BLOG: LEADING GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT / LOGISTICS

Supply Chain Management and Logistics Blog. Posts are about end-to-end supply chain management and logistics in a time of challenging disruption. Tom provides leading supply chain management and logistics consulting and advisory assistance based on real-world experience. He brings authority and domain expertise to clients. Email Tom at: tomc@ltdmgmt.com Check Tom's profile at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomcraig1/

Thursday, October 31, 2019

JC PENNEY REDO/DO OVER

JC Penney. Interesting approach to bring in customers. Debt & too much inventory. Are they emphasizing stores? Not e-commerce/omnichannel. Do they need Supply Chain transformation too? Like the stores, it may be outdated in the new reality. Without SCM update, are they really fixing things? 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/j-c-penney-plots-a-comeback-less-clutter-more-yoga-classes-11572535484?shareToken=st70213600f5954c19b01b7a0c38409b4d

Posted by Tom Craig at 3:44 PM No comments:
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OPTION FOR LAST MILE SERVICE PROVIDERS

Novel idea time. Last Mile providers. When retailers & manufacturers negotiate/beat you up for lower prices so they can compete with Amazon, suggest they set up their own service to compete with Amazon. Protect your margins. 


Posted by Tom Craig at 12:53 PM No comments:
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E-COMMERCE BEST PRACTICES LOGISTICS

It is difficult to claim best practices in e-commerce logistics/ Supply Chain Management when we are in the early stages and there are few leaders & many laggards. Retail. Manufacturers. CPG. FMCG. 




Posted by Tom Craig at 10:52 AM No comments:
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Wednesday, October 30, 2019

OMNICHANNEL AND SUPPLY CHAIN DUALITY

New reality is about selling with multiple channels to reach customers who have high expectations while enjoying convenience. Success is driven by the strategic, weaponized supply chain. Multiple channels need supply chain duality. One size does not fit all. E-commerce is a global market. It is about order delivery velocity, as stores are about no stock outs. New supply chain with its elements and essentials.

https://www.slideshare.net/nitny/omnichannel-and-supply-chain-duality

Posted by Tom Craig at 1:06 PM No comments:
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LOGISTICS STARTUPS

Many logistics startups are about chipping at pieces of the end-to-end Supply Chain. Real need is to redefine the role & transform logistics in the new supply chain reality & its velocity. 3PSCM. SCMaaS 


Posted by Tom Craig at 10:27 AM No comments:
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Monday, October 28, 2019

BRAND VALUE AND PERFECT ORDER FAILURES AND STOCK OUTS

Retailers. Manufacturers. Grocers. E-tailers. What is the impact on your brand value & integrity with E-commerce Perfect Order failures & store Stock Outs? Do you measure? If not, why not?



Posted by Tom Craig at 2:46 PM No comments:
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IMO 2020 AND SLOW STEAMING

IMO 2020. Higher prices. Potential carrier financial bankruptcies & consolidation. Slow steaming. Only the higher rates issue gets attention. Why? In a time of end-to-end Supply Chain velocity slow service should be THE issue. 


Posted by Tom Craig at 2:26 PM No comments:
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E-COMMERCE, OMNICHANNEL AND THE CHEAP SUPPLY CHAIN

E-commerce & omnichannel are forcing retailers, manufacturers, & grocers to confront their failures in making the one-size-fits all, commoditized, and cheap Supply Chain. 


Posted by Tom Craig at 2:19 PM No comments:
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AMERICAN DREAM MALL, RETAIL, STOCK OUTS

American Dream Mall. Retail ties to Amazon. Tying retail future to outside parties, not their brands. Sound strategy? If it is about customers, what is your commit to having no Stock Outs--customer service failure & not customer centric? Basic Q. Why should customers visit you?


Posted by Tom Craig at 1:44 PM No comments:
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GROCERS. FOOD WASTE. SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Grocers. What would a well-designed & operated end-to-end Supply Chain with velocity do to your food waste issue--and your profits? 


Posted by Tom Craig at 1:25 PM No comments:
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LOGISTICS PROVIDERS AND THE NEW REALITY

Logistics providers, in the new reality with strategic, weaponized end-to-end Supply Chain Management, how do you transform without understanding SCM and your new role? SCMaaS 3PSCM 


Posted by Tom Craig at 11:50 AM No comments:
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Sunday, October 27, 2019

E-COMMERCE GROWTH AND SUPPLY CHAIN VELOCITY

The projected growth of e-commerce requires Supply Chain velocity. For country after country around the world. In country & cross border. If your supply chain lacks velocity, you will be left behind. Does it lack the needed speed? What are you doing about it? 


Posted by Tom Craig at 9:19 PM No comments:
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Thursday, October 24, 2019

IMO 2020

IMO 2020. Scrubber failures. And now this. Will 2020 be a catastrophic year for ocean shipping? Buckle up. BAF battle may only be the beginning.

https://theloadstar.com/still-bullish-charter-market-being-driven-by-more-scrubber-fitting/
Posted by Tom Craig at 12:11 PM No comments:
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AMAZON. LOGISTICS COSTS. ONE DAY DELIVERY. LAST MILE.

Love how logistics & Supply Chain costs get attention from C-suites & publications. Do C-suites do more than complain about costs? Underlying issue is outdated GAAP that dates back to the Model A. E-commerce is new reality. Time to stop complaining about Last Mile & adapt. 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazons-profit-may-be-weighed-down-by-shipping-costs-what-to-watch-11571911200?shareToken=stb3cdd61211e446a888daf2711c1f345e

Posted by Tom Craig at 10:18 AM No comments:
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Tuesday, October 15, 2019

LEAN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT / LOGISTICS

Lean Supply Chains begin upstream where supply begins. If not down there, and once it is downstream, it is too late. The wastes of too much inventory & excess time are embedded. Trying to correct then results in much effort & little too show for it. 



Posted by Tom Craig at 10:43 AM No comments:
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Monday, October 14, 2019

MORE RETAIL CLOSINGS FOR 2020

As customers get more savvy on what they expect & what retailers provide it--No Stock Outs for in-store & Perfect Order for e-commerce--both driven by Supply Chain Management. And those in retail who just do not seem to get it & power rests with customers not stores. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-14/store-closures-may-be-even-worse-next-year-credit-suisse-says?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_content=business

Posted by Tom Craig at 12:52 PM No comments:
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SUPPLY CHAIN SELF-ASSESSMENT

Manufacturers and retailers how do you view your supply chain? Take the free Supply Chain Management Self-Assessment. See your score and what it means. Click on:

https://www.ltdmgmt.com/
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
SELF-ASSESSMENT


Identify problems with your supply chain strategy
and performance. Make sure what you are doing meets what customers want and at
a sound cost.


LTD MANAGEMENT
610.715.3710
ltdmgmt.com
Things are moving faster.  Do your customers expect more?  Do they want their orders delivered complete, accurate, and on time?  Are you squeezed as to costs?
Do you react to what is happening  Do the reactions mean more firefighting and expediting? 
If this is you, you are not alone.  Many mid-size firms struggle to do supply
chain management well. 
The result means supply chain management is about costs, rather than its performance and being a strategic part of your company's growth.  Remember, high supply
costs and high inventory levels are both a problem and a symptom of a problem
or problems.
How does this happen?  Basically, it is--
1)   You probably don't have a solid supply chain management
strategy.
2)   You probably don't know about end-to-end supply chain management
and what you can do to get the traction you need.
3)   You probably don't have the tracking/metrics in place to know.
But you can fix this. 
Successful supply chain management start with a plan.  If you are committed to growing your business in this time of disruption and a new reality, this self-assessment
is a great first step to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your supply
chain.  A starting point.


Posted by Tom Craig at 11:36 AM No comments:
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Friday, October 11, 2019

AMAZON DOING MORE OF ITS OWN TRUCKING

Amazon. Feel article misses mark. They are bringing logistics in-house (Reverse Outsourcing) to improve end-to-end Supply Chain performance, velocity, & cost. What are their competitors doing to counter it? Has more panic entered logistics providers instead of redefining their role?

https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-trucking-company-branded-tractors-2019-10
Posted by Tom Craig at 2:17 PM No comments:
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TRADE WAR FORWARD BUYING AND INVENTORY

How much has trade war forward buying hurt retailers & manufacturers who lack inventory velocity in their end-to-end supply chains? Inventory rich. Cash burn. Cash flow. Lost opportunity investment. No revenue yield maximization. Write downs.

Posted by Tom Craig at 12:39 PM No comments:
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SUPPLY CHAIN CLEAN SHEET OF PAPER

An approach for Supply Chain transformation. Design the supply chain that drives customer centric as to no Stock Outs, Perfect Orders, & high Inventory Turns. Clean sheet of paper. Then overlay the current supply chain. And correct. Retail. Manufacturing. 



Posted by Tom Craig at 11:26 AM No comments:
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Wednesday, October 9, 2019

LOGISTICS AND END-TO-END SUPPLY CHAIN VELOCITY

Achieving end-to-end Supply Chain velocity requires redefining the role of logistics.  Retail. Manufacturing.

Posted by Tom Craig at 2:02 PM No comments:
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SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT AND ONE SIZE FITS ALL

Dual (omni/multi) sales channels require Supply Chain duality. One size supply chain does not fit all.  Different requirements. LOGIC 101.




Posted by Tom Craig at 1:51 PM No comments:
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FUTURE OF RETAIL

It began with Amazon & e-commerce. Supply Chain Management will take over retail & will drive ability to meet Customer Expectations & Instore Experience with No Stock Outs, Perfect Orders, Perfect Restocks & Inventory Velocity to create opportunity investment growth. Mark It Down.

Posted by Tom Craig at 1:48 PM No comments:
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Tuesday, October 8, 2019

INVENTORY RICH AND HAVING STOCK OUTS?

Retailer. Manufacturer. Is Inventory a Pain Point. Some why and what you can do.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/do-you-have-inventory-problems-are-rich-out-stock-same-tom-craig

Posted by Tom Craig at 3:23 PM No comments:
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E-COMMERCE SUPPLY CHAIN VS STORE/FACTORY SUPPLY CHAIN

A well-designed e-commerce Supply Chain can better service stores or factories than a store/factory supply chain can service online. Retail. Manufacturing. 



Posted by Tom Craig at 2:48 PM No comments:
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Friday, October 4, 2019

BED BATH & BEYOND. WAY TOO MUCH INVENTORY

Bed Bath & Beyond. Another retailer with too much inventory caused from little understanding of end-to-end #SupplyChain velocity. A strategy change or just a cut & slash exercise?
https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/bed-bath-beyond-to-cut-1b-in-inventory-cost/564370/

Bed Bath & Beyond to cut $1B in inventory, hundreds of millions in cost as more stores close

Credit: Flickr user Mike Mozart

Author

Emma Cosgrove @emmacos

Published

Oct. 4, 2019


  • p

    Dive Brief:

    • Bed Bath and Beyond will work with outside sourcing firms as part of an effort to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from its cost of goods, executives said on the company's second-quarter earnings call Wednesday.
    • Retooling the way the chain's private label line is sourced will play a significant role in this cost-cutting, said interim CEO Mary Winston. The line is largely indirectly sourced, she said, leaving "significant opportunity for margin improvement" as the retailer cuts out intermediary tiers of suppliers.
    • The company will also reduce overall store inventory by $1 billion over the next 18 months. To that end, the retailer reported a $194 million write-down in the second quarter.

    os

    Dive Insight:

    After raising its number of expected store closures from 40 to 60, cost-cutting is the order of the day at Bed Bath & Beyond. In addition to staffing cuts and sourcing changes, the retailer is looking to rid itself of excess inventory fast through markdowns, clearance sales and liquidation avenues.
    Winston said $350 million of store inventory should be clear before the 2019 holiday season. To optimize this inventory off-load the company is employing "markdown optimization software" to speed the process.
    "We believe this aggressive disposition of inventory will enable us to more quickly reset inventory levels in both our Bed Bath & Beyond stores and distribution centers to allow for a faster refresh of our assortment, as well as to enable us to refocus store labor activity to better support our customers and drive sales," Winston said, adding that the chain will be mindful not to cannibalize crucial holiday sales with markdowns.
    Tariffs are not to blame for Bed Bath & Beyond's current woes, which ironically may be indicative of the company's indirect buying habits. Winston said most of the chain's products are sourced in the U.S. — though tariff pass-through from vendors is still a possibility.
    CFO Robyn D'Elia said a new practice of directly importing some products has gleaned supply chain efficiencies for the organization, on top of vendor negotiations.
    t
  • share



Posted by Tom Craig at 10:50 AM No comments:
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Thursday, October 3, 2019

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND OUT OF STOCK

Retail & Manufacturing Customer Experience 101. No out of stocks! How are you doing? Success requires end-to-end Supply Chain velocity. Being inventory rich is not a strategy here. 



Posted by Tom Craig at 10:18 AM No comments:
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DIGITAL STRATEGY, RETAIL, AND SUPPLY CHAINS

Digital strategy for retailers. An offered option for improving stores & Customer Experience. How can it compete with the internet? How about AV/VR streaming to draw customers or get them to e-commerce order? Now about Supply Chains to handle larger & more orders from this technology!? 



Posted by Tom Craig at 9:58 AM No comments:
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E-COMMERCE, WAREHOUSE ALIGNMENT, AND BABY WAREHOUSES

In the world of e-commerce, warehouse alignment—as to number of, locations, and size—is important for Order Delivery velocity, picking speed, and costs. So what happens to the existing, now baby-size warehouses of retailers & manufacturers? 





Posted by Tom Craig at 9:45 AM No comments:
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Wednesday, October 2, 2019

FMC DOCKET ON DEMURRAGE AND DETENTION

FMC Docket.  Demurrage & Detention. Pondering a point. D&D are financial incentives to encourage productive use of containers. In the reality of huge trade imbalances and flows, how does D&D do that? Or is it a penalty for lack of productive use?  Here is a link to the docket:
https://www2.fmc.gov/readingroom/docs/19-05/19-05_NPRM.pdf/

Posted by Tom Craig at 8:02 PM No comments:
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      • JC PENNEY REDO/DO OVER
      • OPTION FOR LAST MILE SERVICE PROVIDERS
      • E-COMMERCE BEST PRACTICES LOGISTICS
      • OMNICHANNEL AND SUPPLY CHAIN DUALITY
      • LOGISTICS STARTUPS
      • BRAND VALUE AND PERFECT ORDER FAILURES AND STOCK OUTS
      • IMO 2020 AND SLOW STEAMING
      • E-COMMERCE, OMNICHANNEL AND THE CHEAP SUPPLY CHAIN
      • AMERICAN DREAM MALL, RETAIL, STOCK OUTS
      • GROCERS. FOOD WASTE. SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
      • LOGISTICS PROVIDERS AND THE NEW REALITY
      • E-COMMERCE GROWTH AND SUPPLY CHAIN VELOCITY
      • IMO 2020
      • AMAZON. LOGISTICS COSTS. ONE DAY DELIVERY. LAST MILE.
      • LEAN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT / LOGISTICS
      • MORE RETAIL CLOSINGS FOR 2020
      • SUPPLY CHAIN SELF-ASSESSMENT
      • AMAZON DOING MORE OF ITS OWN TRUCKING
      • TRADE WAR FORWARD BUYING AND INVENTORY
      • SUPPLY CHAIN CLEAN SHEET OF PAPER
      • LOGISTICS AND END-TO-END SUPPLY CHAIN VELOCITY
      • SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT AND ONE SIZE FITS ALL
      • FUTURE OF RETAIL
      • INVENTORY RICH AND HAVING STOCK OUTS?
      • E-COMMERCE SUPPLY CHAIN VS STORE/FACTORY SUPPLY CHAIN
      • BED BATH & BEYOND. WAY TOO MUCH INVENTORY
      • CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND OUT OF STOCK
      • DIGITAL STRATEGY, RETAIL, AND SUPPLY CHAINS
      • E-COMMERCE, WAREHOUSE ALIGNMENT, AND BABY WAREHOUSES
      • FMC DOCKET ON DEMURRAGE AND DETENTION
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