Supply Chain

From Physical Flows to Information Flows: An Evolving Concept of Supply Chain Management

Monday, February 1, 2016 · Tony Cragg and Tom McNamara Companies such as Wal-Mart, Nike and Dell led the way in using technology to optimize the integration of materials movement between firms. Flows of information served to improve physical flows.

SCMR Columnist Co-Authors New Book on Supply Chain Disputes

Monday, January 25, 2016 · Patrick Burnson The first book of its kind, Legal Blacksmith explains how to optimize supply chain relationships, starting with the first stages of supplier-buyer relationships through handling legal disputes when supply chain relationships fail.

Supply Chain Managers Want Ports to Get Their Acts Together

Friday, January 22, 2016 · Patrick Burnson Following up on last fall's successful campaign to include a port performance statistics program in the federal long-term surface transportation bill, the National Retail Federations is leading a coalition of more than 100 groups in sending specific recommendations to the…

China’s Weakening Economy May Disrupt Global Supply Chains

Tuesday, January 19, 2016 · Patrick Burnson IHS Global Insight expects growth in China to slow to 6.3% in 2016, fueled by modestly lower industrial growth and a larger deceleration in services.

Sustainable Procurement: What Procurement Officers Can Learn from 3 Case Studies

Friday, January 15, 2016 · Ryan Belcher On the heels of the historic climate agreement signed in Paris by nearly 200 nations in December, climate change has been increasingly on the minds of procurement executives of Fortune 1000 companies.

Clicks Will Outpace Bricks in 2016

Friday, January 8, 2016 · Patrick Burnson E-commerce retail sales are expected to continue to grow at double-digit growth rates during 2016-2022, say economists for IHS Global Insight.

The Benefits and Drawbacks of Outsourced Warehousing

Friday, January 1, 2016 · Becky Partida Hiring a vendor to manage warehouses and distribution centers is no guarantee of superior performance, but it does offer flexibility.

Be Generous to Those at Sea in 2016

Thursday, December 24, 2015 · Patrick Burnson Ocean cargo shipping is the backbone of the global supply chain, yet few of us give much thought to the hardship and sacrifice seafarers must endure most of the year.

The Business Units Want a True Partner–Can Your Supply Chain Step Up?

Wednesday, December 23, 2015 · Greg Gerstenhaber and Peter Guarraia When financial performance tumbled well below the expectations of shareholders at a US-based manufacturer of industrial parts, the new head of supply chain saw ways to make the supply chain part of the solution.

New Era of Mega Vessel Calls Will Begin on U.S. West Coast

Wednesday, December 16, 2015 · Patrick Burnson Even an expanded Panama Canal cannot accommodate the massive new ships.

Global Migration Can Make a Positive Impact on Supply Chains

Tuesday, December 15, 2015 · Patrick Burnson The integration of immigrants in the States – especially when it comes to education, occupational training, and English language ability – remains critical.

Study Finds That Top Procurement Organizations Continue to Deliver Financial Benefits

Wednesday, December 9, 2015 · Patrick Burnson The second annual ROSMA Performance Check Study is once again a collaboration between A.T. Kearney, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), and the Charted Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS).

New Report on Slavery in the Supply Chain Focuses on California

Tuesday, December 8, 2015 · Patrick Burnson The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 may cause problems for some managers, a recent report suggests.

China’s Economic Outlook Puts Dent in Confidence Index

Monday, December 7, 2015 · Patrick Burnson For the last five months, supply chain managers indicated that they were losing faith in sustaining long-term distribution plans. Indeed, according to the Stifel Logistics Confidence Index, the decline in scores fell to its lowest ebb in the past three years.

Weighing the Risk in the Asia Pacific

Monday, December 7, 2015 · Patrick Burnson U.S. multinationals engaged in Pacific Rim commerce appear to have a high threshold for risk, notes recent research done by Resilinc.