Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

I have two recent stories to tell. Story 1 Recently I was chatting to a Senior Executive in a mobile telecommunications company. We first met about a decade ago when he was the Supply Chain Director for an FMCG multinational in Kenya. The…

Lest we were caught up in the furore of the Hollywood version, it is now time to announce the winners of the inaugural Enchange Supply Chain Blog Oscars. Without further ado: Best Route to Market Blog – goes to Evaluate your FMCG Route to Market…

“We’ve been doing S&OP in our African Operating Companies for 5 or 6 years .... & it’s still not working properly....” This was one of several discussions we have had with clients over the last couple of weeks and something of a recurring theme.…

I have been thinking about Africa this year & its particular needs regarding supply chain. We have been working there since 1993 & it came back into consciousness during the World Cup. Many African countries are growing rapidly. However, I have been…

Route to Market (RTM) is a term used for a series of innovative approaches to a manufacturers supply chain that encompasses all processes and activities dealing with Finished Goods (FG) . Traditionally these processes have been identified as…

Once you have arrived at the office to start your new project, with a new management team and a new project team, many things about successful project management are the same all over the world. Top management support is essential Communication,…

Well its over & the African showcase that was the World Cup has finished. As Spain (deservedly) celebrates and the circus leaves town, I am left to wonder “what next” for the continent? Thankfully I am not the only one in a similar reflective mood.…

Oh Ghana, Ghana! wherefore art thou Ghana? Deny thy goal by penalty in the last minute of extra time and refuse thy destiny; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn to do better in the shoot out, And we’ll no longer be denied an African team in the…

A short rest from the World Cup today. I speaking to a colleague today who had attended a conference last week about doing business in Nigeria. There were echoes from several chats I have had recently with some of our West African clients including…

"... and another thing ... they're all paid millions ... and now it's all over, they all disappear on holiday ..." (leaving us to pick up the pieces of our shattered dreams is the unspoken message). And so continues another England footballing…

Suddenly, many companies in South Africa are grossly overstocked with red, white and blue Vuvuzelas! They will not be allowed at Wimbledon and even the cricket authorities would think twice. Skiing, possibly? There may be quite some capital tied up…

The inevitable post-match, post-mortem. A bunch of lad's dads extolling wisdom & virtue on a Sunday morning after the night before. What was Capello thinking about? If we can't beat the USA, what hope is there? Green the villain; Green the…

Well it has finally started. The world cupis here. And Africa is centre stage again in the collective conscious of the world. Not since the G8 summit in July 2008 has the world turned its attention to Africa; too often the forgotten continent.…