Forget 'If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It' All bets are off in these unprecedented times. What worked yesterday might not work tomorrow. Take a fresh look at your product supply strategies. Should We Make or Buy? Many executives outsourced when it was the popular and often a smart [...]
The ongoing planning and adjustments integral to the SIOP is like a conveyor belt carrying along current data and processes until they become history. SIOP (Sales, inventory, & operations planning) is a methodology of sorts that aligns demand with supply – and, more importantly, the various functions of the [...]
Creating an innovative business environment means opening your company up for some disruptive changes – in a great way – but none the easier. Creating an innovative culture is cornerstone to success! In today’s new normal business environment, customers expect “stand above the crowd” service with high-value products and [...]
I've been thinking about the value of SIOP (sales, inventory and operations planning). Not only can it be a great way to gain bottom line results (capacity to support business growth, improved margins, accelerated cash flow), but it also can help align the functions of an organization. I've facilitated [...]
Are you prepared for success? We worry so much about failure that I find most clients are not prepared for success. You know what the lawyers say, “never go into a situation without knowing the answer and being prepared for anything that might come up”. It is proven that [...]
Rushing forward without pertinent tools and processes can hinder your business goals. A systems pragmatist will gain traction by strengthening fundamental areas. As I've been going through my hundreds of articles to put together the 100 tips, it's become obvious as to which topics resonated with me as essential [...]
Technological innovations are abundant, even overwhelming. Rather than trying to modernize at every turn seek to leverage your I.T. department to provide maximum efficiency without non-value added work. We hear a lot about lean, Toyota Production System and the like; however, I rarely hear about Lean I.T. A friend [...]
Collecting lots of data isn’t enough to improve service levels. A successful manager tracks relevant metric trends and puts the information into action. One of the keys to success for any business is to watch metrics trends. In my experience, if a client watches key trends, they tend to [...]
Extract the right data at the right time in a meaningful format for decision-making. Almost every company I work with seems to get caught up in the bells and whistles of their new or upgraded software; however, when push comes to shove, the bells and whistles mean nothing if [...]
