Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

Never easy. Never pleasant. Never going to happen? Never believe your factory is safe! From a UK perspective if you had a job in a factory in the 1970’s you expected to have a job for life as long as you kept your nose clean and performed…

Not since Margaret Thatcher has a woman been so feared. Steely cold eyes and a grin that makes the Mona Lisa look like she is having a good old guffaw. Jet black clothes contribute to her oozing superiority complex and an image of someone certainly…

Interim Management is an approach used by companies to “make things happen” within a clear budget and without the headaches of recruiting an full time employee (FTE). The benefits are numerous but initially…… Immediate access to expert supply chain…

Some FMCG, Brewing, Pharmaceutical organisations are comfortable with the idea of using consultants while others avoid them like the plague. Having been on both sides of the fence with respect to supply chain consultancy services I can appreciate…

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…

The merry-go-round continues in English football. Few will have been shocked by the sacking of Les Parry by Tranmere Rovers but the appointment of Ronnie Moore as his immediate replacement is a surprise. Having been sacked by Tranmere a few years…

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…

Everyone in multi-national companies will have experienced the “data request from head office”. Usually arriving at the most inconvenient time, with unclear instructions and no clear reason-why! These data collection campaigns are often managed by…

When someone mentions Interim Management you might be one of many who immediately picture a crusty 50+ male wearing a suit Noah gave away at the Ark jumble sale (which now has worn leather patches on the elbows) and flying in from Western Europe to…

You may recall I took a light-hearted look at the complexity of overpaid Premier League footballers and how they might be treated if they were skus in a business. There is a cost to having an sku on your books whether this is soup, a shampoo or a…

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 have been talking to a number of supply chain executives during the last few weeks and something of a theme has emerged. The theme is the need for highly skilled supply chain resource, available at short notice, with the flexibility to switch off…

I recently had a lengthy discussion with someone from the Armed Forces who was preparing to lead his men into a currently dangerous part of the world. I enquired about the logistics of delivering people, arms and machines to the right place at the…

The sharp, customer end of the extended supply chain continues to receive attention as companies implement and hone S&OP and RTM-style programmes. The multiple drivers include cost of course, but also customer service and a desire not to be out of…

Once upon a time there was an FMCG company that I will refer to as “Foresight”. “Foresight” had spent many years and many dollars creating an acknowledged slick inbound Supply Chain. Top class global buying Flexible factory network State of the art…