So you have started to set up your own business. You know what you want to supply. You know who you want to supply it to. Great. Now, how the heck do you do it without burning wads of (hard to come across) cash? Supply chain and efficient business go hand in hand and have […]
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Sick of Microsoft Project? Manage Your Project in Excel
Project management is not easy. Keeping track of deadlines, status, risks, issues, and competing priorities is not piece of cake. There are hundreds of articles and management gurus out there with tips and advice on effective project management. However, few (that I have seen) provide tools to put the ideas they provide into action. While […]
Managing in Times of Austerity: 5 Rules of Thumb
There are several terms not so pleasant to our ears that seem to dominate the news lately, terms like sequestration, spending cuts and most of all – austerity. The abundance of these subtractive terms in the media may well mean that they pretty much define the current situation, and we, as Managers, will need to […]
The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Affects the Entire Food Supply Chain
About 48 million people (1 in 6 Americans) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die each year from foodborne diseases, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is a significant public health burden that is largely preventable. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed into law by […]
Avoid the Mistake of Taking Inventory Accuracy for Granted
Inaccurate inventory leads to loss of sales, poor customer experience, and may indicate a more drastic issue of retail theft. Inventory Records Accuracy (IRA) is an area most business people take for granted. Daily Cycle Counting and Root Cause Analysis for a goal of 98-100% daily accuracy is critical to all departments in the company: Purchasing, […]
Applying Military Concepts to Business Planning: Operational vs. Tactical vs. Strategic
We usually divide Planning into three analytical levels with a strong military flavor: Operational, Tactical and Strategic (a clear example of a classical proverb that in the Military everything consists of three parts ). Despite the fact that all these levels are defined pretty clearly (Strategic – where are we going? Tactical – what are […]
Perform Strategic Management Right with a Balanced Scorecard
It’s (relatively) easy to come up with a corporate vision, with a mission statement, with a set of strategies. But, when it comes to the execution of that vision and strategy, things become much more challenging. This difficulty increases as the size of the organization increases. For proper strategic performance management, a number of methodologies […]
Meeting a 3PL Provider for the First Time? Be Prepared
Forming a relationship or partnership with a Third Party Logistics (3PL) company is an important decision. When visiting the 3PL’s facilities for the first time, it is important to come prepared. Be prepared to ask the right questions, cover the right topics, and achieve the right objectives. You are interviewing the company to see if […]
With Proper Value Analysis, Cost Reduction Is Guaranteed
What is Value Analysis? It is an orderly and creative method to increase the value of an item. This “item” can be a product, a system, a process, a procedure, a plan, a machine, equipment, tool , a service or a method of working. Value Analysis, also called Functional Analysis, was created by L.D. Miles […]
ISO 9001
Thousands of companies in over 100 countries have adopted ISO 9001 as their quality management standard. Many more are pursuing this certification. Well, why is this? ISO 9001 helps an organization assure quality and save money. Plus, customers expect it. ISO 9001 applies to all types of organizations. This professionally-developed presentation can be used to […]
Kaizen
Kaizen refers to philosophy or practices that focus upon continuous process improvement in manufacturing, engineering, and business management. This training presentation is specifically designed for managers, supervisors, facilitators, and continuous improvement steering committees who want to kick-start and implement Kaizen activities in their work areas to improve productivity and customer value. This presentation includes: The […]
