Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

Dear Mr. K Ite, Thank you for your very short note highlighting some minor points; I can see you are a little aggrieved. On behalf of "Mr Claus I will attempt to minimise your apparent unease with the S&OP process in the context of the very small…

“Dashing through the snow In a one horse open sleigh…” How many of you started to sing then? Yes, the festive period is fast approaching and the biggest and best Supply Chain in the world is almost ready to activate. This is always the most…

Client : Santa Claus aka Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, St. Nick or simply Santa Market: A large part of the World Scope: FMCG Reindeer Route To Market Distribution Deliverable: Evaluation of RTM against sector benchmarks In summary, this Enchange…

This process can be straight forward but a little extra care and knowledge will ensure you achieve the best warehousing and/or transport solution for your business. Just a quick reality check, do you need to outsource? Before embarking on a…

Who coined the term “Big Data”? How did we get there without tiny data, ordinary data, slightly larger data, chubby data and bordering on big data? People working in or associated with Supply Chains seem obsessed by data yet data itself tells you…

I am back on line again after a few days’ holiday post completion of some challenging factory footprint project work. One of the first catch-up meetings I have had was with an FMCG CEO. No names of course, but this is a medium-large sized player…

All rather too quickly Noddy Holder is already gargling on the festive gravel. Roy Wood and Wizard are wishing we could grossly over eat and drink on 365 or 366 days of the year and although they never met, Bowie and Bing are dueting about peace on…

During my recent travels I met with two Sales (or Business Development Directors if you’re posh) from well known FMCG companies to discuss an assessment review of their Route To Market (RTM) networks. Surprisingly, neither was interested and gave a…

The Rugby World Cup is upon us once more and this time it is in the northern hemisphere and in UK. Therefore rain can be expected throughout the tournament. Rugby is a strange sport in some ways. The forwards are the incredibly big blokes (yes, and…

Your Supply Chain has been revised, optimised, transformed or even blue sky’d – yes, honestly have been present when this was used but managed to stifle a guffaw into a cup of hot chocolate. What a smooth running well oiled machine it has become.…

Who coined “Big Data”? How did we get there without normal sized data, slightly larger data, chubby data and bordering on big data? People working in or associated with Supply Chains seem obsessed by data yet data itself actually tells you nothing.…

When travelling, my personal preference is to take only one plane to my final destination. I know this is more expensive than journeys with connections but I find it a much better overall experience. Of course, sometimes I do have to transit and I…

In a related post I took a 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…

In the greater scheme of life many questions remain unanswered but my hobby horse question is why people and notably politicians and usually male at that, cannot get on with other nationalities and/or/religions. We are not here for long yet some…

The car bounced over the dirt road of potholes and puddles and approached the expansive, looming warehouse building that was once so full of life and bustling activity. Paper and polystyrene fast–food litter gathered up by the breeze blew across the…