What is the Supply Chain?
In business, what people commonly refer to as the ‘Supply Chain’ is seldom, in practice, a sequential chain nor is it solely concerned with the supply of materials or products.
In fact, what people are really referring to in these instances more often resembles a complex network of entities, people, processes and relationships interconnected by flows of information, materials and finance with the purpose of delivering a total product offering comprised of the product itself, information and service to the end user.
These 21st century supply chains embody a high order of complexity and are characterised by high degrees of interconnectedness, iteration, interaction and multiple start and end points.
In recent times, the world’s top performing companies have been incorporating the concepts and practices of Supply Chain Management (SCM) as core capabilities within their organizations and as a source of competitive advantage.
The Story of Warehousing
From its origins in the days of ancient Egypt and Babylonia through to our own times, the story of warehousing has been an unending adventure. From ancient granary store to lynchpin of today’s global supply chains, the modern warehouse has become a sophisticated, high-tech work centre and a cornerstone of competitive advantage.
Today, the rate of change in the practice of warehousing is accelerating and the gap between the best performers and the rest is widening. This is because these best performers realize that the latest technologies and best practices can make major contributions to profitability, market share and environmental responsibility.
The fundamental distinction between the best and the rest is that the high performers know, in a practical sense, how to align internal performance and capabilities to the wider aims of the business strategy. Most of the rest do not.
Patrick Daly, founder of Alba Logistics says,
“I truly believe that Warehousing is one of THE critical logistics activities in the supply chain. Evidence shows that this is so, regardless of whether you are in manufacturing, distribution or logistics services.
However, what many do not yet appreciate is that small improvements in layout, equipment, technology, ways of working and skills development in the warehouse can have truly dramatic amplified positive effects up and down the supply chain.
In today’s difficult and uncertain environment, to thrive in the face of challenge requires a warehousing strategy and operational configuration that will underpin and support the wider goals and strategies of your business”
The good news is that at Alba Logistics we have helped dozens of companies save millions of Dollars as they enhance their supply chain warehousing and compete more aggressively in a worldwide market.
Here is what some of our clients are saying about us:
Liam cassidy. General Manager, Braun (Shanghai) Ltd. China.
“When I came to Shanghai in 2007, the warehouse at our factory was traditional in its design, with corresponding systems and practices. I wanted to implement a full program of Lean Manufacturing Practices from Supplier to the despatch of our final product. The transformation of our warehouse to allow for this was critical. I engaged Patrick Daly of Alba confident in the knowledge that the most effective solution would be found. I was not disappointed.
I had first met Patrick in 1996. He is hard working, sincere, of the highest integrity, and most important of all, has an absolute willingness to build his personal mastery in his chosen field. I have not been in the least surprised to watch his organization build an outstanding reputation, increasingly on a global basis. It is with full confidence that I recommend his work to anyone who needs transformation in their operation”
Tom Howard, Commercial Director, Independent Pharmacy Ownership Scheme (IPOS), Uniphar Group, Ireland.
“UniPhar Group engaged the services of Alba Logistics at the very outset of our journey towards a new automated warehouse and distribution facility. The extremely close working relationship that we enjoyed with Alba ensured that the original request for tender, vendor selection and final specification stages of the project went very smoothly and that we ended up constructing what will be a truly best-in-class facility.
Alba helped make what seemed extremely complicated become understandable whilst ensuring that we were not being constrained by the limits of our own imaginations. This enabled us to effectively establish an operating base that will support and drive the developments of the UniPhar Group over the coming decades”
Mukesh Ghai, General Manager, PepsiCo Concentrate Operations, Puerto Rico
“Alba Logistics have worked with PepsiCo at several manufacturing site locations around the world. Working closely with Alba, in each case we achieved warehouse solutions that are practical, easy to implement and guaranteed to deliver productivity gains.
Furthermore, Alba deserve the credit for showing their flexibility to accommodate the changes and modifications to plans that are required during the project work.”
Michael Mansfield, Operations Manager, GlaxoSmithKline, Dungarvan, Ireland
“Alba Logistics have worked with GlaxoSmithKline, Dungarvan on several key projects. The knowledge and experience imparted to us together with their extensive technical and logistical capability has brought a new dimension to our project teams.
Ultimately our business solutions have been enhanced in terms of design and of benefit delivery. We recognize Alba as being a key component in the successful completion of our logistical and supply chain improvement projects and we will continue to engage Alba in supporting us to identify and drive competitive advantage for our business”
Michael Grogan, VP Global Trade & Logistics, Actavis Group, Iceland
“Actavis engaged Alba Logistics in the process of translating ser requirements into efficient and workable design for one of our warehouse developments. I was confident in recommending Alba to my colleagues as I had worked previously with Alba in a similar role.
Alba complimented our internal knowledge by making us aware of the options available to us and then quantifying the impact of each choice. This ability to interact at the definition stage lead to a shared ownership of the solution proposed.”
Patrick Daly of Alba continues,
