Category: Supply Chain
Lean Six Sigma to Reduce Excess and Obsolete Inventory
Published:Excess and obsolete inventory write-offs are chronic supply chain problems costing businesses billions of dollars each year. Unfortunately, improvement projects that are deployed to eliminate these problems often have a short-term focus. In other words, the current levels of excess and obsolete inventory are usually addressed, but not the root causes of the […]
Read more ยปBuild a Win-Win Supply Chain Paradigm
Published:The supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If you invite your suppliers into the profitability equation, you can facilitate success for everyone in the supply chain.
Read more ยปUnderstanding Supply Chain Management: The Key to Efficient Business Processes
Updated:No company is an island. Virtually every business process relies on different types of input, often in the form of physical supplies, that it does not generate internally. The concept of supply chain management (SCM) revolves around controlling and adapting to the way inputs flow into the process and outputs flow out of it. Overview: […]
Read more ยปKey Metrics for Evaluating Lead Time Performance
Updated:The time it takes to deliver on your deals makes or breaks your business. You need to do everything you can to speed up this process without sacrificing quality or safety.
Read more ยปUnderstanding ERP: The Business Management System that Streamlines Operations
Updated:Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a business management system that integrates all aspects of a company’s operations, including finance, human resources, manufacturing, supply chain management, and customer relationship management. ERP software allows businesses to automate and streamline their processes, creating a unified and efficient system that improves productivity and reduces errors. It provides a centralized […]
Read more ยปCase Study: Sime Darby Adds $250M with Lean Six Sigma
Published:Who Is Sime Darby Plantation? Sime Darby Plantation is the worldโs largest sustainable palm oil producer and has four areas of focus: Upstream: 248 estates and 72 mills where fresh fruit is processed into crude palm oil Downstream: Production of oils and fats, oleochemicals, biodiesel, other palm oil derivatives and renewables in 16 countries Research […]
Read more ยปCase Study: Improving the Flow of Cargo and Documents in a Shipping Company โ Part 2 of 2
Published:In this case study, a team wants to be sure their customer-focused business is satisfying its clients. Part 1 focused on reducing the wait times associated with transferring cargo and documents. Part 2 looks at making more improvements using just-in-time (JIT) principles. It is often possible to make significant improvements in speeding up documentation processes […]
Read more ยปCase Study: Improving the Flow of Cargo and Documents in a Shipping Company – Part 1 of 2
Published:In this case study, a team wants to be sure their customer-focused business is satisfying its clients. Part 1 focuses on reducing the wait times associated with transferring cargo and documents.ย Part 2ย looks at making more improvements using just-in-time (JIT) principles. A 15-year-old shipping company with a network of offices throughout India considered being โvalue-driven, customer-focusedโ […]
Read more ยปDMAIC Case Study: Accuracy of System-generated Service Routes
Published:A leading environmental services company provides collection, processing, recycling and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous materials for industrial and automotive customers. The company has branches all over the United States. The service representatives in these branches carry out services for geographically dispersed customers in their respective territories. This case study describes how DMAIC (Define, Measure, […]
Read more ยปA Supply Chain Case Study โ Socks Manufacturing: Part 2 of 2
Published:A socks manufacturing company in India turned to TQM to improve its supply chain. In Part One, the case study describes the process of elminating a significant cost for the company โ delivery delays. This week, Part Two of the case study looks at the broadening of the application of process improvement beyond deliveries. The […]
Read more ยปA Supply Chain Case Study โ Socks Manufacturing: Part 1 of 2
Published:A socks manufacturing company in India turned to TQM to improve its supply chain. In Part One, the case study elminates a significant cost for the companyย โ delivery delays.ย Part Two ofย the case study looks at the broadening of the application of process improvement beyond deliveries. A fledgling socks manufacturing company in India was working to […]
Read more ยปImproving Supply Chain Quality Through Hoshin Kanri
Published:Today, irrespective of industry, corporations must focus on speed, efficiency and customer value to be globally competitive. Lean and Six Sigma are both powerful tools for improving quality, productivity, profitability and market competitiveness. While Six Sigma is focused on reducing variation using a problem solving approach and statistical tools, Lean focuses on eliminating waste and […]
Read more ยปPart 3 of a Finished Goods Supply Chain Case Study: Demand-Pull Production
Published:The โGreat Indian Bazaarโ โ the rapidly growing and evolving Indian retail market โ presents special and daunting distribution challenges for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products. For a typical producer, about 100 stock keeping units (SKUs) flow through 40 to 50 depots to 2,000 to 3,000 distributors to more than a million outlets varying in […]
Read more ยปStreamlining the Ordering Process for U.K. Book Publisher
Published:The publishing industry is on the threshold of major structural changes. The arrival of e-books is only the first threat, and it is having an impact sooner than expected. For example, Amazon.com sold more e-books than paper books in the first quarter of 2010. The credit crunch also has reinforced retailersโ demands for smaller, more […]
Read more ยปPart 2 of a Finished Goods Supply Chain Case Study: Moving Products Between Warehouses and Depots
Published:The โGreat Indian Bazaarโ โ the rapidly growing and evolving Indian retail market โ presents special and daunting distribution challenges for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products. For a typical producer, about 100 stock keeping units (SKUs) flow through 40 to 50 depots to 2,000 to 3,000 distributors to more than 1 million outlets varying in […]
Read more ยปPart 1 of a Finished Goods Supply Chain Case Study: Moving Products from Depot to Distributor
Published:The โGreat Indian Bazaarโ โ the rapidly growing and evolving Indian retail market โ presents special and daunting distribution challenges for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products, such as groceries, toiletries and other items that are used up and must be replaced in a short amount of time. For a typical producer, about 100 stock keeping […]
Read more ยปGet Updated with Supply Chain Research
Published:Reports released in the last several months reveal important information for supply chain managers. The first study, conducted by NPI, a spend management services firm, found the top areas of supply chain overspending. The second report, carried out by CAPS Research, a nonprofit research firm, features benchmarking data from 16 industrial manufacturers. Overspending Identified The […]
Read more ยปGlobal Supply Chain Problems Spark Lean Debate
Published:An unexpected rise in demand for automobiles and electronic goods this spring and summer has played havoc with the supply chains of some corporations, causing temporary shutdowns at a number of factories in Asia and North America. While recent articles in The Wall Street Journal (wsj.com) have pointed to Lean manufacturing methods as a cause […]
Read more ยปSpreading the Word Throughout the Supply Chain
Published:In a recent survey, iSixSigma gathered data on how organizations communicate about their Six Sigma efforts โ data that reflects a lack of communication both within and outside of Six Sigma programs. A resulting iSixSigma Magazine research report, โSpreading the Word,โ examined internal communication. Externally, the flow of information โ or at least the knowledge […]
Read more ยปA Stronger Chain
Published:The familiar maxim “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link” has particular import for businesses committed to process improvement. For some companies, forging stronger, more collaborative relationships with suppliers and customers has become a natural, even necessary, part of their improvement efforts. “Early on, we knew that to create successful value streams, […]
Read more ยปThree Rules for Data Analysis: Plot the Data, Plot the Data, Plot the Data
Published:The job of any purchasing department is to source for reliable suppliers who deliver products conforming to specification on time and within a certain price range. The more data is available about potential suppliers, the better the decision will be. The question is, how should that data be analyzed? The following case study helps to […]
Read more ยปSix Sigma Trends: Upgrade for Supply Chains and Solution Providers
Published:This is my second article from my series reflecting research on strategies and trends in deploying Six Sigma. Our research is performed not in an academic lab but with direct application in companies through advanced team-training concepts and relevant project coaching. Although subjects vary, the structure of my articles will remain similar starting with What […]
Read more ยปMaking SCOR Model More Effective with Lean Six Sigma
Published:Many Six Sigma practitioners have asked how the Supply-Chain Operations Reference model, or SCORยฎ, relate to Six Sigma and Lean. However, perhaps a more relevant question should be, “How can Six Sigma and Lean make a SCOR model more effective?” SCOR, a trademark of the Supply-Chain Council, consists of several hierarchal levels. These are shown […]
Read more ยปHow a Company Can Involve Its Suppliers in Six Sigma
Published:When to involve suppliers in a Six Sigma initiative is a topic that comes up in every organization that has made the commitment to improve. “We are only as good as our suppliers.” This statement by Gรถran Lande, quality manager at Sony Ericcson, at a recent Six Sigma conference, sums up the situation. It is […]
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