Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrainMore from Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrainReverse LogisticsHow Supply Chain Became the 'Truth-Teller' at Johnson & JohnsonEight p.m. in the "war room" of Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems: 150 people from all over the world are on a conference call. The topic is a supply outage of trocars, a medical device used in microscopic surgery. Someone on the line, clearly untroubled by the crisis, speaks up. "It's just a trocar," he says.June 24, 2013All LogisticsThe Re-shoring Debate: Sentiment or Hard Numbers?As manufacturers consider shifting production from China back to the West, the U.S. could become an economically viable alternative faster than you think.June 17, 2013Ocean TransportationWho Cares About Conditions in Overseas Factories?On March 25, 1911, fire swept through the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York City. One hundred and forty-six garment workers perished in the blaze, many of them trapped in the building because management had locked the exit doors. The youngest of the victims were 14. It was a horrifying tragedy, not atypical of working conditions during the so-called Progressive Era. Can we not, however, take comfort in knowing that those times are far behind us?June 10, 2013Reverse LogisticsSEC's New Rule on Conflict Minerals: Clarity and ConfusionThe fog is beginning to clear. High-tech and other types of manufacturers are getting a better idea of what they must do in order to conform to new requirements for disclosing the presence in their products of conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring states. Still, a number of questions remain unanswered.June 3, 2013All LogisticsCan Index-Linked Contracts Bring Sanity to the Liner Trades?On October 13, 2011, the Federal Maritime Commission launched a rulemaking that proposed to allow rate levels within oceangoing service contracts to be linked to industry freight indices. Some carriers and shippers had pushed for the change in hopes of achieving greater rate stability in the notoriously uncertain liner trades.May 28, 2013Logistics OutsourcingWhy Cybersecurity Is a Supply-Chain ProblemCollaboration is the solution for just about every aspect of supply-chain management except one: cybersecurity. Then it becomes the problem.May 20, 2013Forecasting & Demand PlanningHow You Can - and Must - Enhance Your Cybersecurity ProgramSomebody wants your company's secrets. And there's an excellent chance that they'll succeed in getting them.May 13, 2013All LogisticsFor the Food Industry, a Shopping List of Critical IssuesAsk any food industry executive to cite his or her greatest concern, and the answer will almost always be the same: product safety. But the list doesn't stop there. Like any other business sector, food manufacturers are grappling with a number of challenges, many of them related to the age of the internet and social media.May 6, 2013Reverse LogisticsFood Safety: It's All About the Supply ChainAs tainted-food scandals go, it wasn't so bad. The discovery early this year of unlabeled horse meat in European food products wasn't for the most part a safety issue. It was a violation of cultural norms, to be sure, as well as a truth-in-packaging problem. Most of all, it was a supply-chain failure.April 29, 2013All TechnologyHow Much Inventory Do You Really Need?Inventory is evil. Inventory is essential. The two statements aren't necessarily contradictory. Not if companies can figure out a way to determine the absolute minimum amount of stock needed to keep customers happy, while maintaining a tight lid on costs.April 22, 2013Previous PagePage 218 of 265Next Page
