Browsing All Posts filed under »Procurement Trends«

Is Ford’s auto-xchange the “Real Deal?”

April 11, 2008

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In an excerpt from my March 18, 2008 post titled Optimization Modeling and the Modern Supply Chain I made the following statement: “The key starting point is to recognize that the term supply chain is a misnomer in that it implies a sequential order of events (in the spirit of your question, a non-deterministic set of […]

What is the Value in your Supply Chain? (A PI Q and A)

April 10, 2008

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  Member Question: What is the difference between Supply Chain and Value Chain? My Response: To begin, the reference to supply or “value” chain is a misnomer in that it implies a sequential architecture.  This is a term that is on its way out as an organization’s supply “practice” is actually centered on the synchronization […]

Similarity Heuristics, Iterative Methodologies and the Emergence of the Modern Supply Chain

April 8, 2008

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Some professions, such as software developers, regularly utilize the similarity heuristic. For software developers, the similarity heuristic is utilized when performing debugging tasks. A software bug exhibits a set of symptoms indicating the existence of a problem. In general, similar symptoms are caused by similar types of programming errors. By comparing these symptoms with those […]

Is There a Poor “Herbie” Anywhere in the Oracle SCM Area?

April 1, 2008

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Member Question From the “Theory of Constraints” there is poor Herbie, the infamous bottleneck in the supply chain pipeline.  For any of you who use the Oracle Supply Chain 11.5.9 (or above) platform, is there any built-in “Herbie” that you’ve noticed, or has it been custom code wrapped around vanilla, that effected you most? New […]

Measuring Buyer and Seller Performace (A PI Q and A)

March 26, 2008

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Member Question: What methods are available to measure purchasing performance for both buyers and sellers? My Response: The challenges associated with quantifying (re measuring) performance extend beyond the mechanisms for capturing the data to include its timely application relative to ongoing real-world decision making. Specifically, is the current methodology capable of incorporating centrally established acquisition […]

Why Six Sigma Initiatives Fail (A PI Q and A)

March 24, 2008

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Member Question: What’s the #1 reason Six Sigma initiatives fail?  (Maybe Six Sigma needs to be applied to Six Sigma . . . ?) My Response: At a Value Network Summit in 2007 Glenda Turner (a Supply Chain Integrator with Boeing) made the following statement; “Now that I know the value networks methodology, I would […]

Optimization Modeling and the Modern Supply Chain (A PI Q and A) by Jon Hansen

March 18, 2008

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Editor’s Update:  Interesting that an article in 2013 talking about “integrating social and enterprise process” is thought to be covering new ground.  I am of course talking about today’s Forbes post by Rawn Shah titled “SAP Realizes Enterprise Social Processes.” Back in 2008 I wrote an article on my government funded research in the late 90s titled “Optimization Modeling and […]

Supply Chain Confidence? (A PI Q and A)

February 28, 2008

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The following is an interesting question I received from a Master of Science (M.Sc.) Business Technologies student who is working on her thesis “Measuring Confidence in Supply Chain Management System: An empirical approach.” Reader Question: My name is Diana Esparza, M.Sc. Electronic Business Technologies full time student at the University of Ottawa. Currently, I am […]

Are Multiple Supply Chain Networks Important? (A PI Q and A) Track No. 3

February 18, 2008

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The following is the third track in the Q&A series which posed the question, “Are Multiple Supply Chain Networks Important?”  Given the continuing strong reader response, the series will be extended for the balance of this week. PI Question: A 2006 Report made the following statement: “Designing and operating multiple supply networks to meet the […]

Are Multiple Supply Chain Networks Important? (A PI Q and A) Track No. 2

February 13, 2008

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The following is the second track from the still growing number of responses I have received from readers around the world regarding the question, “Are Multiple Supply Chain Networks Important? PI Question: A 2006 Report made the following statement: “Designing and operating multiple supply networks to meet the needs of specific market segments–supply chain innovation […]