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Business Strategy Alignment: Page 480

A Bit Too Much Spice in McCormick's Supply Chain

For McCormick & Company, the ubiquitous producer of spices and flavorings, 2011 was one tough year. I'm not talking about financials; McCormick's net sales for the year were up 10.8 percent over 2010, to $3.7bn, while net income rose 5 percent, to $374.2m - not a bad performance in a sluggish economy. I'm referring to the anti-trifecta of disasters and disruptions that severely challenged the company's ability to service its customers.

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Wider Acceptance of 'Green' Buildings Requires Better Documentation of Benefits

Wider financial, environmental and social benefits need to be documented for green building if it is to maintain the growth seen in the past decade, according to research by McGraw-Hill Construction.

Is There a Talent Generation Gap in U.S. Distribution?

A conversation with Tim Hotze, vice president of supply chain management of Panalpina USA.

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Facebook Seems to Work Better for Small, Mid-Sized Retailers Than for the Bigger Players

Facebook is becoming prime real estate for small retailers rather than the mega-mall that the big chains had hoped it would be. Second-quarter profits from Facebook stores were up 38 percent from the first quarter for the 180,000 small to mid-sized retailers, and have been going strong ever since, says e-commerce company Ecwid, which makes store-building software to work across social-media platforms and Web sites.

A Bit Too Much Spice in McCormick's Supply Chain

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Growth of Middle, Upper Classes in China, India Will Continue to Be Hugely Attractive to Business

Consumers in India and China are the new kings and queens of the global economy. They have fast-changing tastes and appetites, and they are transforming the world with their consumption.

SMBs Generally Positive About Economy, Survey Finds

Sage North America say the results of a snapshot survey of small to medium-sized business manufacturers indicate the general health of their businesses is pretty good, and use of their enterprise resource planning systems has benefited them.

Holiday Sales Predicted to Increase as Much as 4 Percent Despite Economy

Deloitte is forecasting holiday sales will increase between 3.5 percent and 4 percent as the economy's health and the presidential election take center stage among consumers this fall.

The Definition of 'Supply Chain' Is Wide. It's Too Important Not to Be.

Supply chain overlays the sales and marketing organizations and the procurement function - which have defined their roles too narrowly. Too few are focused on the role of the organization in driving value networks to improve value-based outcomes. Most lack the understanding, and they are just not incented to build value networks. The focus has to be market to market. The supply chain team can make a difference, but it requires reschooling. It is about much more than trucks and sheds. Or pumps and valves. Or contracts and negotiations. It is the end-to-end process: from the customer's customer to the supplier's supplier.

In Closing Some Stores, Staples Bets on Multichannel Retail Strategy

Staples announced a strategic growth plan that will accelerate the growth of its online businesses, restructure its internal organization and reduce its retail square footage in North America by 15 percent by the end of fiscal 2015. The retailer projects these changes will produce approximately $250m in pre-tax cost savings during this period.

Can Planned Slacking Make You More Productive?

CFOs make all kinds of investments, but how about investing in more down time for employees? That may sound like a recipe for creating a bunch of slackers, but in fact the idea of optimal slack in a system is as fundamental to talent optimization as it is to engineering. Planned and mindful slacking off may help optimize talent performance.

'Big Data' Can Help Minimize Customer Churn

Your customer service representative answers a call from an irate customer. "This darn thing I bought just doesn't work!" he exclaims. "I've tried and tried to get help from your service folks, but they're always late and they can't fix it either. I've had it with you guys. I want my money back!" Big Data can help you retain that customer.

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