Two of the largest and most successful companies in the world achieved and maintain their success by mastering the supply chain. Wal-Mart took logistics to new heights, bringing big city, low prices and convenience to rural areas. Apple dominates its chosen markets through innovation but also benefits greatly from a single-minded focus on operational excellence.
Posted in Customer Service, Inventory, Logistics, Manufacturing, Marketing, Operations Management, Planning, Supply Chain | Tagged APICS, APICS Granite State, Apple, capacity, Certified Supply Chain Professional, competition, CSCP, demand, distribution, lifecycle, logistics, Manufacturing, marketing, operational excellence, operations management, planning, supply chain, supply chain management, Wal-Mar | December 2011.
Advice and Assistance for Manufacturers.
December is often a rather strange month in the life of the manufacturing plant. There may be some seasonal demand effects to deal with (lower actual demand and lower production objectives in many cases) and there are often schedule reductions to be accommodated due to holiday shut-downs and the policy in many companies of encouraging employees to use vacation time before the end of the year.
Posted in Customer Service, Inventory, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Planning | Tagged Bullwhip Effect, capacity, customer service, expediting, inventory, Lead Time Syndrome, Manufacturing, operations, planning, production, S&OP, sales and operations plan, scheduling, seasonal demand, WIP | November 2011.
Advice and Assistance for Manufacturers.
Goodwill is a valuable and amazingly fragile commodity, as dramatically demonstrated recently by Netflix and Bank of America. Both companies made changes that enraged customers and caused many of them to take their business elsewhere.
Posted in Customer Service, Inventory, Logistics, Manufacturing, Marketing, Operations Management | Tagged collaborate, cost control, customer demand, customer relations, demand, distribution, inventory, lean initiative, Lean Manufacturing, logistics, Manufacturing, market strategy, marketing, on-time shipment, operations, public relations | As the United States struggles to climb out of the recession, the manufacturing sector has been particularly strong, leading the way with increased output and solid sales and profits.
Five week APICS CSCP study program: January 28 – February 25, 2012.
With the APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) program, you can take your career and organization in a new and exciting direction.
Posted in Best Practices, Customer Service, Education, Inventory, Logistics, Management, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Planning, Process Improvement, Quality, Risk, Supply Chain, Sustainability | Tagged APICS, best practice, certification, Certified Supply Chain Professional, compliance, continuous improvement, course, CRM, CSCP, CSCP Exam Content Manual, demand forecasting, ECM, education, exam preparation, free trade zones, fulfillment, Global Supply Chain, globalization, implementation, inventory, inventory planning and control, logistics, management, marketplace, operations, performance improvement, planning, point-of-sale, professional development, risk, SRM, supply chain, supply chain management, sustainability, trading blocs | October 2011.
Advice and Assistance for Manufacturers.
A surprising variety of products have caught the focus of consumer groups and regulatory agencies and been faced with the need for a product recall.
Posted in Best Practices, Inventory, Management, Manufacturing, Process Improvement, Quality, Risk, Supply Chain | Tagged batch, Coast Guard, Consumer Product Safety Commission, controls, cost, EPA, FDA, food safety, Food Safety Modernization Act, inventory, lot, NHTSA, procedures, process control, product recall, production, recall, recovery, regulatory agencies, risk quality, supply chain, traceability, USDA | Don’t Fly Blind.
Although many company leaders have contingency plans for their information technology infrastructure, few professionals give the same consideration to safeguarding their supply chains.
Posted in Best Practices, Customer Service, Inventory, Logistics, Management, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Planning, Risk, Supply Chain | Tagged APICS, Certified Supply Chain Professional, contingency plan, contingency planning, CSCP, demand, inventory, inventory buffers, opera¬tions management, production, program, risk, supply chain, trans¬portation, warehouse | September 2011.
Advice and Assistance for Manufacturers.
Football season is here and once again I am reminded of one of the most overused but still valid sports
metaphors around . . .
Posted in Customer Service, ERP/MRP, Inventory, Lean, Manufacturing, Process Improvement, Supply Chain | Tagged buffers, competition, customer demands, customer service, ERP, finished goods, inventory, inventory control, Lean, Lean Supply Chain, make-to-order, Manufacturing, MRP, MRP/ERP, production, raw materials, ship-from-stock, supply chain management | One of the principles of lean operations is to keep the work area clean and organized — and it’s not just for aesthetics.
Posted in Best Practices, Inventory, Lean, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Process Improvement | Tagged 5S, continuous improvement, customer, efficiency, empowered team, Kaizen, Lean, lean operations, production line, Productivity, sales, Seiketsu, Seiri, Seiso, Seiton, self-discipline, setting in order, shining, Shitsuki, Sorting, Standardizing, Straightening, Sustaining, Sweeping, warehouse, workers, workspace | August 2011.
Advice and Assistance for Manufacturers.
In the 20+ years since, Lean has continued to be a focus of manufacturers striving to improve throughput, reduce costs and increase agility. Why is it that Lean still resonates while other initiatives tend to come and go on a regular basis?
Posted in Best Practices, Lean, Management, Manufacturing, Marketing, Operations Management, Process Improvement | Tagged agility, cost reduction, empowered teams, engineering, improvement, Kaizen, Lean, Lean Manufacturing, management, Manufacturing, marketing, operations management, process improvement, production, production worker, response, throughput, Toyota, webinars, white paper | 