Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog
Welcome to our blog!
We are passionate about Route to Market and supply chain management and we are delighted to share our thoughts with you. We would like to hear from you too, so please comment on our posts or contact us.
FMCG dummy QA recalls are not for dummies:Supply Chain Challenges
Dave Jordan Mon, Feb 25, 2013
The recent high profile cases of horsemeat DNA appearing in products marked as beef and other meats have generated a fair amount of humour but they also place great strain on FMCG Supply Chains. Thousands of Supply Chain professionals around the…
FMCG S&OP Leadership: has it gone to the dogs?
Dave Jordan Thu, Feb 21, 2013
If you live in or have visited Bucharest you may well have seen one or two stray dogs hanging around the city. Well, ok more than one or two but numbers have certainly decreased over the last couple of years. A proposal was made in 2010 to organise…
FMCG "Horse" Meat Producers: Quality Control or Quality Assurance?
Dave Jordan Mon, Feb 18, 2013
“After eating what he thought was a beef burger at a Shergar King outlet my friend was taken to a private hospital where he is now in a stable condition. While he has recovered well he has been saddled with an expensive invoice for medical services.…
FMCG Drinks & ugly vegetables Quality Assurance (QA) opportunities
Dave Jordan Thu, Feb 14, 2013
I note that the faceless suits in Brussels relaxed the laws on misshapen fruit and vegetables in 2009. The soaking the UK has received last “summer” has now seen supermarket chains further relax their standards on how fresh produce should appear. I…
Top Secret: Special Agent Assignment: Spamfall and S&OP
Dave Jordan Mon, Feb 11, 2013
Secret Agent Jon D Beams glided through the polished corridors of HQ. Reaching his destination door he knocked and entered at the same time and introduced himself as Beams, Jon D Beams. The swooning Miss Cashnickel smiled a Colgate smile and without…
“Lean” FMCG/Drinks factory operations mean excess manpower
Dave Jordan Mon, Feb 04, 2013
Back in the days when the only reality TV was live sport, a tablet got rid of your headache and a mobile was a normal phone with a longer cable, I used to run a large FMCG factory. Long before TPM was implemented the factory cost base was huge and…
Supply Chain can affect your marriage: Inventory control
Stefan Cucu Wed, Jan 23, 2013
It is a pleasure to introduce our guest blogger Stefan Cucu, who is an experienced tri-lingual (Romanian/English/French) supply chain consultant. His 20+ years experience include a wide variety of supply chain operational roles with blue-chip FMCG…
FMCG S&OP: Enabling change as good as the best CEO
Dave Jordan Mon, Dec 17, 2012
Nearly the year end. Have you started planning for that party? Are the presents all sorted out? Cards ready before the final posting date? No, I thought not. All the fuss will be over before you know it and then January will see the usual raft of…
FMCG Home Alone Demand Planning & Forecasting - Out of stock
Dave Jordan Thu, Dec 13, 2012
Senior Management has again flown off to UK to visit the heiress and attempt to single-handedly bring the UK retail economy out of recession. Look out for a blip in Birmingham when the Q4 figures are released as the plastic is in for vigorous…
Roberto Di Matteo and Managing Supply Chain Change
Dave Jordan Thu, Nov 22, 2012
Sorry to repeat myself but Roman Abramovich is like a man who constantly returns cheese to the supermarket complaining it is mouldy and nobody is brave enough to tell him it is Roquefort. I can hardly believe I write that same text only 262 days…
FMCG Drinks : The Downton Abbey Supply Chain Drama
Dave Jordan Wed, Nov 21, 2012
The ancient Rolls Royce slowly chugged up the lane toward the big house. The thin wheels crunched at the white gravel as the car came to a halt opposite the imposing doors of the Abbey House. A full squad of staff in white and black livery was…
RTM Logistics: Getting your “stuff” onto shelves for consumers to buy
Dave Jordan Thu, Nov 15, 2012
You may well have another corporate buzz term for the getting your products onto shelves, into restaurants and into coolers but the title above is simple and succinct. You may use Route to Market, Go to Market or Distribution but they all have the…
Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) : the CEO needs to get a grip
Dave Jordan Tue, Nov 13, 2012
People ask me what is it like working in Supply Chain and my usual reply is “wetting yourself in a dark suit. You get a warm feeling but nobody notices”. If everything is progressing well then at best you are ignored but when something goes wrong in…
FMCG 3PLP partnerships: A happy marriage? Avoid divorce.
Dave Jordan Thu, Nov 01, 2012
Marriage is quite a project, isn’t it? You take a look at what is on the market and get to know a few possibilities. You may search for a long time to find the right partner who will sweep you off your feet and eventually carry you over the…
FMCG/Brewing/Pharma CEO Performance Appraisal
Dave Jordan Wed, Oct 24, 2012
FMCG/Brewing/Pharma CEO Performance Appraisal Name: This Couldbeyou Location: Anywhere Role: CEO Sector: FMCG/Brewing/Pharmaceutical Summary of Performance The local economy continues to struggle in the difficult global economic climate and perhaps…
