Supply Chain Performance Insights | PerformanSC

An approach to supply chain metrics and KPIs We are often asked what are the key performance indicators that should be considered when measuring supply chain performance.  Every time you buy, sell, make, or move something in a supply chain, you leave a data trail.  With all this data available, there is nearly an unlimited […]

Supply chain forgiveness – short shelf life As a profession that is built around ensuring reliability of supply and predictable levels of cost, we enter the holiday season with many companies finding themselves with constrained supply, increased lead times and costs significantly over plan. While speaking at the National Manufacturing and Supply Chain Conference in […]

Operations Research: A Supply Chain Perspective Part 2 Last month, we introduced operations research (OR) and discussed how its methodology is applied to assist us in finding feasible or optimal solutions to supply chain problems.  The role of the OR model continues to pervade supply chain operations, and this has stimulated a wealth of decision […]

S&OP – What is it and how important is it for my business? Practitioners often question how implementing a new process such as S&OP can provide benefits that far outweigh any cost of change.  Statements or comments we hear when discussing the logic of engaging in this approach can include; S&OP sounds like a lot […]

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 […]