Tag: Apple

Posted on

News You Can Use: 8/19/2015

sn_web_GentaMochizawa

  • Defusing The Internet Of Things Time Bomb

    Perhaps the most concerning issue is the ticking time bomb of sustainability, or ensuring IoT devices remain secure long-term, throughout their entire life cycle. New paradigms are present here — who would have previously considered software upgrades for garage door openers or washing machines that might impact security or privacy?

    http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/10/defusing-the-internet-of-things-time-bomb/?ncid=rss

  • Three Ways Procurement Can Gain Millennial Appeal

    Millennials make data-based decisions every day, whether it’s using Yelp reviews to pick a restaurant or Mint to balance their personal finances. Luckily for procurement departments, Millennials expect to bring the same data-driven decision-making processes and skills into the workplace. Regretfully, though, few organizations have the right tools in place that make this a possibility. Many procurement departments still rely on siloed solutions, giving employees limited access to company data and making it nearly impossible to make accurate, data-based decisions. Without having a fully integrated solution in place that collects, stores and analyzes data from across the organization, employees aren’t able to make more informed, strategic decisions—another millennial repellent.

    http://www.sdcexec.com/article/12101749/three-ways-procurement-can-gain-millennial-appeal

  • 5 takeaways for companies overseeing interns

    At many workplaces, your manager is your mentor. And, sometimes your manager is open, communicative, and engaged. However, on those rare occasions an intern ends up with a manager like Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada (someone who ends conversations with the neck-tingling “That’s all”), it’s nice to have options.

    https://opensource.com/business/15/8/five-internship-lessons-for-managers

  • Apple’s diversity numbers
    sn_applediversity_2015
    http://www.fastcompany.com/3049862/fast-feed/apple-finally-releases-diversity-numbers-shows-incremental-improvement
  • How to Retain Millennial Employees Through Workplace Equity

    According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median tenure of workers ages 25 to 34 is only three years. The cost of this turnover averages between $15,000-$25,000 per employee. Do the math.

    http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249548

  • Three signs you are better off abandoning your idea

    Unfortunately, you may not be the first and only person to come up with your particular idea. The last thing any entrepreneur wants to hear from an investor is that their groundbreaking work is an “uncommonly popular idea” but it happens. When it does, differentiate yourself in a crowded marketplace or accept failure and use it as an opportunity to regroup and pivot to a better idea.

    http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249468

Photo: Genta Mochizawa, Unsplash

Posted on

The Supply Chain: 5/12/2015

sn_SupplyChainManagement_o2

Note: These last two articles about “supply chain management is good” is the reason why this report isn’t published every week.  Good, interesting content, is limited.  The same basic ideas and statements are repeated each week.  When I see something good or a great example, there will be a post.  

Posted on

The Supply Chain: 3/11/2015

 

sn_SupplyChainManagement_o2

  • Here is apple’s entire supplier responsibility standards document.  It clearly addresses all of the Chinese factory supply chain issues they have faced over the last 6 years.  Interesting read:
    https://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/pdfs/supplier_responsibility_standards.pdf
  • When hospitals manage their supply chain:

    One of the biggest factors in successfully cutting supply chain costs is having real-time, actionable data. It’s not enough to have data, you have to manage the data in a way that makes it useful to empower better decision-making. While this is easier said than done, the increased availability of data standards and new technologies to help you manage data will make it possible.

    The important data points you need to extract from your ERP system and contract repository include: vendor master, contract master, purchase order headers, item master, invoice payment lines, spend classification, contract items, purchase order lines and invoice/payment header. Additionally, your purchase order spend must be identified and rationalized.

    http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/blog/supply-chain-expertise-enters-hospital-c-suite

  • 6 Supply Chain Challenges:

    Everyone is talking about ‘big data’ and its impact on the supply chain but be aware: it won’t solve all your problems! It is easy to be swept along by the promise that big data is going to answer all of your questions about supply chain performance (and even those you didn’t think you needed to ask) but the reality is that big data, to a degree, is a misnomer. The challenge isn’t managing the data, the challenge lies in realising the insight that the data offers. With the right tools in place organisations can gain visibility into the supply chains to identify areas of concern as well as areas of potential growth in order to make them more streamline

    http://www.supplychaindigital.com/procurement/3863/Six-challenges-that-could-break-the-supply-chain 

  • Infographic: Supply Chain Risks
    http://www.kinaxis.com/Global/resources/papers/supply-chain-risks-infographic-kinaxis.pdf
Posted on

The Supply Chain: 2/18/2015

sn_SupplyChainManagement_o2

  • What happens if US Ports keep closing?

    Kelly Kolb, Vice President of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, said: “A shutdown would not only impact the hundreds of thousands of jobs working directly in America’s transportation supply chain, but the reality is the entire economy would be impacted as exports sit on docks and imports sit in the harbour waiting for manufacturers to build products and retailers to stock shelves.

    http://www.supplychaindigital.com/supplychainmanagement/3831/What-happens-if-the-US-ports-keep-closing

  • Lessons from Apple

    Any violations found during the audit, which for Apple might include underage workers being used, document falsification, intimidation of or retaliation against workers participating in audits and significant environmental concerns, are raised with senior managers both at Apple and the supplier itself. That supplier is then placed on probation until they successfully pass another audit. During probation that supplier is monitored closely and if no commitment has been shown to then the relationship is ended.

    http://www.procurementleaders.com/blog/my-blog–tim-burt/2015/02/12/supplier-audits-lessons-from-apple

  • How to be a great procurement boss…

    Great bosses understand their organisation’s business objectives and ensure their own team’s targets align with them. Any good CPO will understand what is expected of their team, but the challenge lies in translating the big picture to each individual. Explain the link to them. Work with your staff to help them understand how the different dimensions of their role delivers value. Start by touching on efficiency, productivity, innovation, customer service and other non-cost related drivers which are critical success factors and they’ll start to see the connection more clearly.

    http://www.supplymanagement.com/blog/2015/02/five-top-tips-how-to-be-a-great-procurement-boss

  • Call the lawyers: Here are the real reasons why contract award protests are on the rise

    Don’t get me wrong, that is one reason why the numbers are increasing — by 5 percent in 2014, as I reported in November. But a panel of procurement experts pointed to a couple other reasons: more missteps by a more inexperienced government acquisition workforce, and the disintegration of the “protest stigma” that once existed in the industry.

    http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/fedbiz_daily/2015/02/call-the-lawyers-hereare-the-real-reasons-why.html