Tactical Supply Chain Management
Warranties
When a consumer or a business purchases an item or a service then this will normally be supplied with a warranty from the manufacturer or vendor. The warranty can either be express or implied and will come with clauses that a purchaser needs to be aware of. This article examines the many aspects of a warranty.
Order And Setup Costs
There are a number of costs that make up the total inventory costs for a company. Order costs include the expenses involved in placing an order for a quantity of material, but this does not include the actual cost of the material itself. Setup costs are incurred when production or assembly lines are changed for example when the manufacturing...
Introduction to Kanban
Kanban is a scheduling system that is used in manufacturing to help companies improve their production process. The kanban system is a “just-in-time” method that was developed sixty years ago in Japan by Toyota to improve manufacturing. The method has been adopted by companies all over the world and has been incorporated into many new enterprise...
Inventory Carrying Costs
The cost of carrying inventory is used to help companies determine how much profit can be made on current inventory. The cost is what a business will incur over a certain period of time, to hold and store its inventory. This article looks at the different components that combine to produce an overall cost of carrying inventory.
Containerization
Wherever you travel these days there is always a container nearby. Whether it is on a train, on a ship, or on a truck, intermodal containers are an integral part of today’s supply chain. The modern era of containerization started only fifty years ago and revolutionized the way in which goods were moved along the supply chain. This article...
Outsourcing
Over the last few years, the subject of outsourcing has caused a division between employees who see that this will lead to the loss of their job and management who believe that this will save their company significant amount of money. This article looks at the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing.
Operating A Procurement Card Program
The procurement card, or P-card, is a form of company credit card that is issued to employees who can then purchase goods and services without having to process the purchase through a traditional purchasing procedure, such as using purchasing requisitions and purchase orders. This article looks at benefits and risks of the procurement card program.
Procurement Card Best Practices
The procurement card, or P-card, is a form of company credit card that is issued to employees who can then purchase goods and services. The procurement card can save a company considerable amounts as it does not require a transaction from be dealt with by multiple departments and numerous employees. When a procurement card program is implemented...
Industrial Conveyors
In the manufacturing plant the use of conveyors is commonplace. It allows material to be moved quickly between work centers, reducing the wait time between locations, and improving the overall efficiency of the manufacturing process. This article looks at the types of conveyors as well as their advantages and disadvantages.
Manufacturing Process
When a manufacturing company begins production of a new material, it has a choice as to the manufacturing process it uses. The type of process depends on the facility, the staff, and the information systems available. Each process has its advantages and some are best at certain tasks, for example, large batches of finished goods, or small numbers of custom items. This article looks at the many manufacturing processes.
Maritime Transport
The transportation of raw materials and finished goods is an important part of the supply chain. Transportation can include air, rail, road, and maritime shipping. The last of these, maritime transportation, is extremely important to the US economy as approximately 95 percent of all foreign trade is carried by this mode of transport. This article is an introduction to maritime transportation.
Shared Services
Businesses need to be as cost-effective as possible and one option that companies can take is to adopt a shared services model for some of its functions. Normally these types of functions can be decentralized, standardized or centralized. There are many benefits to creating shared services, including economic, quality, response time, and strategic benefits
Product Packaging
Packaging is a very important part of the product. Industrial packaging that is used to safely move the items from the vendor to the customer or from the production line to the distribution center. It is usually packaging that is external to the product and usually discarded before the it reaches the consumer. The other type of packaging is designed by the marketing department and is specifically designed with the consumer in mind.
Production Routing
In the discrete production process, a item is produced when a shop order is created for a requirement. The shop order will show all the tasks, materials and equipment that will be used in the manufacture of the part. The routing shows the flow of required work that needs to be achieved, which can in be one or more facilities and could include work being sent to a vendor for specialized tasks.
Driver Fatigue
Driver fatigue is a problem for shipping companies as they struggle to keep their businesses afloat under the strains of competition from other firms and the difficulty of the current economic climate. As well as other factors such as vehicle maintenance and drivers speeding or being unfamiliar with the environment, the problems of drivers being too tired to drive have caused many accidents.
Bill of Materials
A bill of materials is used in the manufacturer of a product and should contain raw materials, sub-assemblies, sub-components, parts and the quantities of each. Each line of the bill of materials (BOM) will include the part number of the item, description, quantity, unit of measure, and a procurement type which describes if the part is purchased or manufactured.
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is an important passageway for container ships as they move cargo between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. But the limitations of the original canal has meant that larger container ships were unable to use the canal and so an expansion project was needed. This article looks at the original canal and the expansion.
British High Speed Rail Network (HS2)
In 2009 the project was launched in the UK based on studies that freight traffic would increase by 40 percent between London and Birmingham. The country's second high speed link, called the HS2, has now been approved by the government after three years of impact studies and public consultations. The opening date for the first stage of the HS2 is...
Reverse Auctions
In reverse auctions, a company will offer a contract on which a number of vendors will bid, based on the terms and conditions of the contract, and the company that has the lowest bid when the reverse auction expires is the winner of the contract. This article examines how and when reverse auctions should be used.
Tactical Planning for Supply Chain Management
Tactical planning in supply chain management is extremely important to companies. This article shows some planning models that can be used in tactical supply chain management.
Introduction to Kanban
Kanban systems were developed in Japan by the Toyota corporation. The system has been used at thousands of manufacturing companies throughout the world. This article gives you an introduction to the functionality of the Kanban system.
Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI)
Vendor Managed Inventory or VMI occurs when a vendor takes full responsibility for maintaining an agreed level of inventory of certain items at the buyer's manufacturing or retail location. This article examines the benefits for both the customer and vendor as well as suggestions to develop a successful VMI relationship.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is basically the production of goods for use or sale using labor and resources. Manufacturing is the basis of industrial development and is key indicator on how a nation’s economy performing.
Purchasing
Purchasing is the process of buying goods and services. The process includes preparation and processing of a demand as well as the end receipt and approval of payment.