Blogs

Blogs

unintended side effects

Blogs, Trends

Unintended side effects

Starbucks is in big trouble. In recent years – especially in the US – placing orders online for subsequent pick-up in its outlets has grown substantially. This has resulted in long queues that also irritate …

visibility

Visibility, Blogs, Trends

Understanding costs comes first

When we think of visibility, we tend to think of sophisticated systems that provide insight into the functioning of the entire supply chain. Such systems offer all kinds of advantages but, in my opinion, they …

visibility

Blogs, Trends

Infinite visibility

Even before the COVID-19 crisis, calls for end-to-end supply chain visibility were common among internationally operating manufacturing companies. Indeed, for most businesses, visibility did not extend beyond their own perimeter fence in practice. Supply chain …

visibility

Blogs, Sustainability, Trends

Difficult choices about sustainability

In the past year, the European Union (EU) has adopted various sustainability directives, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), …

unintended side effects

Blogs, Software, Trends

Focus on process design

With the wave of consolidation among vendors of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and planning software, many supply chain improvement projects have now become more like software implementations. Central to this is that operational and …

visibility

Blogs, Sustainability, Trends

CO₂ Subway Map

Measuring one’s own CO₂ emissions seems to be more popular among consumers than among businesses. According to news agency Bloomberg, smartphone apps that track individual CO₂ emissions from purchases are very much on the rise. …

unintended side effects

Blogs, Trends

Crippling decision-making

Many companies are currently wondering whether they should not relocate some or all of their suppliers or their own production from China or Taiwan to other Southeast Asian countries. For instance, I recently spoke to …

visibility

Blogs, Trends

Emergency response plan

How do people react when acute danger is imminent? And how can organizations prepare for potential calamities? Just a while ago, I experienced a fire drill at a well-known brewery located in a shared office …

visibility

Blogs, Trends

Safe-space battlefield

Two factors contribute to good performance for learning organizations: making mistakes and having a safe working environment. With these research findings, US Professor Amy Edmondson of Harvard Business School captures the importance of psychological safety …

unintended side effects

Blogs, Trends

Lessons from korfball

My academic life is intertwined with the supply chain profession. I have done research covering the entire field, from strategic supply chain choices to detailed production planning. The world of korfball has largely dominated my …