A Humorous Take on Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP)
S&OP has been getting a lot of attention lately indicating a growing interest and a market for improvement initiatives in this area. However, like all business initiatives, success comes from focus on the essential business outcomes. Therefore it is important to be crystal clear on what these are and how linking together the demand side and the supply side of the enterprise can contribute to managing the global supply chain effectively. Bill DuBois takes a humorous perspective on the subject here http://tinyurl.com/3ao8hxz
Global Supply Chain Strategy Summit
Dubai’s Supply Chain and Logistics Group (SCLG) will be holding its 3rd Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management Summit on 12th May 2010 at the Madinat Jumeirah complex in the Gulf city. Over 200 speakers and panelists from around the globe will gather under one roof to discuss the current and future global scenarios of Logistics and Supply Chain Management. More here www.sclgme.org
Economic Recovery Underway
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Group is showing significant improvement in its industrial units. Berkshire Hathaway owns interests in a diverse range of quoted companies and this provides Mr. Buffett with unique insight into the performance of the wider economy. According to Mr. Buffett “American business is improving from everything I see now”. Buffett expects to see a decline in unemployment feeding through soon as companies begin to rehire. More here http://tinyurl.com/2wt6dhd
World Trade Expansion
Lawrence Webb at the Wall Street Journal writes that exporters and importers are increasingly bullish about prospects for world trade in the next six months. While world GDP is expected to come in at +3.1% this year, world exports are set to rise by a whopping 9.2%. The rise in emerging markets and the growing middles classes in China, India and Brazil are the main drivers. While the overall panorama is positive, some clouds on the horizon to look out for are volatility in currency exchange rates and protectionism. More here http://tinyurl.com/2wq6n9e
Supply Chain Risk
James A. Cooke writing in DC Velocity magazine focuses on how the recent Icelandic volcano eruption interrupted air freight movements to and from Europe and disrupted global supply chains. This natural phenomenon illustrates how unforeseen events can dramatically impact today’s integrated and globalised supply networks. Explicit risk analysis leading to the preparation of rapidly implementable contingency plans is a must now for those responsible for operating global supply chains. More here http://tinyurl.com/39cpy2s
