Trends and Issues in Supply Chain Management

The Institute of Supply Management offers three certifications for supply chain professionals. the Certified in Supply Management (CSM), the Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity (CPSD) and Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM). This article examines these certification programs.

Supply chain management professionals are actively pursued by companies in the US and globally. In recent years companies looking to hire staff for supply chain positions are looking favorably at candidates with supply chain certification. This article examines some of the educational options that supply chain professionals can choose from.

Companies that operate fast moving and complex warehouses are constantly looking at technology and processes that increase the efficiency of the warehouse. By implementing a "pick to light" system, accuracy and productivity can increase significantly. This article examines the basics of light-directed systems and the advantages they offer.

Companies that operate fast moving and complex warehouses are constantly looking at technology and processes that increase the efficiency of the warehouse. By implementing a "pick to voice" system, accuracy and productivity can increase significantly. This article examines the basics of voice directed systems and the advantages they offer.

There are a number of other economies that are currently emerging and depending on their attractiveness to foreign investment and manufacturing prowess; any of these could change the overall landscape of world economies. This article discusses the reasons why these countries are the top ten emerging economies for 2011.

With companies investing ever greater resources in their supply chain there is a distinct trend to have the best and brightest employees managing those supply chains. In the past companies have employed staff with various levels of education that covered a wide range of subjects. Higher education in supply chain management is becoming more important and this article looks at current trends.

The first use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) was documented in the 1940’s by the British Royal Air Force to identify aircraft in World War II and was part of the refinement of radar. During the 1960’s RFID was first considered as a tracking solution in the commercial world. This article looks at the benefits of RFID and its advantages over using barcodes.

With responses from over 300 international supply chain organizations, the sixth annual global supply chain survey has highlighted the trends that will be seen in the coming years. The article reviews some of the highlights of the survey from growth of India and China, to the popularization of environmental sustainability.

Sales and Operations Planning is an area where companies are sometimes using methodologies that were developed years ago or are on the cutting edge of new S&OP thinking. This article discusses the current S&OP trends being adopted by leading companies.

SC Johnson has adopted a number of best practices in their supply chain and one of them was a Truckload Utilization Project. This article examines the program and how in 12 months, the company eliminated 1,882 tons of greenhouse gases.

This article reviews some of the predictions that AMR research have made for supply chain advancements in 2008.

Supply chain management is investing in RFID as it can give them advantages in visibility of their products through the supply chain. The benefits are seen as improving on other methods of visibility such as EDI, bar coding and Advance Ship Notifications (ASN).

The GS-1 standard is important in the food supply chain. Companies want to be able to track their products through the various stages of their supply chain and be able to trace the item no matter what company or location the item is located. This article describes the elements of the GS-1 traceability standard.