| Supply Chain Directions
Winter 2009 |
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| Welcome |
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We hope you enjoy the Winter issue of Supply Chain Directions, our quarterly e-newsletter linking you to a short list of leading, timely, and relevant white papers and articles in the areas of Supply Chain Design, Transportation Planning, Inventory Planning, Supply Chain Segmentation, Global Supply Chain Management, and Sustainability. |
| Featured Article |
Industry Week, January 26, 2009
By Jeff Metersky, Vice President of Strategy at Chainalytics and Omer Bakkalbasi, Principal, Inventory Planning at Chainalytics
In recessionary times, more so than any other economic cycle, cash is king. In 2009, the battle-scarred economy will filter through to corporate bottom lines -- limiting firms' ability to raise capital through debt and equity markets. With traditional sources inaccessible, companies must rely on the supply chain to generate cash for the business. Simply put, to reduce debt, free up cash and improve corporate debt ratios, firms must reduce inventory and trim receivables. Here's the plan for how to do just that. |
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| Supply Chain Design find out more |
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Supply Chain network analysis and supply chain risk management both continue to be hot areas of the supply chain - perhaps even more urgently now with accelerating economic and supply chain dynamics.
CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly, Quarter 4 2008 issue
By James A. Cook, Editor
The global economic downturn is providing a temporary reprieve from high energy prices and an opportunity to plan for the future. |
| Transportation find out more |
Ocean Shipping Strategies: Lower rates in 2009? Don't count on it
Logistics Management, 11/1/2008
By Patrick Burnson, Executive Editor
Anemic demand and overcapacity may suggest otherwise, but shippers will have to make concessions or risk losing carrier partnerships.
Supply Chain Management Review, 1/1/2009
As I write this column, starting my third year writing "Insights," I feel compelled to provide an update to my first two columns that dealt with high oil prices and their implications for supply chain practices. |
| Inventory find out more |
Consumer Products Companies Flunk the Working Capital Test
Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies, December 17, 2008
By Lora Cecere & C.J. Wehlage of AMR Research
The 2007 working capital results are in. Once again, consumer products
(CP) companies have flunked. This is the fourth consecutive year that the industry has underperformed against other industry sub-segments.
By Jessica Davies
Ever-changing patterns in customer demand, globalisation, multi-channel distribution, outsourced manufacturing, and increased competition all add to the complexity of supply chains. |
| Supply Chain Segmentation find out more |
The Operational Performance Triangles
Supply Chain Management Review, 11/1/2008
By Larry LapideIn the April 2006 issue of SCMR I published an article titled "The Essence of Excellence." While the article's premise was simple-that excellence just involved aligning supply chain operations to corporate competitive strategy-the article appears to have generated a lot of interest. Diagnosing Complexity
Inbound Logistics, October 2008
By Robert A. Malone, Contributing EditorComplexity can be a concern wherever it arises. More often than not, it is perceived as a burden rather than a virtue. Simplicity, on the other hand, has shown great value in science and engineering. Yet even in these areas, complexity still persists. |
| Global Supply Chains find out more |
Supply & Demand Chain Executive, December 08/January 09 issue
By Steven H. Ganster
Key attributes to ensure a high degree of readiness for doing business well with China. For a successful supply chain in which China is a main source of your raw materials or destination for finished goods, you need to operate in a high state of readiness. The combination of stark differences in business systems with the West, long travel distances, and constant and sometimes turbulent change make it imperative that you have a "China-ready supply chain.
CFO Magazine, November 1, 2008
By Don Durfee
To thrive in Asia, headquarters needs to understand the financial conditions on the ground. The shining glass building that houses the offices of ICI India would blend in perfectly in a U.S. suburban office park. But it's located in Gurgaon, India, a so-called special economic zone more than an hour's drive from Delhi. |
| Sustainability |
The Christian Science Monitor, November 10, 2008By Eric Marx
British retailer displays 'carbon footprint' label on everyday items. US retailers are hesitant to follow. In Britain, carbon footprinting - used initially to broadly measure environmental impact across a company's entire operations - is morphing into an eco-labeling tool.
Florida Shipper, January 5, 2009
By William Hoffman
Wal-Mart keeps green initiatives under way, seeks to eliminate product returns by 2012.
Wal-Mart is sustaining its sometimes-costly pursuit of sustainability despite slower than expected sales and the threat of a prolonged recession. That's because, sooner or later, all of Wal-Mart's initiatives are "green" for the sake of green. |
| About Chainalytics |
Chainalytics is a professional services firm that enhances competitive advantage and shareholder value through optimized supply chain strategies. Chainalytics' "fact-based decision making" approach improves and innovates our clients' strategies and tactics with particular emphasis on supply chain design, transportation strategies, inventory strategies, and product/customer portfolio planning. Offered as both project-based and ongoing managed services, this approach is achieved via a unique combination of domain expertise, resilient methodologies, and exclusive research and content - all supported by the world's most advanced decision sciences tools and techniques. Chainalytics targets enterprises with a high degree of complexity created by their unique combinations of scale, change, etc. With offices in North America and Asia, Chainalytics serves companies globally in a borderless fashion.
www.chainalytics.com |
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