Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

In a recent post I took a look at how technology has changed over a relatively short time and how it is used in supply chains. For example, the cutting edge fax machine of the 1970’s is now joining the VHS and cassette tape players in the sad and…

Last week we watched a show featuring an Elvis Presley impersonator/tribute artist. We saw the usual early Elvis leather jacket look followed by the gaudy Las Vegas fancy dress outfit. Vocally, he was a very good match to recordings but not sure how…

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…

I have always thought it a little strange. The “green “ movement is all about saving the Earth yet the same colour is used for “green” house gases (GHG) that are far from green and moving us towards unavoidable planetary oblivion, apparently. Now,…

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…