Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

Well I find it strange anyway. Whenever I go to see my doctor she always greets me with a cheery “good morning, how are you?” I always feel like replying “well I‘m in your clinic so there is a fair chance I need some medical advice or assistance”.…

Those of a certain age and a fondness for seriously daft comedy may recognise these lines from a Monty Python song. The full version is available here but this short section provides the general gist of the lyrical content quality: He likes traffic…

Last week was spent enjoying the weather in UK as I moved the heiress into her third new student house in 3 years. This time the house has 9 – yes nine – residents which must make it a no go area for anyone above the age of 25 unless wearing…

I like S&OP. You have probably gathered as much from previous blogs but I genuinely do. I see the value in its implementation and more importantly, maintenance in numerous FMCG, brewing and pharmaceutical companies. Once you have taken the plunge…

On a daily basis the amount of care we give to the human body is remarkably little. When you are feeling good the best the body can hope for is a good wash, a brush of the teeth and a slap of moisturiser if you are a bit of a girly. What else?…

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…

The English dictionary lists the definition of complexity as “the state or quality of being intricate or complicated: an issue of great complexity”. Wikipedia defines complexity in great detail and starts with “In general usage, complexity tends to…

In a recent post I took a brief look at the use of Balanced Scorecards in FMCG, Brewing and Pharmaceutical businesses but in fact they are entirely appropriate for any business. Whatever your business size or offering you will benefit from knowing…

How do you keep track of Supply Chain performance within your FMCG, Brewing or Pharmaceutical business? You do, don’t you? If you are not measuring KPIs then perhaps you should stop here, read this KPI piece and then pop back and carry. You can…

If you are a CEO or MD of an FMCG, Brewing, Pharmaceutical company with a perceived good reputation for service and you operate a Call Centre or Customer Service Desk then you should personally try calling it from time to time. I don’t know about…

This seems like déjà-vue all over again! Only a handful of working days into the New Year and I am hearing the same old complaints about the economy and business in general being poor. Of course this is true and does not look like changing any time…

I published this some time ago and have just realised I did not follow up with the answers! Here they are, inserted in red text. People working in modern FMCG, Pharma Supply Chain use a whole host of initials and acronyms to get through the day.…

Well, I find it strange anyway. Some very large companies spend countless hours and cash in finding and securing a third party logistic provider (3PLP) to take great care of their finished goods assets. The performance of the chosen 3PLP is then…

Barcelona won the Champions League finally quite easily and to actually hear Sir Alex say something like “they gave us a good hiding” was refreshing. Messi was far from untidy and several Barcelona players looked head and shoulders above their…

Did anyone hear the loud clanging noise on Tuesday around 14.30? The sound was similar to a very large church bell being struck by a huge iron bar and that bar was in the hands of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnie was also in a very bad mood! The noise…