Last November, Marc Engel, Unilever’s Chief Supply Chain Officer, told me about Spotify’s brilliant algorithms for finding and serving music to listeners. I immediately signed up for the premium service….
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Beyond Supply Chain
Weekly column from Kevin O’Marah. No-holds-barred comment on supply chain practices and their impact on the broader political, social and economic landscape. Sign up
Facebook is in serious trouble. It has shed almost a quarter of its market cap since the stock peaked at $190 in late January. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is…
Effective today, U.S. President Donald Trump’s much anticipated tariffs on steel and aluminum take effect. I’ve been tracking this with dread for two years, and finally here it is. Although…
Last week while on holiday I read a book called The Silk Roads. Its title hints at the still underappreciated importance of supply chain as a discipline. The lessons it…
Is supply chain management a strategic function best kept close to the center of corporate power or a support function better delegated to local business unit owners? This question has…
KFC’s headline grabbing story of a broken logistics system shutting off the flow of chicken to two thirds of its U.K. stores has been great fun for journalists who’ve enjoyed…
Know the customer. This idea is gospel for business in general and supply chain in particular. Among supply chain leaders, one increasingly urgent goal is exploiting digital technology to better…
The recent gyrations in U.S. equities reflect confusion about how inflation works. Everyone wonders why, despite very low unemployment and a budget-busting combination of lower taxes and more government spending,…
Supply chain people love a challenge. Expected to continually drive down costs while simultaneously improving service, the profession breeds a relentless, goal-driven mentality. Historically, however, supply chain is an area…
New York Times columnist Eduardo Porter says that the recent surge of populism will continue, but may shift leftward in response to the job-destroying power of artificial intelligence. He may…
