END-TO-END SUPPLY CHAIN VISIBILITY

A weakness in many omnichannel businesses is the lack of dynamic end-to-end supply chain visibility.  Whether for order delivery or click and collect.

BIGGER THREAT FOR RETAIL?

Besides e-commerce/Amazon, what is the future of retail as manufacturers sell online direct to end-customers--disintermediation? Is the latter a bigger threat for retail than adapting to online selling?

RISING TRUCKING COSTS

Let's see.  Years of low rates and no comments about it now becomes "crisis"?  Flaw of measuring supply chain performance by logistics costs.  A poor measure.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trucking-rates-come-down-a-bit-but-problems-persist-for-shippers-1518729334

BLOCKCHAIN AND DOMAIN EXPERTISE

Much Blockchain about Supply Chain seems to be missing Domain Expertise by SCM professionals. Agree? Or not?

VELOCITY, PLANNING, AND FORECASTING

Imagine what Supply Chain velocity can do for planning and forecasting?

B2B ONLINE ORDER TAKING OR ONLINE-DELIVERY?

Too many manufacturers view e-commerce as online order taking and do not drive order-delivery velocity.  Part of the issue is their supply chains.

E-TAILERS SELLING OUT-OF-STOCK ITEMS

E-tailers--catalog, retail, manufacturer--selling goods online that are out-of-stock. And failing at Customer Expectations. Strong sign of companies very much in need of the New Supply Chain with end-to-end velocity.

BLOCKCHAIN REALITY CHECK

Blockchain is a topic with much potential and a lot conceptual “silver bullet” hype—and, at this stage, is lacking in totality/details for the end-to-end supply chain and the visibility; chain of custody; integration among the product, finance, and information supply chains.  A major need is to recognize the gaps in the concept and its design and to correct them.

LOGISTICS PROVIDERS AND SALES

For 3PLs, transport providers, warehouses, forwarders, and more.  With the reach of the internet, what is the future for traditional sales?  Should your emphasis transition more toward social media, your website, and content?

LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSFORMATION

Supply chain and logistics transformation.  For leaders, the driver is internal.  For laggards, it is external.

B2B E-COMMERCE ORDER-VELOCITY

B2B e-commerce buyers are now expecting order-delivery velocity like for B2C?  Will and how will online sellers transform their supply chains to meet the challenge?

THE RETAIL OF EXCESS INVENTORY AND STOCKOUTS

What is the financial loss in retail from excess inventory--lost working capital opportunity, write-offs/fire sale, etc.--while having stockouts--and lost sales--of other SKUs? Those are firms in great need of the New Supply Chain with velocity. That seems the better option.

CPG MANUFACTURERS AND E-COMMERCE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

CPG manufacturers have a big challenge transforming to the supply chain required for e-commerce success. Their current supply chains are built around factories, and they have a disconnect to end-use customers, aka, online buyers.

BLOCKCHAIN AND INCOTERMS

How will blockchain work with Incoterms?  From EXW to DDP.  How will all the differing terms, parties, and responsibilities come together?  Or will they?  Do differing terms mean holes in blockchains?  What would be the impact on supply chain visibility, chain of custody, and control?  

BLOCKCHAIN--AT THE MINIMUM

At the minimum, the international trade blockchain must include buyer, seller, and primary transport/logistics provider. At the minimum. To avoid gaps in the chain. Does cryptocurrency provide another primary party or eliminate a bank/finance party? The answer can add to The Minimum.

E-FULFILLMENT AND OVERSIZE PACKAGING

E-FULFILLMENT. I continue to be fascinated by the oversize packaging for e-commerce orders. Extra package cost? Extra shipping cost by making lower package density? More size options? Cut-to-size alternative for some e-tailers?

LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN TECHNOLOGY WEBINAR

I am working on a webinar idea on logistics and supply chain technology. From the logistics and SCM perspective. Call it domain expertise view. Not the hard tech stuff. The what, why, and other issues.

THE E-COMMERCE SUPPLY CHAIN

The New Supply Chain that drives e-commerce customer expectations success for retailers and manufacturers is a game changer!  

THREE SUPPLY CHAINS, DIGITIZATION, BLOCKCHAIN

THREE SUPPLY CHAINS. Digitization and Blockchain bring opportunity to integrate the product, financial, and information Supply Chains. Which till now have been--never the twain shall meet. What the integration could achieve could be incredible. File now as TBD and Stay Tuned.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE, LOGISTICS, BLOCKCHAIN, AND CRYPTOCURRENCY

Much about blockchain is digital, which lends itself to digital cryptocurrency. And there has not been much about banks accepting bitcoin, etc. for international trade. Same silence with many players in global trade and logistics. The silence is deafening.