative? I have no idea on how to anticipate where my search is going to take me… In the mid of one search, I open another window (One? 20!) and perform another search there with another idea that came up to me on a spur of a moment.

http://www.eremedia.com/sourcecon/why-there-will-always-be-human-sourcers/
Your Best Employee Is Your Weakest Link

When I ask business owners and managers to identify their weakest link most of them will start a mental inventory of their team’s attitude and skills. But in almost every case the weakest link isn’t the slacker, or the prima donna or the dim bulb who is costing the business the most. Even without a tragic wake-up call, the weakest link is nearly always the person who knows how to do things no one else in the business can do. If that link breaks, even for a sick day or short vacation, it costs your business in small, but cumulative ways that you might not even notice. If they are able, or unwilling, to return to work those costs will accumulate fast.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/253827
Why I Give Everyone Hugs — Even Clients
[This one is for you Tracy]

As for work, as odd as this may sound, a hug de-personalizes work situations in a flash. I guess nothing can be more personal than body contact, but for me a hug says, “This isn’t about you or me individually; it’s about us as a team.”

After a discussion in which you’ve been given feedback, especially tough feedback, a hug says that those comments weren’t personal. It says that those comments are just business and that it’s my job to give you that feedback.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/253619

Photo: Patrick Fore