Strategic Supply Chain Management

Quality inspections are important when a manufacturing company creates finished goods. Issues in production need to be addressed early in the process in order to correct problems. This article examines the use of quality inspections along the supply chain.

Is It Time For The Chief Supply Chain Officer?
Companies today have CEO's and CIO's, some even have Chief Technology Officers, so is it time that businesses look to the future and appoint a Chief Supply Chain Officer?

Agile Project Management
Agile project management is based on a set of ideals that have been adopted to overcome some of the shortfalls of traditional project management methodology. The ideas behind Agile have been developed over many years based on academic studies and real world experiences. This article looks at the methodology of Agile and how successful projects can benefit.

Ethics In Purchasing
Every day the media has reports of cases of unethical business practices that involves the purchasing of materials or services in almost every country in the world. Although we like to think that the people who determine contracts and purchasing agreements are fair and ethical, there are some that will accept coercion that may affect the award...

Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)
Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) is released on the first business day of each month and is a key near-term indicator used by financial analysts and economists. Economists believe that the PMI is the single best snapshot of the condition of the factory sector and helps predict industrial production. this article looks at the PMI and how it is...

Project Methodology
Project management methodology is important when a company initiates a number of projects across their enterprise. By either developing an in-house company methodology or adopting a standard methodology, each project should operate along a given set of principles that can be transposed from project to project. This article looks at what should be included in a project methodology.

Prince2 Project Methodology
In the United Kingdom the Office of Government Commerce has specified a project management methodology to be used for projects that involve the agencies of the British government. The methodology is called “Projects in Controlled Environments”, or more commonly known as PRINCE. The methodology was updated to PRINCE2 in 1996, and in 2009 a new version was released of PRINCE2. This article looks at the new aspects of the latest version of PRINCE2.

Master Scheduling
Master scheduling is the detailed planning process that tracks manufacturing output and matches this against customer orders that have been placed. The master schedule is the next step in planning after the sales and operations planning (S&OP). This article will examine the master scheduling process.

Project Management
A company will have any number of projects in progress at one time. These may be as complex as installing a new enterprise wide computer system, creating a new warehouse, or as simple as purchasing a new commercial vehicle. Project management incorporates all of the interactions and interrelationships that need to occur to make the project successful. This article examines the basics of project management.

Implementing a World Class Purchasing Organization
Implementing a world class purchasing strategy will allow your company to stablize or even increase profits at a time when your costs are rising. This step by step guide will show you the key points to helping you company implement the key elements for a world class purchasing strategy.

Scrum Methodology
The Scrum project management methodology was developed in the 1990’s alongside the Agile methodology, as a method to allow teams to work together to get products developed. It offers only a small number of rules within the framework but allows complex projects to be completed in a short timeframe. This article looks at some of the highlights of the Scrum methodology.

PRiSM Project Methodology
Projects integrating Sustainable Methods or PRiSM, is a project management methodology that was developed for projects with an emphasis on decreasing a company's negative environmental impact. PRiSM is the project management methodology that has a focus on environmental issues, and is fully integrated with ISO 14001.

Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS)
Companies require that quality is part of every link in the supply chain, whether it is raw material at a vendor’s facility or finished goods delivered to a customer. To ensure that the quality personnel are able to achieve the optimum results, a Laboratory Information Management System is vital to that success. This article describes the key...

Five Core Disciplines of Strategic Supply Chain Management
Strategic supply chain management has become a core management discipline. This article reviews the five core disciplines of strategic supply chain management.

Strategic Logistics Planning
Strategic decisions are often made about the logistics of obtaining raw materials, but strategic planning of spare parts for maintenance is rarely examined. This article discusses the differences in the strategic planning of spare parts and how it can be achieved.

Strategic Logistics Location - Singapore
Companies are constantly looking for locations that are strategic to their business and supply chain. Singapore ranks first in the world in cargo volume, its airport is the eighth-busiest in terms of cargo, and the country ranked sixth in the World Economic Forum's 2005 Growth Competitiveness Index. This article discusses some of the recent moves that US companies have made to this Asian state.

Good Laboratory Practice (GLP)
The good laboratory practice (GLP) regulations can be applied to laboratories in a number of industries, such as pharmaceuticals and food manufacturing. The GLP regulations offer common sense and standardization of documentation to laboratories and laboratory procedures, and have been adopted in the US, EC and OCED nations. This article examines...

Freight And The Railroads
Although road transportation of goods is the primary vehicle in the supply chain in the US, the freight train is still a very important aspect of the transportation network. In the UK the first steam railways came into being not for the movement of passengers but the movement of coal from the mines. This article examines the development of...