Supply chain news

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 […]

Jamie C. Kowalski, LLC and PerformanSC announce the publication of the fifth edition of the health system supply chain insights research Publication builds on comprehensive insights into Consolidated Service Center supply model in healthcare Jamie C. Kowalski Consulting, LLC and PerformanSC Supply Chain Ltd – published the findings of the 2021 edition of their groundbreaking […]

Suppliers – Getting the most from each other Increases in steel prices, shipping delays, logistics costs and labour shortages are just some of the factors that are creating upwards pressure on input prices.  In a constrained environment, simple tender processes are unlikely to offset market pressures.  A structured approach, however, to the management of spend […]

Introduction Although we are continuing through a difficult period with the pandemic, logistics within the pharma industry, although suffering disruption, (not to mention the effects of Brexit) continue to function well. HPRA has been active, as usual, with issuing reports and information on their observations on the Irish market. Three recent briefs are worth reading: […]

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 […]