Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

Is the market getting any better, really? Many big name companies have announced indifferent Q4/Christmas results recently and all caution about the continuing "difficult market conditions”. Ok, so 2014 has been put to bed financially but many will…

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein How many of you will be reaching for an electric cigarette or giving up smoking altogether for the New Year? How long will it be before visits to the…

I don’t know why I looked this up now but I did. Do you remember the Icelandic volcano that erupted in 2010 and caused so much havoc to supply chains in and around Europe? Most people do as they were affected in some way either in professional or…

This latest blog is unashamedly about football or soccer depending on where you live, but with a Supply Chain related theme. If football -the correct term, actually – is not your cup of steaming Lipton then thanks for clicking and see you next time.…

When I was managing an FMCG factory in Saudi Arabia one of the most frustrating challenges was the lack of factory capability understanding of Sales & Marketing colleagues and some detached Board members. People who have never worked in factories…

I have tried to understand how the USA presidential election system works and even after several elections I still struggle.The last few months when it comes down to one against one is fairly straightforward but the earlier jostling for position is…

People who work in fast food outlets – I really cannot label them as restaurants – must have specific training in dealing with non-standard orders. Can you imagine the temptation to groan when in a crowded outlet someone asks for a Muck Chicken…

“After eating what he thought was a beef burger at a Shergar King outlet my friend was taken to a private hospital where he is now in a stable condition. While he has recovered well he has been saddled with an expensive invoice for medical services.…

When the biology teacher tells you humans have a tail your ears prick up and you wait for the punch line and inevitable student guffaw. But it’s true! Our coccyx or tailbone is what remains of our lost tail. All mammals have a tail at one point in…

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…

If you are running an FMCG factory the least welcome pack sizes will be something like 50g sachets of washing powder or 50ml tubes of toothpaste, i.e. relatively slow filling and low capacity. In multinationals these small pack skus are likely 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…

Previously I have looked at sku complexity in FMCG, Brewing and Pharmaceutical businesses and how it can affect customer service and profitability. This simple chart shows how you should be reviewing your sku portfolio to ensure your resources are…

Picture the scene in many a boardroom; a note has come from HQ telling the boss to reduce costs as globally the annual set of results is not going to look pretty. Why do all the board directors then look at their Supply Chain colleague? Of course…

So, we have reached April and Q1 is already done and dusted; how were your results? Be honest, did you push, push, push to make last year’s final number and shoot yourself in the foot for Q1? From what I understand very few companies will have had a…