Andrew Seay shares a few indications that help with supply chain management could deliver big benefits for your company. At some point or another, every company will struggle to manage its supply chain. As sales volumes grow, companies face delivery issues with suppliers, customer expectations seem to increase almost daily and new, high-volume orders bring in much-welcomed revenue, but often add significantly higher complexity. Unless your company specializes in distribution and logistics, it’s unlikely that inventory management is the reason…

Andrew Seay shares an article that goes beyond the feel-good headlines of electric vehicle adoption to identify a potential risky confrontation with China. EVs feel like a good news story:  They leave a carbon footprint 75% lower than their ICE counterparts.  They are 40% less expensive to maintain.  Four door EVs like the Tesla Model S Plaid are achieving performance levels that eclipse even the fastest ICE-powered Ferrari. Consider how staggering that is: The Tesla Roadster was released 11 years…

In this article, Andrew Seay identifies common problems that arrest supply chain efficiency. At some point or another, every company will struggle to manage its supply chain.  As sales volumes grow, companies face delivery issues with suppliers, customer expectations seem to increase almost daily and new, high-volume orders bring in much-welcomed revenue, but often add significantly higher complexity.  Unless your company specializes in distribution and logistics, it’s unlikely that inventory management is the reason you went into business. So, which…

Andrew Seay shares an article on the MECE framework and how it makes large inventory problems manageable.  How do you eat an elephant?  The answer, of course, is “one bite at a time.”  The same principle applies to all big problems, including those in the supply chain.  A $50M inventory problem is far too large to solve all at once.  Using the “MECE” framework can help. Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive or, MECE (pronounced mee-see), is a problem-solving framework that forces…

In this article, Andrew Seay offers a solution to silo’d supply chains. Recently put an item on promotion and quickly stocked out?  Frustrated by the pile of aging inventory sitting in the annex warehouse?  Trying to determine whether a plant shutdown is the right choice?  At some point in every company’s growth, it will eventually confront challenges similar to these.  A Sales, Inventory and Operations Planning process is often what’s needed to overcome them. In this article, we’ll define the…

Andrew Seay provides an article that identifies five ways your inventory costs are hurting your bottom line.  For its status as the arch-enemy of “lean manufacturing,” excess inventory can actually feel pretty good in a company:  It prevents lost sales due to stock-outs.  It provides peace of mind when a critical piece of equipment breaks.  Ordering in bulk often reduces piece price, providing a benefit to cost-of-goods-sold (COGS).  If anything, inventory can often feel like it’s saving a company money….