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.

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?

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...

In any modern manufacturing facility the equipment used requires a level of maintenance to ensure that the manufacturing process is not disrupted and the production plan can be achieved. World class organizations spend time and resources on maintaining their equipment using a preventative maintenance plan. This article looks at the processes included in Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).

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...

Companies that have implemented Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), often do this as a part of an implementation of other manufacturing improvement procedures such as Six Sigma. When businesses want to evaluate the relative success of their TPM procedures they often use a set of measurements. This article examines the series of metrics that are part of the Overall Equipment Effectiveness.

Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) is the latest development in lean manufacturing where companies have progressed from the just-in-time (JIT) methodologies of the 1970’s. The QRM process looks at how lead times across the company can be reduced to increase productivity. This article examines some of the fundamentals of quick response manufacturing.

Capacity is often defined as the capability of an object, whether that is a machine, work center or operator, to produce output for a specific time period, which can be an hour, a day, etc. Many companies ignore the measurement of capacity, assuming that their facility has enough capacity, but that is often not the case. This article looks at the different methids of measuring capacity.

Safety stock is required by businesses to ensure that they have sufficient quantities of material in stock. The safety stock provides coverage for unexpected customer demand, damage in the warehouse or quality issues found in production. However, there are situations where firms do not require inventory to be in stock. This article looks at the methods that can be used to calculate safety stock

Measuring purchasing performance is important as the purchasing department plays an ever increasingly important role in the supply chain in an economic downturn. A reduction in the cost of raw material and services can allow companies to competitively market the price of their finished goods in order to win business. This article examines how companies are measuring purchasing performance.

In the supply chain, forecasting is necessary for manufacturers. Companies use material forecasting to ensure that they produce the level of material that satisfies their customers without producing an overcapacity situation where too much inventory is produced and remains on the shelf. This article examines the use of forecasts in the supply chain with statistical and non-statistical methods.

Third party logistics (3PL) companies are a becoming an important part of today’s supply chain. These companies offer services that can allow businesses to outsource part of all of their supply chain management function. This article examines the rise of the 3PL providers and the mechanism that should be used in the selection of a third party logistics provider.

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.

The strategic supply chain processes that management has to decide upon will cover the breadth of the supply chain. These include product development, customers, manufacturing, suppliers and logistics.

Strategic supply chain management has become a core management discipline. This article reviews the five core disciplines of strategic supply chain management.

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.

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.

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...

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...

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...