Entries tagged as transportation

Combination of company’s business processes, skills and motivation of its employees and ability to measure performance are in my view three most importance factors when talking about operational excellence. In my reengineering days when there was a need to understand how to resolve a specific business problem we always started from discovering the current business process in order to understand specific issues and improvement opportunities that stem from fixing these issues. A key component to quantifying the potential fix is ability to put real numbers behind both issues and solutions. There are companies out there today that offer a very interesting take on the measuring aspect. Oco Inc, a Waltham MA based company offers host of supply chain management related solutions bringing Software As A Service (SAAS) model into the supply chain world.

In yet another revolutionary twist Hugo Chavez ordered Toyota to produce more of Land Cruiser 70, the model that was discontinued in 2007, or face being expelled from the country with company plants expropriated. According to CNN the company was also ordered to share the technology with Venezuelans. The story sounds only too familiar.

Auto sales were one of the first hit by the economic crisis in 2009 and even such well known for their quality brands like Toyota and Honda were not exempt. The only company out of the top 5 car manufacturers not to follow this trend is Hyundai Motor, a company that only few years ago was mainly known for its so-so but affordable cars. The mere fact that Hyundai is in the top 5 speaks volumes about their commitment to succeed and to quality in particular.

I always like to control freight costs. Whether an express shipment company, an LTL or TL carrier, or 3PL, I think it is important to control the cost of freight and indicate freight collect terms with suppliers. In addition to negotiation with carriers (an underutilized negotiation) it helps in freight claims, not matter the FOB point. Always consider the leverage.

Rare events in our recent history made more dramatic changes to the world and to the supply chains than the fall of the Berlin wall.