Supply chain management

The U.S.-China trade war and the supply and demand shocks brought on by the Covid-19 crisis are forcing manufacturers everywhere to reassess their supply...

Its collapse has been vastly overstated, according to an analysis of international flows of trade, capital, information, and people.

Blockchain can enhance trust, efficiency, and speed.

First answer two questions; then explore four paths.

Increasingly, multinational corporations (MNCs) are pledging to procure the materials and services they need from companies committed to fair labor practices...

A framework for assessing your strategic options

Managers typically use a one-size-fits-all approach when trying to influence their bosses and colleagues. New research shows that’s a mistake. Persuasion works best when it’s tailored to five distinct decision-making styles.

Pick a strategy that fits your resources and capabilities.

Editor’s Note: This article sets out a simple, elegant, and ultimately tough-minded way to build profitability in a service business. Originally published in 1994, it offers as much today as it did then and is a perennial best seller. ♦ UPDATE: Learn about companies that are applying this timeless advice today. Top-level executives of outstanding […]

For two decades progressive thinkers have argued that a more sustainable form of capitalism would arise if companies regularly measured and reported on...

Paradoxically, the enduring competitive advantages in a global economy lie increasingly in local things—knowledge, relationships, and motivation that distant rivals cannot match.

Today, most multinationals have a conspicuous social conscience. They publicize their internal codes of conduct, monitor labor conditions in their global supply chains, and require suppliers to meet basic labor practice standards. But despite efforts to be better global citizens, companies by themselves are unable to eliminate abuses in their supply chains. In fact, so […]

The 2008 crash hit cross-border business hard. The value of international trade was projected to decline by as much as 9% in 2009. Foreign direct investment...

Banking knowledge had been confused with high-priced data technology.

Point-of-sale scanners and electronic inventory systems were supposed to revolutionize supply chains by connecting manufacturing directly to consumers. But there’s a big problem: bad data.

It’s not easy to make money by offshoring business processes, many CEOs are discovering. Companies benefit only when they pick the right processes, calculate both the operational and structural risks, and match organizational forms to needs.

I made the commitment to public involvement. Then I had to make it work.

Know when to avoid, engage, or drop them.

Most firms have no formal programs for anticipating and fulfilling talent needs, relying on an increasingly expensive pool of outside candidates that...

Internet telephony, or VoIP, is rapidly replacing the conventional kind. This year, for the first time, U.S. companies bought more new Internet-phone...