564 Posts Found

This article written by consultant R. Michael Donovan describes the causes and effects brought about by unplanned demand oscillations up and down the Supply Chain that has become known as the “Bullwhip Effect”. In addition, Donovan offers a number of recommendations to eliminate or minimize the “Bullwhip Effect”.

Content: Article | Author: R. Michael Donovan | Subject: Operations

Ever since the Internet emerged as a sales channel in the 1990s, it has been thought that one of the chief advantages of e-commerce would be its ability to facilitate the customization of goods and services for consumers. That promise, however, is not yet close to being realized, according to experts at Wharton and an e-commerce research firm.

Content: Article | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Operations

With top supply chain performers working twice as efficiently as the average, the potential for progress is considerable. Here are ten warning signs that all is not well.

Content: Article | Authors: Miles Cook, Roman Zeller | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Operations

Eager to focus on the things they do best, companies have turned to business process outsourcers for virtually everything else.

Content: Article | Author: Russ Banham | Source: CFO Publishing | Subjects: Management, Outsourcing / BPO

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The billions of dollars that companies spend each year on services has become a potent lure — or perhaps one should say lifeline — for E- procurement vendors. With their stock prices flatlining, and with companies hesitant to spend money on big- ticket software, these vendors are retooling their products and their sales pitches, promising impressive ROI on systems that allow companies to procure everything … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Scott Leibs | Source: CFO Publishing | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Operations

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Farming out in-house operations has become a religion. Faith must now be tempered by reason.

Content: Article | Authors: Daniel Woolson, Kurt Speckhals, Ronald C. Ritter, Stephen J. Doig | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Outsourcing / BPO, Strategy

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Content: Book | Author: Darryl V. Landvater | Subject: Operations

Outsourcing has long been the subject of management studies. Though the issue has been analysed from multiple perspectives, a unified, coherent view of outsourcing is still lacking. In this Working Paper, Professors Dalsace and Cool, along with Nicola Dragonetti, identify the major rationales for outsourcing and test these against data for French small and medium-sized enterprises. Their results are surprising and have … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Frédéric Dalsace, Karel Cool, Nicola C. Dragonetti | Source: INSEAD Knowledge | Subjects: Management, Outsourcing / BPO

Content: Book | Authors: Charles C. Poirier, Michael J. Bauer | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Operations

This article (along with an earlier article by the same author) takes a look at W. Edwards Deming’s famous “14 Points”. Though focused on applying these points to data management, the discussion also serves as a good introduction for those unfamiliar with this hallmark of the TQM movement.

Content: Article | Author: Dan Pratte | Source: TechRepublic | Subjects: Management, Operations

The cost of goods and materials is usually the largest component of a company’s cost structure. Why, then, isn’t every financial manager examining the supply chain? Here are the keys that you can use to open the door to improvement — and play a pivotal role — in the supply chain management process.

Content: Article | Author: Steve Player | Source: Business Finance Magazine | Subjects: Finance, Operations

Collaboration among manufacturers, suppliers and customers is helping companies drive excess costs out of the supply chain. Mutual trust and accurate cost accounting are the critical links.

Content: Article | Author: Tad Leahy | Source: Business Finance Magazine | Subjects: Accounting, Operations

Remanufacturing is a production strategy whose goal is to recover the residual value of used products. Laurens Debo and Professors Beril Toktay and Luk Van Wassenhove consider whether producing a remanufactured product is profitable. They focus on the roles of the market, production technology, and cost, developing insights for managers who might consider using what’s been used and putting out a remanufactured product.

Content: Article | Authors: L. Beril Toktay, Laurens G. Debo, Luk N. Van Wassenhove | Source: INSEAD Knowledge | Subjects: Marketing / Sales, Operations

The poster company for the new economy not only failed to anticipate the economic downturn, its much-heralded forecasting software and outsourcing infrastructure may have even made things worse.

Content: Case Study | Author: Scott Berinato | Source: CIO Magazine | Subjects: Operations, Strategy | Industry: Information Technology | Company: Cisco Systems

“…the basic concept is outsourcing. And seeing as we’ve had a quarter century to work out the kinks, you’d think that by now it would be a trouble-free, fill-in-the-blanks process. But you’d be wrong. Outsourcing, it seems, is one place where it’s a snap for history to repeat itself-with some calamitous results. While many companies have undoubtedly saved money, several others have seen costs spiral, … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Lauren Gibbons Paul | Source: Darwin Magazine | Subjects: Outsourcing / BPO, Strategy

Consultant R. Michael Donovan writes that manufacturers need to become more nimble and much faster in their order-to-delivery process. Mike discusses the implications of push vs. pull, IT tools as enablers and potential benefits from Demand-based Flow Manufacturing.

Content: Article | Author: R. Michael Donovan | Source: CEO Refresher | Subject: Operations