All Features
MIT News
In March 2011, Leonardo Bonanni was preparing to defend his Ph.D. thesis about Sourcemap, software that lets consumers map every connection of a product supply chain on a digital map, when tragedy struck in Japan. Although the deadly earthquake and tsunami occurred half a world away, the events…
Thomas R. Cutler
It’s no surprise that multinational companies have complex global supply chains. What’s less obvious is how to simplify supply-chain processes and arrive at a lean, consistent, reliable, and cost-effective solution. One global leader, ITT Corp., has taken on this challenge with the help of Ultriva…
Manufacturing Extension Partnership MEP
Whether it’s for performance management or for risk, it’s important to know who your suppliers are and have a close business relationship with them.
It’s a given you should already have a strong relationship with your key suppliers, but how often does your supplier request the following items? •…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is working with drugmakers in a new way to help the industry adopt scientifically sound, novel technologies to produce quality medicines that are consistently safe and effective—with an eye toward avoiding drug shortages.
When manufacturing problems…
Dawn Bailey
I heard the example that best helped me understand work systems and supply chains at a Baldrige training event right after the very sad 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. A colleague was talking about automakers in the United States and elsewhere whose suppliers were located in the devastated…
Sonal Sinha
In a recent poll, employees (22.9%) were identified as the top source of supply chain fraud risk, followed by vendors (17.4%) and other third parties (20.1%), including subcontractors and their vendors. In calling new attention to the old cliché of “an inside job,” the statistics may prove to be…
Lou Washington
I came across a couple of interesting articles related to the Airbus plant that recently opened in Mobile, Alabama. The first, by Justin Fox, is found in BloombergView, and the second was written by Jon Talton from The Seattle Times. Both pieces sought to explain why Airbus would build an assembly…
John Niggl
On the morning of Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015, I woke to find dozens of posts from netizens clamoring about events that had occurred late the night before. There had been two massive explosions reported from a warehouse in Tianjin, a prominent port city in northern China.
Shockwaves were felt several…
Sonal Sinha
Competitive pressures affecting bottom-line profit margins have risen dramatically in today’s global economy. As a result, an increasing number of U.S. companies have turned to outsourcing of goods and services to reduce manufacturing and operational costs.
Although international supply chain…
Ryan E. Day
True, “Marco Polo” is a great tag game played in a swimming pool, but Marco Polo the man is probably better known in connection with the trans-Asiatic trade route known as the Silk Road. That, however, was the old Silk Road. Yes, there is a new Silk Road, and no, it shouldn’t be confused with the…
Benjamin Mack
Suppliers play a major role in bringing products to market. This means that the product received from suppliers must be safe and of the highest possible quality, which is a must because stakeholders not only rely on their suppliers to help bring products to market—they also rely on them to help…
Ron Brown
Consumer packaged goods companies have a number of challenges to face in the global marketplace, including managing higher costs of raw materials and labor, complying with global regulatory requirements, and capturing market share through mergers and acquisitions. They also need to determine how…
Joe Humm
Many hands and companies touch the materials required to get a finished product to market. With the growth of supplier networks and contract suppliers, much of the quality process is out of the manufacturer’s control. If materials shipped from any vendor aren’t up to spec and a faulty product…
Rich Thomas
Manufacturers may be able to produce their products more cheaply overseas, but that option has its pitfalls, including supply-chain logistics and security issues. When deciding how and where to manufacture your product, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons carefully. Particularly for small…
Jordan Katz
For suppliers, one question comes up again and again in their distributor relationships: Should you treat your distributors like employees, or should you treat them more like customers? The answer isn’t always clear.
Distributors seem like employees because they sell and deliver a supplier’s…
Steve Banker
What resolutions are you making in the New Year to improve your supply chain? Here are a few of mine.
To remember that supply chains should be built backward from the customer
One way to do this is to use a perfect order metric as a key way of measuring the supply chain organization. The question…
Calin Moldovean
T
he modern supply chain is becoming more complex, and many different levels of skill and oversight are found among suppliers and purchasing companies. Some suppliers do an excellent job of implementing lessons learned and maintaining a high level of quality, production, and safety. Other…
Danei Edelen
Manufacturers today report that their biggest challenge is satisfying customers who demand more detailed product information. For larger companies with many suppliers and remote locations, this is an important issue.
To maintain profitability, manufacturers rely on production automation, and in …
Andrew Savini
Global supply chains are growing significantly larger and more complex for many companies across the globe. At the same time, the regulatory environment is quickly evolving, requiring these companies to have more visibility into the behaviors and practices of their suppliers. As a result, elements…
Sonal Sinha
Regulations such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the UK Bribery Act, and the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (specifically Section 1502 on conflict minerals) have compelled companies to extend their compliance and monitoring efforts beyond the four walls of…
Sonal Sinha
Traditionally, brick and mortar stores have been the primary, and often only, way for companies to sell their products. But with the advent of e-commerce, mobile commerce, and social media, companies have the power to reach consumers through multiple sales channels, across geographical markets,…
Mohan Ponnudurai
Analytics, business intelligence, and key performance indicators (KPIs) are common phrases we hear just about everywhere in the workplace. The top focus for chief information officers has been on business intelligence and analytics and will likely continue through 2017 according to Gartner Inc.…
Mike Richman
It’s been said that supply chain risk today is riskier than ever before. Why? Well, there are several reasons.
Supply chains are lengthier. Almost everyone manufacturing anything today must deal with a wild proliferation of suppliers, many of which reside in nations scattered across the globe. Of…
Dennis Monroe
There is an ever-growing need to transform supply chain management. More companies are feeling the pressure to produce high-quality products at low costs. To produce these products efficiently and effectively, companies must clearly express their needs to their suppliers; they must work to improve…
Ryan E. Day
When discussing supply-chain security, what could be more important than the security of our food supply? In view of the fact that we die if we don't eat, I'd say food supply-chain security ranks very high indeed. Unfortunately, the food supply system that has developed across much of the world…
