Supply chain management

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 […]

Traditional methods of managing supply chain risk require estimations of how likely a disruption is to occur. For fairly common risks--poor supplier performance,...

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.

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

Building resilience means questioning the most fundamental assumptions.

Business people often allude to “my product” or to “the market,” suggesting a far more monolithic view of business than is warranted. Companies vary products and marketing channels in order to accommodate real or perceived differences either in markets or in the laws under which businesses must operate. Most businesses sell a variety of products […]

With the best of intentions, companies up and down supply chains experiment with isolated efforts to improve sustainability-only to encounter a long string...

Innovative companies like American Hospital Supply, United Airlines, and McKesson have been widely applauded for their clever use of information technology. By using computers to help customers order supplies or make airline reservations, such companies have boosted their profits and net worth and permanently altered the competitive dynamics of their industries. But companies that try […]

Supplies from China will dry up, slowing manufacturing and port activity worldwide.

In an era when businesses increasingly have to depend on their suppliers to lower costs, improve quality, and drive innovation, traditional contracts...

Three lessons.

U.S. and European information technology companies face a choice: cooperate or become design and marketing arms of their Japanese competitors. As digital...

How to spend less and accomplish more

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.

Sooner or later, most companies can't attain the growth rates expected by their boards and CEOs and demanded by investors. To some extent, such businesses...

Know when to avoid, engage, or drop them.

Bruce Reid, Blake Memorial Hospital’s new CEO, rubbed his eyes and looked again at the 1992 budget worksheet. The more he played with the figures, the more pessimistic he became. Blake Memorial’s financial health was not good; it suffered from rising costs, static revenue, and declining quality of care. When the board hired Reid six […]

Firms need to shift from "just in time" to "just in case."

It's time to look past simplistic solutions.