Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

This post on migration and return of retailers to the high street had me thinking about a similar effect in manufacturing. No, I don’t mean FMCG companies are now placing factories in towns and villages next to post offices and fast “food” outlets.…

Not that long ago most of our shopping was done at smart rows of local shops. Every community had a row of mainly family owned shops where you bought everything from Persil soap powder - yes the real soap version – to baked beans to nuts and bolts.…

I have just arrived back from a great holiday full of sun, sand, sea and sacks of candy-floss which inevitably inspired me to write. I was already in my late twenties when I first flew primarily due to an irrational fear of flying. As a conscious…

The student house. What a great idea to join with some university friends and rent a house together. This is far better than university halls as you can have parties 24/7 without security telling you to keep the noise down. Ok, if you are still all…

There is never a good time to go on a residential training course or put the car in for an overdue lengthy service or the annual visit to the in-laws or even English homework - why was the American cowboy series High Chaparral so much more…

Possibly the most jaw-dropping and least welcome question I will ever hear. A question that brings me to the depths of despair certainly, rapidly and without warning. A question that is worse than being asked to appear on Big Brother – well almost.…

Here at Missing Pieces/Fractured Families/Long Lost Family – delete as per local programming presented by irritating celebrity – we help people find family and friends they have not seen for many years. Often, we are a last resort after all other…

I spent most of last weekend slightly below ground in a hot, dirty, smelly hole without light and where you could not stand up properly. No, it was not the driver’s room at your 3PLP but it was the hole in the ground that provides water to the…

Today I am getting ready to do business in my nameless dysfunctional FMCG business. For “FMCG” you can substitute ANY business sector you wish. I pull on my tough walking boots that will do very well at hiking and climbing and dealing with any water…

The London Olympic Games 2012 are getting very close. The Olympic flame is on a tour of the UK before it finally (and hopefully on time) reaches the Olympic stadium to light the cauldron to mark the start of the games. As the flame has to pass…

How the CEO of an FMCG, Brewing or Pharmaceutical company might come to realise they need Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP). If you hear your boss singing in a locked office you now know why! With due credit to the song and original lyrics from…

Ok, I think it is fairly clear I am a big fan of S&OP. In companies without structure and process this is a way to establish a solid operational framework in a business and this does not actually cost a lot of money or need expensive or complicated…

If you don’t agree on what is expected between two parties before you start a relationship then anything but success is likely. You buy a new car and you get a contract that tells you what is covered by the guarantee and for how long in time or in…

There is enough disruption and discontinuity in supply chains without the necessary evil of new product development (NPD) and product change getting in the way. Just when everyone has become used to ordering, storing, picking, delivering or…

Thursday evening and heading out to an organic bread, cheese and wine evening. Oh yes, very sophisticated these days! After temperatures in the 30’s recently the torrential rain and the “end of the world” sky literally dampened spirits as we joined…