Debunking Common Myths about Chief Supply Chain Officers
Navigating Complex Global Networks Outside Your Organization’s Walls What does a chief supply chain officer do? Seems simple enough, right? Your chief supply chain officer should take charge of your organization’s supply chain. That is … so wrong and limiting....
My Journey with ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot
The Strengths and Limitations of 2 AI Tools that Enhance Productivity and Creativity I have been an enthusiastic booster of artificial intelligence for years, and an avid user of ChatGPT since it became publicly available. ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, which...
Innovation Trifecta Can Deliver Supply Chain Resiliency
Harnessing the Power of Visibility, Insightfulness and Actionability For decades, global supply chains have battled to develop the optionality necessary for supply chain resilience. Predictive analytics sometimes fail to predict too well. Natural disasters create...
Family-Friendly, Flexibility Redefine the Future of Work
Red Rooster Coffee, Bayer Prioritize Childcare, Cut Bureaucracy At long last, some companies are realizing that insightful leaders need to adopt a comprehensive reinvention of work for the future. For quite some time, I have been emphasizing two key changes. First,...
Supply Chain Consulting – When Discovery Misses the Mark
Your Client’s Level of Expertise Will Guide Your Solutions Supply chain consulting projects often tank during the initial discovery phase. Consultants assume their client knows about logistics, operations and supply chain dynamics. Not true. I’m an expert in supply...
Embracing Labor on Demand in Today’s VUCA World
Scaling Your Workforce, Decoupling Constraints Can Slice Manufacturing, Distribution Costs I’ve written many times about how VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) characterize today’s business environment. Disruption truly is the new normal, and...
Quod Erat Demonstrandum: Q.E.D. (Thus, It Is Proved)
The Myth of the ‘Post-COVID Normal’ in Supply Chain One of my Purdue engineering professors used to write “quod erat demonstrandum: Q.E.D.” on the blackboard after proving a particular equation or theorem. The Latin translates as “what was to be shown,”...
Demographic Changes Will Force Supply Chain Changes
‘The Future Is Gray; It Is Delayed, Small and Female’ I’ve been talking about how disruption is the new normal for some time. Technological innovations, geopolitical crises and financial woes are forcing business and supply chain leaders to prepare for the future in...
How Regionalization Can Be as Profitable as Globalization
Global GDP, Population Make Economies of Scale Possible in Smaller Geographic Footprints Do you really need to tap global markets to achieve economies of scale? And will the future world economy even allow for such? After all, former CIA Director and U.S. Secretary of...
Sourcing and Procurement in the Face of Perpetual Disruption
Top 10 Tips for Synchronization and Supply Chain Resiliency Supply chain sourcing and procurement have been integral to supply chains since Greeks, Romans, Chinese and Mesopotamians establishing trading networks in ancient days. Railroads, the industrial revolution,...