Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

I know I am prone to rattle on about Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) but seeing the benefits being delivered to previously struggling business is extremely motivating for a confirmed “techy” like myself. If only we could advertise such successes…

Once upon a time I was working in a well-known detergent powder factory in the north of England. The factory manger at the time will remain nameless but he had a habit of dragging people from the production floor to show off the latest gadget or new…

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…

The annual Supply Chain “Oscar’s” have been announced by Gartner for 2014. I list the top 10 here but to see the full list of top 25 global Supply Chains please click and surf here. Apple McDonald's Amazon.com Unilever Procter & Gamble Samsung…

Quite a bit of travel recently with a trip in each of the last three weeks. Regular readers will be aware I do not particularly like flying these days, not out of fear but simply the hassle of getting onto a plane. I am now down to simple trainers,…

The human heart. Unless you are a little bit dead or a politician we all have one beating away inside. Thinking a little out of the box, what an excellent supply chain the heart is! Oxygenated blood is pumped through arteries around the body in just…

FMCG and Brewing producers amongst many others, carefully pack their products to meet exacting requirements for International Key Account (IKA) and Local Key Account (LKA) customers. Increasingly this includes specially collated and shrink-wrapped…

I have recently returned from three days in London attending the Integrated Business Planning (IBP) Summit – more on that event in another blog. Now, I am not a frequent traveller in London or the UK in general for that matter so getting around is…

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…

In my previous two blogs on the subject, I outlined how producers (manufacturers) can achieve very significant improvements in the financial performance of their supply chains by a process of integration between the primary and secondary supply…

In my previous blog on the subject (Integrated Supply Chain Planning – The Number 1 Opportunity), I outlined how producers (manufacturers) can achieve very significant improvements in the financial performance of their supply chains by a process of…

Enchange has been working with many FMCG and Pharmaceuticals multinationals for years on projects to improve their primary supply chains. We have also been working with many of the same companies on Route to Market (RTM) projects. For the sake of…

If you are male and own a car then you will have spoken these words at least once! If you do not have a dedicated place to hang your keys then they will be surely be misplaced at some stage. You might miss an important event, football match or at…

If like me, you watched some of Sport Relief last Friday night, you may have been left with a number of emotions. For those people outside of the UK not familiar with Sport Relief, it is a biannual event involving everyday folk, sports personalities…