Supply chain news

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 […]

The prospect of driver shortages in our supply chains been well flagged for some time.  In many labour markets around the world, the driver population is ageing, and the industry struggles to attract new entrants.  At the same time, our expectations of drivers to improve the customer experience, facilitate trade complexities, aid regulatory compliance and […]

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 […]

Working with suppliers in a difficult logistics market Supply chain procurement and logistics teams are currently facing challenging times, with market prices for freight running at multiples of historic levels.   Container shortages, driver shortages, port closures due to Covid-19 restrictions, port delays due to labour shortages and an increased supplier concentration, are all contributing to […]

Cyber Risk in Supply Chain On the 14th of May 2021, the Irish health service was the victim of a ransomware attack.  The attack forced the immediate shut down of all of the services’ IT systems.  The immediacy and scale of the disruption from such an event, has made cyber risk in supply chains an […]

A move towards shorter supply chains? We have all seen the product labels – product of Argentina, packed in Thailand and sold in the US or in Europe.   From a sustainability perspective, we know that this does not make sense.  At the same time, as organisations chase lower manufacturing and conversion costs, we have seen […]

Authorised Economic Operator status back in focus An Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) is a trader in the EU that voluntarily meets a range of criteria, demonstrating that they are reliable in the context their customs related operations and supply chain security.   Working closely with relevant customs authorities, their shipments are treated as lower risk by […]

Packaging trends in eCommerce In an online world the customer experience is dictated by a series of interactions from pre-purchase, to the online store experience, through payment, fulfilment, order communications and the delivery and presentation of goods to the receiver.  The brand is reflected in all of these touchpoints.  A positive customer experience comes from […]

Pack station design for eCommerce As supply chain managers streamline the entire order flow, pack station design becomes a critical component of enabling quality, accuracy and speed.    A poor configuration is likely to be a process bottleneck that disrupts the outbound flow can lead to packing errors and ultimately late deliveries. A pack station that […]

Impact of order pick policies on warehouse efficiency Across all warehouse activities, order picking is one of the most labour intensive and costly.   Within this, industry estimates show that travel occupies 55% of the order picking time, while searching consumes up to 15%. The balance, 30%, relates largely to item extraction and other activities. Aside […]