Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

I have travelled quite a lot over the years and tried to add one new country each year until I stumbled at 45. Many were holidays but a majority were on business with very few opportunities available to actually see the place. “Oh, you must be so…

When I first came across Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) I was sceptical of yet another ”blue sky” approach to pursuing manufacturing excellence. Surely, this would soon be replaced by the next set of buzz-word initials dreamed up by smart-suited…

I am approaching end of tether time with some potential clients. If they were our clients then they would not have to endure the routine monthly disruption. Why do major FMCG producers always think they are in the right and their TT partners are…

The 2014 Football World Cup in Brazil is fast approaching, yes it is football not soccer. As a kid you played “footy” where I grew up and if you said anything like “soccy” you would need to be a fast runner. The England team has completed missing…

I witnessed an intense match of blame tennis recently in the board room of a popular FMCG multinational. The intensity and aggression on display presented a mental image of a tennis match with John McEnroe, Ilie Nastase, Goran Ivanisevic and Marat…

As we celebrate St George's Day and the birthday of William Shakespeare (also the date he died!) what would the great bard think about S&OP in FMCG and Pharmaceuticals? Is this a plan which I see before me, The numbers are as we planned? Come, let…

“What do you call a smiling, friendly and courteous person at a sales conference?” The caterer. “How do you save a drowning supply chain guy?” Take your foot off his head. “What is black and brown and looks really good on a sales guy?” A Rottweiler.…

I will not reveal the name of the organisation for obvious reasons but their Supply Chain is one very impressive, slick machine. Across the Source, Plan, Make and Deliver Supply Chain disciplines we can see excellence and leading edge systems and…

I think by now I have been exposed to around 100 different Sales & Operational Planning processes (S&OP) in sectors from FMCG to Pharmaceuticals to Agrochemicals. These processes have been global, regional and very much local-for-local processes in…

How many times do you find this happening? Someone asks you if you saw that blockbuster film last week or if you saw the new comedy series starring Rowan Atkinson or even if you saw the football match last night where Manchester United finally…

As a sign of how long we have spent living in Romania we have adopted the Domestos si harnici si darnici or spring cleaning routine. The first target of this spring was the kitchen. All cupboards and drawers were emptied including some for the first…

I’m not sure if it is the way people were taught to drive or the driving conditions in certain countries but some drivers do have a funny technique, in my humble opinion. I do not claim to be an expert driver and frankly after driving in Saudi…

Ok, here we go again on another merry-go-round of Supply Chain stretch, strife, strain but hopefully success. All the decorations should be back in their boxes by now. The lights where the red set doesn’t flash and the white set that only work when…

Post Christmas I have been taking a look at International Key Account retailers and seeing how they are coping in the current economic squeeze. One question came to me after seeing well over 20 outlets of various retailers. What do they all do with…

On the first day of Christmas, Enchange gave to me A robust S&OP. On the second day of Christmas, Enchange gave to me Two fine consultants, And a robust S&OP. On the third day of Christmas, Enchange gave to me An ERP go-live, Two fine consultants,…