Performance Optimisation - Page 4 of 5

Operations Research: a supply chain perspective Background Operations Research (OR) deals with the efficient allocation of scarce resources and is regarded as the discipline that applies advanced analytical methods to help improve decision making.  It originated the 1930s by military scientists who developed many analyses that were crucial to the war effort.  Following the war, […]

Seasonality and Inventory Management Demand seasonality is generally associated with a boost in sales that occur at specific times of the year, e.g. Black Friday and Back-to-School (BTS).  These cyclic patterns play an important role in supply chain management, and can make it challenging for businesses to accurately plan inventory levels.  The degree of seasonality […]

As a reformed accountant, I am one of the many people that found my way accidentally into to supply chain over the course of my career, and have found it to be a rewarding and enjoyable path. As part of the Supply Chain and Logistics Skills group in Ireland we are looking at ways of […]

Diversity in Supply Chain Ask any executive and there is a good chance they will tell you that they have an active diversity and inclusion policy in their supply chain.  Some will be able to point to supplier diversity programs or provide examples of how they have promoted diversity and inclusion in their workplace. After […]

Inventory optimisation – how much inventory should I hold? Inventory provides a necessary buffer in the supply chain to meet the expected demand for product, during the expected lead time to replenish. This is true at a raw material, component, and finished goods levels. The inventory held has a critical impact on customer service, warehouse […]

Managing through supply chain challenges As the performance of vaccine supply chains receives global political attention, many of us recognise the pressures to perform in mission-critical supply chain situations. The heroic efforts to develop and bring to market vaccines in less than a year can be forgotten if the final production and distribution plans fall […]

Re-emergence of Resilience On March 11th, 2011 – just 10 years ago – a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck just 231 miles northeast of Tokyo. The resulting tsunami triggered a sequence of events causing significant loss of life, damage to a nuclear reactor in Fukushima, and months of disruption to the automotive and other industries that […]

Positive impacts of supply chain In 2006, AMR research issued a publication under the title – Supply Chain Saves the World. They recognised the position of influence that supply chain professionals have on areas that influence key social issues. If we want to eliminate plastics, migrate to a circular economy, eliminate waste, accelerate healthcare improvements, […]

5 key supply chain takeaways from 2020 In our final instalment of Supply Chain Enabled™ for 2020, we have gone a little reflective on the state of our supply chains.    When we started Supply Chain Enabled™ we wanted to capture the things that companies, and professionals, could achieve through supply chain.  In that spirit, we wanted […]

Warehouse design – capacity, layout, throughput and efficiency For many companies, calendar Q4 represents the peak season focus on physical inventory and warehouse activity.  The challenges in 2020 are exacerbated, not only by changes in business profiles, which is associated with increased eCommerce volumes, but also the need to ensure social distancing within operations. While […]