case study logistics supply chain management

Logistics and Supply Chain Case Studies

Review our case studies to see how we’ve helped major corporations turn logistical ideas into a reality., leading beverage distributor, penske logistics helps beverage distributor rapidly establish new warehousing operations.

When this distributor had to expand its operation quickly to counter a competitor, they turned to Penske to deploy a customized solution.

Baby2Baby Donation Transportation

Coordination and planning lead to successful transport of $3 million clothing donation.

Penske Logistics worked with Baby2Baby, a nonprofit that provides basic essentials to impoverished children, and Old Navy to transport $3M of clothing donations.

Luxury Product Manufacturer

Penske logistics reduces inventory shrinkage, improves overall inventory management.

A leading producer of fine luxury products required a partner who could improve their warehouse and distribution operations and reduce the theft.

Poultry Supplier

Transporting food items requires extra care and expertise.

Poultry producers, navigate a complex array of supply and delivery challenges to ensure their food arrives fresh, wholesome, and on-time.

Building Products Manufacturer

Customized fleet technology solution.

A leading building products manufacturer sought to streamline its supply chain operations and expand its fleet while improving visibility through the implementation of fleet management technology.

National Wholesale Distributor

A national wholesale distributor case study.

A national wholesale distributor of heating and air conditioning supplies was struggling to manage its complex supply chain and maintain high levels of customer service, which is a top priority.

Looping Process Ensures Continuous Production

Penske collaborated with Novelis to create a closed-loop recycling network that moves finished aluminum coils and transports scrap for new production.

A Global Manufacturer

Optimizing activities in the distribution center.

Penske worked with this global manufacturer to optimize its inventory routing and mode selection and to improve visibility to its supply chain.

Quick Service Restaurant

Food and beverage in-store delivery and warehousing.

Penske helped this restaurant chain get its supply chain fundamentals in place with the right logistics tools, truck driver training and warehousing solutions.

Tier 1 Automotive Component Supplier

Managing the inbound supply chain.

Penske helped this supplier minimize supply chain disruptions by designing a network that optimized mode selection, routing and analysis.

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Supply Chain Management Design & Simulation Online

Supply Chain Case Studies

SCM Globe comes with a library of case studies that explore COMMERCIAL , HUMANITARIAN , and MILITARY supply chains. When you purchase an account you have access to all the case studies and their simulations.

The case studies range from relatively simple beginning cases like Cincinnati Seasonings , to quite challenging advanced cases such as Zara Clothing Company , or Nepal Earthquake Disaster Response .  Case studies are laboratories where you apply what you learn in lectures and readings to solve supply chain problems in highly realistic simulations. Each case has a " CASE STUDY CONCEPT " showing the supply chain principles and practices highlighted in that case.

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Case studies presently available in the online library are shown below. You are welcome to use any or all of them. You can also create your own case studies, or we can create them for you. Cases are shown in the three categories. As you work with these cases you will gain an intuitive understanding of supply chain dynamics, and develop the analytical skills for designing and managing real supply chains.

People new to SCM Globe should start with the  Cincinnati Seasonings case study . Work individually at first, not in groups. Each person needs their own account. Do the three challenges shown in the online introduction to Cincinnati Seasonings. That's how you'll learn to use the software, and how to use simulations to analyze and design supply chains. Then you will be ready to work in groups or work on more advanced cases.  Click on the case studies below to see a description and introduction to each case.

Commercial Supply Chain Case Studies

Collaborative Supply Chains

S&J Trading Company – Angola

Java Furniture Company – Indonesia

Cincinnati Seasonings

Supply Chains of the Roman Empire

Ancient Silk Road – First Global Supply Chain

Zara Clothing Company Supply Chain

Fantastic Corporation – Global Supply Chain

Fantastic Corporation – Unexpected Disruptions

Humanitarian supply chain case studies.

Disaster Response Supply Chains: Flooding Scenario

Nepal Earthquake Disaster Response Supply Chain

Humanitarian Supply Chains: Syria Evacuation Scenario (CIV and MIL)

Military supply chain case studies.

Burma Campaign – 1944 Invasion of India

Battle of Smolensk – 1941 Invasion of Russia

Alexander the Great Needed Great Supply Chains

New case studies.

New cases are added based on projects we do with instructors, students, and supply chain professionals. Here are the new supply chain models in the library:

• Local and Sustainable Supply Chains – Blue Ocean Cooperative
• Aerospace Manufacturing Cluster – Rockford IL
• Hyderabadi Biryani – Paramount Restaurant 
• Western Desert War – May 1941
• Russian Logistics for the Invasion of Ukraine

Interactive Supply Chain Case Studies

Every case study has a main theme or concept that it illustrates. You will be challenged to use knowledge acquired in lectures and readings as well as your own real-world experience to expand and re-design the supply chains in these case studies.

In the commercial supply chain cases you need to improve and expand the supply chains to support new stores and still keep operating costs and inventory as low as possible. In cases that deal with humanitarian or military missions you need to create supply chains to deliver the right supplies to the right locations when they are needed, and do so at a reasonable cost.

We are glad to provide a  free evaluation account  to instructors, students and supply chain professionals interested in exploring SCM Globe simulations — click here to request an account —  Get Your Free Trial Demo  

See SCM Globe pricing for Academic and Business versions of the software.

The best case to start with is Cincinnati Seasonings . After working through the three challenges presented in the online introduction to this case you will be ready to handle further challenges in this case or move on to more advanced cases. Get a quick introduction to working with case studies in “ Working with Case Studies “.

As problems are found in the simulations, you make decisions about how to fix them. Make changes to your supply chain model in the Edit screen. Then go to the Simulate screen and run a simulation to see the results of your changes. Depending on the changes you make, your supply chain simulation runs for additional days and other problems arise. As you address these problems you see about how supply chains work. Apply what you learn in readings and and lectures plus your work experience to solve the problems you encounter.

Keep improving your supply chain model until you get the simulation to run for 30+ days. Then download your simulation results and create a monthly Profit & Loss Report plus KPIs (as shown below). This provides an objective basis for evaluating the merits of different supply chain solutions.

Monthly Profit & Loss Reports identify areas for improvement. They help you improve your supply chain to keep it running for 30 days and also lower operating costs and inventory levels. You can work on lowering the carbon footprint of your supply chain too. These are the challenges you address in SCM Globe, and they are the same challenges people face when managing real supply chains. What works well in the simulations will also work well with actual supply chains. Skills you develop in working with the simulations are directly transferable to the real world.

NOTE: You can run simulations for longer than 30 – 60 days, but there is usually no reason to do so. This is because most companies do not run their supply chains unchanged for longer than 30 days at a time. They use a 30 day S&OP ( sales and operations planning ) cycle and these simulations correspond to that monthly S&OP cycle. These simulations focus on the tactical realities of operating a supply chain from one month to the next, and finding what works best.

Accessing the Online Library of Case Studies

As shown in the screenshots below, logon to your account and access the case study library from your Account Management screen. Click on the “View Library” button (arrow 1) in upper right corner of the Account Management screen. In the Library screen you see a list of available supply chain case studies; click “ Import ” to load a selected case study into your account; give the imported case a Name , and click “ My Account ” to go back to your Account Management screen.

You are welcome to import any or as many of the supply chain models in the library as you wish. Once you have a copy of a supply chain model in your own account you can make any changes you want to it.

In Account Management, you “ Create a New Supply Chain ” or work with an existing supply chain by clicking the “ Edit ” button (arrow 2) next to the existing supply chain you want to work on. You can also upload copies of supply chain models sent to you by other SCM Globe users (arrow 3) , and check your account expiration date (arrow 4) .

Use the Default Values or Enter New Data

When you load any of the case study supply chain models from the SCM Globe library, they come with default numbers already plugged in. You can either accept the defaults or do some research to find more current data. This data (like data and prices everywhere) changes all the time.

Look for data on products, facilities and vehicles that are used in your supply chain and see what their specifications and costs are. Costs can vary widely in different parts of the world. Go to websites of commercial real estate brokers in cities of interest and see what you can find out about rent costs:

• for cities in North America start with www.cityfeet.com
• and for cities in other parts of the world start with  www.knightfrank.com

Metric System of Weights and Measures

In the case studies all weights, volumes, distances and speeds are expressed using the metric system. The metric system is used around the world in every country except three: Liberia; Myanmar; and the United States. So it is good for supply chain professionals to feel comfortable with the metric system.

Register on SCM Globe for Access to all Supply Chain Simulations

Click the blue "Register" button on the app login page, and buy an account with a credit card or PayPal (unless you already have one). Then scan the "Getting Started" section, and you are ready to start. Go to the SCM Globe library and click "Import" next to the supply chain models you want.

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What is Sales & Operations Planning?

The 4 supply chain metrics, static inventory an untapped source of working capital, s&op, a vision for the future. an interview with eric tinker, improving behaviours in support of world class s&op: coach for excellence.

• Planning & Forecasting Articles

How Can Data Improve Supplier Decisions

Information-based negotiations in the digital age, hurt, help or hero how to define and get more out of your most important suppliers, how to spot supplier risk during pickups & deliveries, how to spot supplier risk during on-site evaluations.

• Procurement & Sourcing Articles

The Long Tail of Inventory and Why It’s Important

No more excuses: transformative iot is staring you in the face, predictive analytics let manufacturers see more clearly into their supply chains, rise of the grocers, how 3d printing is set to shake up manufacturing supply chains.

• Manufacturing & Production Articles

6 Tips for Maximizing Efficiency and Productivity of Warehouse Operations

Robot trucks or autonomous vehicles will revolutionize the supply chain, data integration made sexy, how to avoid the most common warehouse safety hazards, out darn spot out, i say.

• Warhouse & Transport Articles

Returns – A Threat to the Bottom Line or an Opportunity to Cut Costs?

Supply chain sustainability takes root, why the 2030 sustainable development goals matter to packaging professionals, to build sustainable products, listen to your customers, getting packaging costs down to size.

• Reverse Logistics Articles

Transform Your Supply Chain For Omnichannel

The impact of maintenance operations on supply chain management, is your supply chain strategy inside-out or outside-in, how industry benchmarks can boost your asset recovery, supply chain visibility: we should be striving for more.

• Supply Chain Management articles

Accelerating the Shift to More Efficient Trucks

Insight – is it ok to lie, supply chain execution software convergence, 3d printing and the supply chains of the future, changing the production performance metric, supply chain management case study: the executive’s guide.

By Supplychainopz

Professionals in supply chain management use various methods to determine how to improve the performance of supply chain operations. Analysis of case study is certainly one of the most popular methods for people from business management background. In order to accelerate the learning, this article has gathered 20+ most sought-after supply chain case studies, analyzed/categorized them by industry and the findings are presented.

Boeing wants to encourage more flight frequency and direct route using a smaller capacity aircraft. Then they decide to outsource many things such as the design, testing and production of key components to key industrial partners and try to reduce number of components that go to assembly. The ultimate goal is to finish the final production process within 3 days. Airbus takes a bit different marketing approach. They want to utilize high capacity airplane to help airlines drive the operating cost down. They decide to selectively outsource the production of parts and keep the design and production of key components in-house.

Supply Chain of fashion industry involves a time based competition. Many customers have the unique product needs but a competition is very fierce because of the low barriers of entry. Many new players try to offer specialized products to customers all the time. This section features the supply chain case studies of H&M, Benetton, Zara and Adidas. –  H&M  aims to be the price leader in the fashion market.In order to materialize its vision, H&M tries to eliminate the middlemen in various stages of supply chain and consolidate the buying volumes. Product design is also the central part of its strategies. They don’t try to follow the high fashion designs but try to adopt the street trends which are easier to produce. At the end of the day, they can bring products to market within 2-3 weeks. –  Benetton , in contrast, chooses to have a full control of its production but allow its licensees to operate the stores so they can focus on production and quality control. The reason is that they would like to create the worldwide brand awareness. For fast moving products, they use the production facilities in Europe. Asian suppliers will perform production for standardized products. –  Zara  is very famous for its time based strategy. In order to launch a new product within 15 days, Zara uses a small lot production. A new product will be tested in pilot stores. If product sales is good, a larger batch will be ordered. Otherwise, remaining products will be removed from the shelves and sold as mark-down in other stores. This creates the perception among consumers that Zara’s products are unique and you have to take it while stock lasts. Vertical integration contributes to the success of Zara, they own the majority of its production facilities and stores (this is the reason why Quick Response can be effectively implemented). Its automated distribution centers are strategically located between the center of populations so products are delivered to stores quickly. Zara also works with Air France, KLM Cargo and Emirates Air in order that they can coordinate directly with the airlines to make the outbound shipments to its stores and bring back some raw materials and semi-finished materials with return legs. The last supply chain case study in the fashion retailing industry is  Adidas . In order to cope with changing customers’ demand, they decide to undertake Mass Customization strategy. The whole idea is to develop, market and deliver the product variety that most customers will find what they want. The first steps towards mass customization is to strategically offer the product choices. Too few variations will disappoint a customer but too many variations will simply postpone a buying decision. After that, Adidas asks the same key suppliers to produce custom components in order to achieve the economy of scale. In order to compensate a long waiting time, Adidas uses air freight or courier service. The reason why they can do this is that customized products are sold directly to customers so they have the higher profit margin to compensate the higher transportation cost. Supply chain strategy of the fashion retailing industry is summarized as below,

FMCG industry is typically the products sold to customers at a low cost and will be completely consumed within 1 year. The nature of this industry is the short product life cycle, low profit margin, high competition and demand fluctuation. This section will present the case studies of P&G, Unilever and Coca-Cola respectively. Forecasting and new product introduction has always been the issues for many FMCG companies,  P&G  is no exception. To cope with this, P&G conducts a merchandise testing at the pilot stores to determine the customer’s response to new product before the launch. The result is that the forecast accuracy is improved because a demand planner has an additional source data to make a better decision. Moreover, products can be shipped to stores in-time then lost sales is minimal. –  Unilever  also feels that the competition in FMCG industry has significantly increased. They have to launch the new products on regular basis but the forecasting of new product is difficult. So they create a better classification of new products (base, relaunch, repack, new) using a regression model to identify potential forecast errors for each type of new product. –  Coca-Cola  doesn’t really have many stock keep units when compared with other companies in the same industry. However, products go to over 2.4 million delivery points through over 430 distribution centers. Managing transportation at this scale is the absolute challenge. In order to streamline the delivery, Coca-Cola implemented a vehicle routing software. The reason is that is the software vendor has a very good relationship with Coca-Cola’s legacy ERP software vendor. Moreover, the vendor has a solid connection with the university who can help to develop the algorithm that fits in with the business’ needs. The result is that transportation planners at each distribution center can use the new tool to reduce travelling time/distance on daily basis.

Lean manufacturing concept has been implemented widely in the automotive industry so the case studies about lean manufacturing is very readily available. Due to the increasing competition in the automobile industry, car manufacturers have to launch a new model to the market more frequently. This section will show you how BMW manages a long term planning, how Ford applies lean concept to the new product development and how Hyundai manages the production planning and control. –  BMW  uses a 12-year planning horizon and divides it into an annual period. After that, they will make an annual sales forecast for the whole planning horizon. After the demand is obtained, they divide sales into 8 market and then select the appropriate production sites for each market, considering overall capacity constraints and total cost. As you may notice, this kind of a long range planning has to be done strategically. –  Ford  calls its product development system as “work streams” which include the body development, engine development, prototyping and launch process . The cross-functional team are the experts and their roles are to identify key processes, people, technology necessary for the development of new prototype. Each work stream team is responsible to develop timeline of each process. Detailed plan is usually presented on A3 sized paper. They clearly identifying current issues they are facing with supporting data, drawings and pictures. On weekly basis, they organize a big group meeting of all work stream team to discuss the coordination issues. –  Hyundai  deploys a centralized planning system covering both production and sales activities across the facilities and functional areas. They develop a 6-month master production plan and a weekly and a daily production schedule for each month in advance. During a short term planning (less than one month), they pay much attention to the coordination between purchasing, production and sales. Providing a long term planning data to its suppliers help to stabilize production of its part makers a lot.

Life cycle of technology products is getting shorter and shorter every day. Unlike FMCG, the launch of a new product in the hi-tech industry requires the investment in research and development quite extensively. Then, a poor planning will result in a massive loss. This section will cover JIT and outsourcing by Apple Inc, Supply Chain Risk Management by Cisco System, Technology Roadmap by Intel, Supply Chain Network Model by HP, Mass Customization by Dell and Quality Management by Sam Sung. Steve Jobs invited the Tim Cook to help to improve  Apple’s Supply Chain  in 1998. Jobs told Cook that he visited many manufacturing companies in Japan and he would like Cook to implement the JIT system for Apple. Jobs believed that Apple’ supply chain was too complex then both of them reduced the number of product availability and created 4 products segment, reduced on hand inventory and moved the assembling activities to Asia so they could focus on developing the breathtaking products that people wanted to buy. –  Cisco Systems  would like to be the brand of customer choice so they implement a very comprehensive supply chain risk management program by applying basic risk mitigation strategies, establishing appropriate metrics, monitoring potential supply chain disruptions on 24/7 basis and activate an incident management team when the level of disruption is significant. –  Intel ‘s new product development is done by the process called Technology Roadmap. Basically, it’s the shared expectations among Intel, its customers and suppliers for the future product lineup. The first step to prepare the roadmap is to identify the expectations among semiconductor companies and suppliers. Then they identify key technological requirements needed to fulfill the expectations. The final step is to propose the plan to a final meeting to discuss about the feasibility of project. Some concerning parties such as downstream firms may try to alter some aspects of the roadmap. Technology Roadmap allows Intel to share its vision to its ecosystem and to utilize new technology from its suppliers. –  HP ‘s case study is pretty unique. They face with a basic question, where to produce, localize and distribute products. Its simple supply chain network model is presented below,

From this example, only 3 possible locations result in 5 different way to design the supply chain. In reality, HP has more production facilities than the example above so there are so many scenarios to work with. How should HP decide which kind of a supply chain network configuration they should take to reduce cost and increase service to customer? The answer is that they use the multi-echelon inventory model to solve the problem. –  Dell  is one of the classic supply chain case studies of all time. Many industries try to imitate Dell’s success. The key ingredients of Dell’s supply chain are the partnership with suppliers, part modularity, vendor managed inventory program, demand management and mass customization. Also, you can find the simplified process map of Dell’s order-to-cash process as below,

–  Sam Sung  has proven to be the force to be reckoned with in the hi-tech industry. The secret behind its supply chain success is the use of Six Sigma approach. They studied how General Electric (GE), DuPont and Honeywell implemented six sigma. After that, they have created their own implementation methodology called DMAEV (define, measure, analyze, enable, verify). They use the global level KPI to ensure that each player in the same supply chain is measured the same way. Also, they utilize SCOR Model as the standard process. Any process changes will be reflected through an advance planning system (APS).

The last industry covered here is the general merchandise retailing industry. The critical success factor of this industry is to understand the drivers of consumer demand. Four case studies will be presented, namely, 7-11, Tesco, Walmart, Amazon and Zappos. –  7/11  is another popular case study in supply chain management. The integration of information technology between stores and its distribution centers play the important role. Since the size of 7/11 store is pretty small, it’s crucial that a store manager knows what kind of products should be displayed on shelves to maximize the revenue. This is achieved through the monitoring of sales data every morning. Sales data enables the company to create the right product mix and the new products on regular basis. 7/11 also uses something called combined delivery system aka cross docking. The products are categorized by the temperature (frozen, chilled, room temperature and warm foods). Each truck routes to multiple stores during off-peak time to avoid the traffic congestion and reduce the problems with loading/unloading at stores. –  Tesco  is one of the prominent retail stores  in Europe. Since UK is relatively small when compared with the United States, centralized control of distribution operations and warehouse makes it easier to manage. They use the bigger trucks (with special compartments for multi-temperature products) and make a less frequent delivery to reduce transportation cost. Definitely, they use a computerized systems and electronic data interchange to connect the stores and the central processing system. –  Wal-Mart ‘s “Every Day Low Prices” is the strategy mentioned in many textbooks. The idea is to try not to make the promotions that make the demand plunges and surges aka bullwhip effect. Wal-Mart has less than 100 distribution centers in total and each one serves a particular market. To make a decision about new DC location, Walmart uses 2 main factors, namely, the demand in the proposed DC area and the outbound logistics cost from DC to stores. Cost of inbound logistics is not taken into account. There are 3 types of the replenishment process in Wal-Mart supply chain network as below,

In contrary to general belief, Wal-mart doesn’t use cross-docking that often. About 20% of orders are direct-to-store (for example, dog food products). Another 80% of orders are handled by both warehouse and cross dock system. Wal-Mart has one of the largest private fleet in the United States. The delivery is made 50% by common carriers and 50% by private fleet. Private fleet is used to perform the backhauls (picks up cargoes from vendors to replenish DCs + sends returned products to vendors). Short-hauls (less than one working day drive) is also done by the a private fleet. For long-hauls, the common carriers will be used. There are 2 main information system deployed by Wal-Mart. “Retail Link” is the communication system developed in-house to store data, share data and help with the shipment routing assignments. Another system is called “Inforem” for the automation of a replenishment process. Inforem was originally developed by IBM and has been modified extensively by Wal-Mart. Inforem uses various factors such as POS data, current stock level and so on to suggest the order quantity many times a week. Level of collaboration between Wal-Mart and vendors is different from one vendor to the other. Some vendors can participate in VMI program but the level of information sharing is also different. VMI program at Wal-Mart is not 100% on consignment basis. –  Amazon  has a very grand business strategy to “ offer customers low prices, convenience, and a wide selection of merchandise “. Due to the lack of actual store front, the locations of warehouse facilities are strategically important to the company. Amazon makes a facility locations decision based on the distance to demand areas and tax implications. With 170 million items of physical products in the virtual stores, the back end of order processing and fulfillment is a bit complicated. Anyway, a simplified version of the order-to-cash process are illustrated as below,

Upon receipt of the orders, Amazon assign the orders to an appropriate DC with the lowest outbound logistics cost. In Amazon’s warehouse, there are 5 types of storage areas. Library Prime Storage is the area dedicated for book/magazine. Case Flow Prime Storage is for the products with a broken case and high demand. Pallet Prime Storage is for the products with a full case and high demand. Random Storage is for the smaller items with a moderate demand and Reserve Storage will be used for the low demand/irregular shaped products. Amazon uses an propitiatory warehouse management system to make the putaway decision and order picking decision. After the orders are picked and packed, Amazon ships the orders using common carriers so they can obtain the economy of scale. Orders will arrive at UPS facility near a delivery point and UPS will perform the last mile delivery to customers. Amazon is known to use Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) to handle the sales forecast. Anyway, this must be S&OP process at product family/category level. To compete with other online retailers,  Zappos  pays much attention to the way they provide the services to customers. In stead of focusing on the call center productivity, Zappos encourages its staff to spend times over the phone with customers as long as they can so they can fully understand the customer’s requirements. They also upgrade the delivery from 3 days to 1 day delivery in order to exceed customer expectation.

All case study demonstrates that supply chain management is truly the strategic initiatives, not merely a cost cutting technique. Leading companies have a very strong customer focus because almost all of initiatives are something to fill the needs of customers. Relationship management is the unsung hero in supply chain management. It’s the prerequisite to the success of every supply chain. And at the end of the day, it comes down to the quality of supply chain people who analyze, improve and control supply chain operations. – See more at: http://www.supplychainopz.com/2014/04/supply-chain-management-case-study.html#sthash.MrnrGsyY.dpuf

Supply Chain Minded is a very active and fast growing online community in Supply Chain for Planning, Sourcing, Manufacturing, Delivery and Reverse Logistics professionals. The Supply Chain Minded community aims to inform and connect professionals active in Supply Chain, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Warehousing, Transport, Distribution; Reverse Logistics, Service Logistics, Lean & Six Sigma, 3PL.

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Using Supply Chains to Grow Your Business

• Daniel Isenberg
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• November 20, 2015

Mobilizing on Climate

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Are You Prepared for Bad Press About One of Your Suppliers?

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• July 10, 2020

The Japan Earthquake Rattles Supply Chains, Too

• Willy C. Shih
• March 23, 2011

Crime and Management: An Interview with New York City Police Commissioner Lee P. Brown

• Alan M. Webber
• From the May–June 1991 Issue

Innovate at Your Own Risk: Deborah Wince-Smith on Competitiveness

• Gardiner Morse
• From the May 2005 Issue

How Kenvue De-Risked Its Supply Chain

• Michael Altman
• Atalay Atasu
• Evren Özkaya
• October 18, 2023

Biogen Unchained

• David Bovet
• Joseph Martha
• From the May–June 2000 Issue

Radically Simple IT

• David M. Upton
• Bradley R. Staats
• From the March 2008 Issue

The Latest Supply Chain Disruption: Plastics

• Bindiya Vakil
• March 26, 2021

Fit Products and Channels to Your Markets

• Robert E. Weigand
• From the January 1977 Issue

A New Way to Think About Office Lighting

• Iain Campbell
• Koben Calhoun
• James Mandel
• June 27, 2017

Building a Resilient Supply Chain

• Paul Michelman
• August 14, 2007

The Sustainable Supply Chain

• Peter M. Senge
• Steven E. Prokesch
• From the October 2010 Issue

Rapid-Fire Fulfillment

• Kasra Ferdows
• Michael A. Lewis
• Jose A.D. MacHuca
• November 01, 2004

Why Sourcing Local Food Is So Hard for Restaurants

• Nicole Torres
• June 15, 2016

Break the Paper Jam in B2B Payments

• Steve Berez
• Arpan Sheth
• From the November 2007 Issue

Global Supply Chains in a Post-Pandemic World

• Willy C Shih
• From the September–October 2020 Issue

The Cybersecurity Risks of an Escalating Russia-Ukraine Conflict

• Paul R Kolbe
• Maria Robson Morrow
• Lauren Zabierek
• February 18, 2022

The New Tools of Trade

• Regina M. Abrami
• Leonard Bierman

How Machine Learning Will Transform Supply Chain Management

• Morris A. Cohen
• Rohan Deshpande
• Vinayak Deshpande
• From the March–April 2024 Issue

Building a Supplier Diversity Program? Learn from the U.S. Government.

• Chris Parker
• Dwaipayan Roy
• February 09, 2024

2023: A Strange, Tumultuous Year in Sustainability

• December 28, 2023

How Global Companies Use AI to Prevent Supply Chain Disruptions

• Remko Van Hoek
• Mary Lacity
• November 21, 2023

Case Study: How Should We Diversify Our Supply Chain?

• Krishna G. Palepu
• From the November–December 2023 Issue

The Next Supply-Chain Challenge Isn’t a Shortage — It’s Inventory Glut

• PS Subramaniam
• September 29, 2023

Using Technology to Improve Supply-Chain Resilience

• Jonathan Colehower
• September 25, 2023

How Tony’s Chocolonely Created a Purpose-Driven (and Profitable) Supply Chain

• Frans Pannekoek
• Thomas Breugem
• Luk N. Van Wassenhove
• September 11, 2023

Forecasting in Flux: Navigating Uncertainty through Strategic Supply Chain Flexibility

• June 15, 2023

Reducing Forecast Risk with Supply Chain Flexibility Webinar

• June 01, 2023

Rethinking Supply Chains for Greater Efficiency, Resiliency, and Sustainability

• April 27, 2023

How Tracking ESG Metrics Can Help Reduce Costs and Build Supply-Chain Resilience

• April 26, 2023

How to Build Supply Chain Resilience Without Sacrificing ESG Goals or Inflating Costs

• March 29, 2023

A Resilient Supply Chain Built for Competitive Advantage

• March 07, 2023

Marico’s Chairman on Innovating Across Every Part of the Business

• Harsh Mariwala
• From the January–February 2023 Issue

Crate & Barrel Holdings CEO Janet Hayes on Navigating Turbulent Times for Retail

• December 15, 2022

How Smaller Companies Can Bring Manufacturing Closer to Home

• Arnd Huchzermeier
• December 07, 2022

How American Eagle Reinvented Its Fulfillment Strategy

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Pricing Optimization at Delly’s: A Case Study in Successful AI Enablement

Talking Logistics

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Read more The post Pricing Optimization at Delly’s: A Case Study in Successful AI Enablement appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez. After capturing many of.

Negotiating With A Chatbot: A Walmart Procurement Case Study

MAY 1, 2023

This past February we asked members of our Indago supply chain research community — who are all supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies — “Is your company using Artificial Intelligence in its supply chain or logistics operations?”

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• Enchange Supply Chain Consultancy

The Logistics of Logistics

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Automotive Case Study: Chery Phase 1

Supply Chain Brain

APRIL 30, 2024

With an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles and 200,000 KD units, the factory aims to be at the forefront of business integration, smart supply chain management, and a robust logistics ecosystem.

[PODCAST] Case Study: How Freight Tech Innovation Provided Efficiency & Reduced Freight Costs

GlobalTranz

MARCH 10, 2020

Listen to “ Case Study_How Freight Tech Innovation Provided Efficiency & Reduced Freight Costs” on Spreaker. The post [PODCAST] Case Study : How Freight Tech Innovation Provided Efficiency & Reduced Freight Costs appeared first on Transportation Management Company | Cerasis.

Case Study: DSV Implements a Single-Instance Control Tower with a Global Footprint

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DSV is one of the biggest names in transport and logistics , operating in over 90 countries with a global network of over 75,000 employees. The ambitious project would require extensive visibility and seamless coordination across expansive and dynamic networks.

Case Study: Ewellix

Procurement Academy

MARCH 2, 2023

After seeing the quality of Skill Dynamics’ solution and content, Group Director Purchasing saw an opportunity to develop the supply chain too and introduced the Group Director Demand Chain & Logistics , Magnus Pettersson , into the program.

Case Study: Röhlig Logistics and Gravity Supply Chain Solutions

Gravity Supply Chain

JUNE 6, 2022

Navigating complex supply chains and managing rising customer demands is challenging, especially for businesses in the logistics space. Röhlig, an international freight forwarder, offers a suite of air and sea logistics services. Download full case study here. The Business Problem.

Easy Supply Chain Savings: A Simple Supply Chain Case Study

Logistics Bureau

AUGUST 31, 2021

Supply Chain & Logistics case studies are always interesting. This one is about easy ways to save money in your Supply Chain and Logistics operations if you just look at things differently. Check out this article related to this topic: 7 Mini Case Studies : Successful Supply Chain Cost Reduction and Management.

Supply Chain Case Study: Cost to Serve

MAY 3, 2022

So here’s a cost to serve case study of a large distributor company that you should learn from. Here is the full lesson that relates to this case study : Detailed Cost to Serve Lesson. And to do that, you have to be familiar with other’s business ways and practices.

CEVA Logistics Drives Agile, Multi-Leg Inbound Flows for Tech Company

CEVA Logistics , a global leader in third-party logistics , was contracted to help a technology company manage its complex supply chain, supporting B2B, B2C, and reverse flows across multi-leg transport.

A Cost To Serve Case Study

MAY 31, 2022

Here is a case study we would like to share for you to explore the concept of cost to serve in greater depth. Why is it really important to understand the cost to serve on your supply chain business? More Cost-to-Serve resources here: Cost to Serve at a Glance: 9 Steps to Success & 5 Mistakes to Avoid.

Navigating the Complexities of Ready Mix Concrete Logistics: A Case Study with ThroughPut

JANUARY 19, 2024

Logistics presents a formidable challenge in the ready mix concrete (RMC) industry. This critical time frame shapes the entire ready mix concrete logistics . This critical time frame shapes the entire ready mix concrete logistics . For ready mix concrete manufacturers, managing logistics effectively is crucial.

AI in the Retail Industry: Benefits, Case Studies & Examples

MARCH 27, 2024

The Evolution of Retail Supply Chain & Logistics : A Pre-AI Overview In the pre-AI era, the retail sector was markedly different, especially since the traditional supply chain and logistics models were largely driven by manual labor. This has made deliveries faster. Another way of ensuring greater customer satisfaction!

Supply Chain – Finance Connection: A Supply Chain Improvement Case Study

APRIL 27, 2021

Supply Chain – Finance Connection: A Supply Chain Improvement Case Study was first posted on April 27, 2021 at 7:57 am. This is a different approach to begin the journey of financial improvement using supply chain improvement projects.

Real-Time Trackers: A Welcome Labor Solution for Logistics

The labor market is under an unprecedented squeeze, and the logistics industry has been hit particularly hard by the “Great Resignation.” Why streamlining data simplifies the logistics role. According to Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, the labor shortage will cost the U.S. as much as $1 trillion, and 2.1

AI in the Food Industry: Case Studies, Challenges & Future Trends

MARCH 28, 2024

Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) within different segments of the Food Industry, including transportation and logistics , production planning, quality control, and others has kicked off revolutionary transformations. Such processes lower energy consumption and boost profitability.

Supply Chain Case Study: the Executive's Guide

Supply Chain Opz

JUNE 1, 2014

Analysis of case study is certainly one of the most popular methods for people from business management background. In order to accelerate the learning, this article has gathered 20+ most sought-after supply chain case studies , analyzed/categorized them by industry and the findings are presented.

Watch: Managing a Global Supply Chain Ecosystem: A Case Study

NOVEMBER 17, 2022

In this case study , a fourth-party logistics (4PL) provider based in Lima, Peru describes the partnership that allowed it to expand its services from Latin America to Europe and beyond.

Getting Away from Excel Spreadsheets: A Project Logistics Case Study

AUGUST 31, 2017

We talk a lot about the importance of agility and flexibility in supply chain management and that is certainly true when it comes to project logistics . Hennecke oversees from a logistics perspective are mostly engineered-to-order systems, with suppliers and end-customers around the world. “The The projects Ms.

A Case Study in Closed-Loop Operational Management

NOVEMBER 19, 2014

As I’ve said before, the biggest challenge facing supply chain and logistics executives today is not managing change, because that’s always been the norm in supply chain management, but managing the rapid pace of change. In a recent webcast hosted by Logistics Management and sponsored by Solvoyo , I had the opportunity to interview Orhan Da?l?o?lugil,

Logistics Buyers Survey with Jim Bierfeldt

AUGUST 1, 2022

Jim Bierfeldt and Joe Lynch discuss the logistics buyers survey created by Jim and his team at Logistics Marketing Advisors. Jim Bierfeldt is the Founder and President of Logistics Marketing Advisors. Jim has had a 35-year career in marketing and communications, including 25+ within the logistics industry.

AutoStore and the Rise of Flexible Automation: The Parts Town Case Study

MAY 7, 2018

The post AutoStore and the Rise of Flexible Automation: The Parts Town Case Study appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints. Parts Town has an automation solution called AutoStore that increased throughput but will also flex up to support Parts Town's strong growth.

Distribution Network Cost- A Mini Case Study

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

You can access a recorded webinar about Distribution Network Costs on this link: [link]. ?. Related articles on this topic have appeared throughout our website, check them out: The 7 Principles of Warehouse and Distribution Centre Design. The Long and Short of Designing a Distribution Network.

Watch: Romark Logistics and Gather AI: A Case Study

APRIL 9, 2024

A case study about the application of drones employing artificial intelligence to the warehouse operations of Romark Logistics .

Inside the Shipper Mind with Jim Bierfeldt

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

Jim is the Founder and President of Logistics Marketing Advisors, a full-service marketing agency exclusively focused on helping logistics businesses drive profitable growth. About Jim Bierfeldt Jim Bierfeldt is the Founder and President of Logistics Marketing Advisors.

Machine Learning in Supply Chain: Definition, Uses, Case Studies

APRIL 4, 2023

We also break down several case studies of companies currently using machine learning in their supply chain processes. One example of this is its ‘ Logistics Hub ’ – a dashboard that enables its clients to have total visibility of their end-to-end supply chain. What is machine learning?

TMS for SMB: A Case Study with Carhartt

OCTOBER 19, 2016

He will be my guest on Talking Logistics in an upcoming episode, so I don’t want to steal his thunder today. Is SMB defined by a company’s annual revenues? We can now offer customers flexibility to experiment with different delivery methods, which is especially important during peak season.”.

Judging Supply Chain Improvement: Campbell Soup Case Study

Supply Chain Shaman

AUGUST 11, 2014

Our approach simply breaks accountabilities and goals across the areas of Manufacturing, Logistics /Network Optimization and Ingredients/Packaging. Weve developed a clear model with specific accountabilities to ensure success in delivering strong cost savings performance year after year. What have you learned?

BASF Video Case Study: The Value of Real-Time Freight Visibility

MAY 3, 2018

The post BASF Video Case Study : The Value of Real-Time Freight Visibility appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez. Then post a question or comment and share your perspective on this topic! For related commentary, see On-Time In-Full (OTIF) and the Growing Demand for Real-Time Freight Visibility.

Cross Docking 101: What, Why and How? [with case studies]

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

This removes the ‘storage’ element of warehousing logistics , and saves on costs, warehousing space, time and labour. Cross docking originated in the 1930s, and has evolved over time as logistics and management of goods has become more reliant on technology. The goods are sorted and transported to their final destination.

Getting Started with AI in Supply Chain Management (Lessons from the Past)

MAY 10, 2023

As I highlighted last week in “Negotiating With A Chatbot: A Walmart Procurement Case Study ,” despite all the hype surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI), relatively few companies are using AI in their supply chain or logistics operations today. Simply put, we’re still in the very early adopter stage.

A Case Study in Reverse Logistics Optimization!

Supply Chain Game Changer

NOVEMBER 23, 2018

Check out What Exactly Is Reverse Logistics ? The OEM turned over management of one of the most critical, high-volume segments of its reverse logistics program—the processor business—saving the manufacturer millions of dollars each year; reducing excess inventory; increasing same-day, on-time ship rates; and improving customer satisfaction.

A ‘Case Study’ on Distribution Channels

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

Distribution channels are frequently overlooked as a source of performance enhancement in the Supply Chain. But if you think outside the box, your company could save 18% annually. Remember that one of the most important factors to consider when evaluating Distribution Channels would be the cost to serve.

[Video] Pricing Optimization at Delly’s: A Case Study in Successful AI Enablement

OCTOBER 29, 2023

Read more The post [Video] Pricing Optimization at Delly’s: A Case Study in Successful AI Enablement appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez. Companies across virtually all industries are looking for ways to drive profitable growth.

Delivering Green: Three Case Studies in Low-Carbon Logistics

MIT Supply Chain

APRIL 29, 2013

Caterpillar is the subject of one of three case studies that show how supply chain management can support both environmental and financial goals. Here are three case studies that offer clear, irrefutable evidence that sustainability and profitability can be compatible in the supply chain domain.

Competing on Analytics: A Supply Chain Case Study

MAY 16, 2016

This logistics services company manages hundreds of millions of supply chain assets for its clients, has hundreds of thousands drop off and pick up points, and make over 10,000 deliveries per day moving through over 100 logistics centers.

Heart of Efficiency: 3 Logistics Case Studies that Show the Love

MercuryGate

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

Transportation management professionals love the seamless integration of logistics technology and collaboration, leading to operational excellence. This article dives into three compelling logistics case studies showcasing how MercuryGate enhances transportation management for three of our clients.

The Green Corridor: Saving Whales in California – A Case Study in Regional Collaboration

The Logistics & Supply Chain Management Society

AUGUST 19, 2022

The Green Corridor: Saving Whales in California – A Case Study in Regional Collaboration. The Green Corridor: Saving Whales in California – A Case Study in Regional Collaboration. by Timothy Foote , Founder of Susymbio. About the Author.

A Chilling Problem: Temperature Controlled Logistics

BR Williams Supply Chain Management

JULY 21, 2023

Case Study | Company Seeks Creative Solutions from Logistics Partner in BR Williams BR Williams is a 60-year-old company specializing in Trucking , Warehousing , and Logistics Services. Challenges The cold winter months brought a chilling logistics problem for one of the top American chemical companies.

A Practical Approach to Supply Chain Resilience: The PepsiCo Case Study

OCTOBER 3, 2016

As consumers’ preferences shifted toward more nutritious foods, PepsiCo purchased companies in this food segment. But this segment has a much more complex supply chain. PepsiCo had to take a new approach to supply chain resilience.

Implementing RFID for Manufacturing Visibility: A Case Study

DECEMBER 8, 2014

This article is a guest commentary from Prof Ming K Lim who is Head of Centre of Excellence for Supply Chain Improvement and Professor of Supply Chain and Logistics Operations at Derby Business School. Conclusion The complete project has been a challenging yet successful path from conception to pilot completion.

Company Seeks Creative Solutions from Logistics Partner in BR Williams

7 Traits of Great Supply Chain Leader: A Case Study of Tim Cook

OCTOBER 3, 2013

Jobs also run the day-to-day operations, which resulted in the relationship problems with key vendors and third party logistics providers. The company held $500 million of inventory which was about 2 months coverage, much more than those of the other technology companies.

Validated, Real-Time Visibility for Pharma with Josh Allen

NOVEMBER 18, 2022

Josh is CRO at Tive , a leading provider of real-time supply chain visibility insights that help logistics professionals actively manage their in-transit shipments’ location and condition. With Tive, shippers and logistics service providers (LSP) eliminate preventable delays, damage, and shipment failures. Biocair case study .

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7 mini case studies: successful supply chain cost-reduction and management

Rob O'Byrne

Group Managing Director - Logistics Bureau

South African Truck Drivers Might Be Great News For The European Logistics Sector

If you were to tell me that your company had never looked at its supply chain costs and sought to deliver reductions, I would be mightily surprised. On the other hand, if you told me your company hasn’t been able to sustain any progress in supply chain cost reduction, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.

Most companies begin with the best intentions to achieve successful and sustainable supply chain cost management, but somehow seem to lose momentum, only to see costs increase again in short order.

The following seven mini case studies explore a few high-profile companies that have managed to sustain their supply chain cost-reduction efforts and keep expenses under control. The challenges faced by these organisations and the steps they took, may provide some inspiration for successful long-term cost management within your organisation.

1. Deere & Company

Deere & Company (brand name John Deere) is famed for the manufacture and supply of machinery used in agriculture, construction, and forestry, as well as diesel engines and lawn care equipment. In 2014, Deere & Company was listed 80th in the Fortune 500 America’s ranking and was 307th in the 2013 Fortune Global 500 ranking.

Supply Chain Cost Reduction Challenges:  Deere and Company has a diverse product range, which includes a mix of heavy machinery for the consumer market, and industrial equipment, which is made to order. Retail activity is extremely seasonal, with the majority of sales occurring between March and July.

The company was replenishing dealers’ inventory weekly, using direct shipment and cross-docking operations from source warehouses located near Deere & Company’s manufacturing facilities. This operation was proving too costly and too slow, so the company launched an initiative to achieve a 10% supply chain cost reduction within four years.

The Path to Cost Reduction:  The company undertook a  supply chain network-redesign  program, resulting in the commissioning of intermediate “merge centers” and optimization of cross-dock terminal locations.

Deere & Company also began consolidating shipments and using break-bulk terminals during the seasonal peak. The company also increased its use of third-party logistics providers and effectively created a network that could be optimized tactically at any given point in time.

Supply Chain Cost Management Results:  Deere & Company’s supply chain cost-management achievements included an inventory decrease of $1 billion, a significant reduction in customer delivery lead times (from ten days to five or less) and annual transportation cost savings of around 5%.

One of the world’s largest manufacturers of computer chips, Intel needs little introduction. However, the company needed to reduce supply chain expenditure significantly after bringing its low-cost “Atom” chip to market. Supply chain costs of around $5.50 per chip were bearable for units selling for $100, but the price of the new chip was a fraction of that, at about $20.

The Supply Chain Cost Reduction Challenge:  Somehow, Intel had to reduce the supply chain costs for the Atom chip, but had only one area of leverage—inventory.

The chip had to work, so Intel could make no service trade-offs. With each Atom product being a single component, there was also no way to reduce duty payments. Intel had already whittled packaging down to a minimum, and with a high value-to-weight ratio, the chips’ distribution costs could not be pared down any further.

The only option was to try to reduce levels of inventory, which, up to that point, had been kept very high to support a nine-week order cycle. The only way Intel could find to make supply chain cost reductions was to bring this cycle time down and therefore reduce inventory.

The Path to Cost Reduction:  Intel decided to try what was considered an unlikely supply chain strategy for the semiconductor industry:  make to order . The company began with a pilot operation using a manufacturer in Malaysia. Through a process of iteration, they gradually sought out and eliminated supply chain inefficiencies to reduce order cycle time incrementally. Further improvement initiatives included:

• Cutting the chip assembly test window from a five-day schedule, to a bi-weekly, 2-day-long process
• Introducing a formal S&OP planning process
• Moving to a vendor-managed inventory model wherever it was possible to do so

Supply Chain Cost Management Results:  Through its incremental approach to cycle time improvement, Intel eventually drove the order cycle time for the Atom chip down from nine weeks to just two. As a result, the company achieved a supply chain cost reduction of more than $4 per unit for the $20 Atom chip—a far more palatable rate than the original figure of $5.50.

3. Starbucks

Like Intel, Starbucks is pretty much a household name, but like many of the most successful worldwide brands, the coffee-shop giant has been through its periods of supply chain pain. In fact, during 2007 and 2008, Starbucks leadership began to have severe doubts about the company’s ability to supply its 16,700 outlets. As in most commercial sectors at that time, sales were falling. At the same time, though, supply chain costs rose by more than $75 million.

Supply Chain Cost Reduction Challenges:  When the supply chain executive team began investigating the rising costs and supply chain performance issues, they found that service was indeed falling short of expectations. Findings included the following problems

• Fewer than 50% of outlet deliveries were arriving on time
• Several poor outsourcing decisions had led to excessive 3PL expenses
• The supply chain had, (like those of many global organisations) evolved, rather than grown by design, and had hence become unnecessarily complex

The Path to Cost Reduction:  Starbucks’ leadership had three main objectives in mind to achieve improved performance and supply chain cost reduction. These were to:

• Reorganize the supply chain
• Reduce cost to serve
• Lay the groundwork for future capability in the supply chain

To meet these objectives, Starbucks divided all its supply chain functions into three main groups, known as “plan” “make” and “deliver”. It also opened a new production facility, bringing the total number of U.S. plants to four.

Next, the company set about terminating partnerships with all but its  most effective 3PLs . It then began managing the remaining partners via a weekly scorecard system, aligned with renewed service level agreements.

Supply Chain Cost Management Results:  By the time Starbucks had completed its transformation program, it had saved more than $500 million over the course of 2009 and 2010, of which a large proportion came out of the supply chain, according to Peter Gibbons, then Executive Vice President of Global Supply Chain Operations.

Like Deere & Company, AGCO is a leading global force in the manufacture and supply of agricultural machinery. The company grew substantially over the course of two decades, achieving a considerable portion of that growth by way of acquisitions.

As commonly happens when enterprises grow in this way, AGCO experienced increasing degrees of supply chain complexity, along with associated increases in cost, but for many years, did little to address the issue directly, primarily due to the decentralized and fragmented nature of its global network.

In 2012, AGCO’s leaders recognised that this state of affairs could not continue and decided to establish a long-term program of strategic optimisation.

Supply Chain Cost Reduction Challenges:  With five separate brands under its umbrella, AGCO’s product portfolio is vast. At the point when optimisation planning began, sourcing and inbound logistics were managed by teams in various countries, each with different levels of SCM maturity, and using different tools and systems.

As a result of the decentralised environment, in which inbound logistics and transport management were separate operational fields, there was insufficient transparency in the supply chain. The enterprise as a whole was not taking advantage of synergies and economies of scale (and the benefits of the same). These issues existed against a backdrop of a volatile, seasonal market.

The Path to Cost Reduction:  Following a SCOR supply chain benchmarking exercise, AGCO decided to approach its cost reduction and efficiency goals by blending new technology—in the form of a globally integrated transport management system (TMS)—with a commitment to form a partnership with a suitably capable 3PL provider.

As North and South American divisions of the company were already working with a recently implemented TMS, leaders decided to introduce the blended approach in Europe, with commitments to replicate the model, if successful, in its other operating regions.

With the technology and partnership in place, a logistics control tower was developed, which integrates and coordinates all daily inbound supply activities within Europe, from the negotiation of carrier freight rates, through inbound shipment scheduling and transport plan optimisation to self-billing for carrier payment.

Supply Chain Cost Management Results:  Within a year and a half of their European logistics solution’s go-live, AGCO achieved freight cost reductions of some 18%, and has continued to save between three and five percent on freight expenditure, year-on-year, ever since. Having since rolled the new operating model out in China and North America, the company has reduced inbound logistics costs by 28%, increased network performance by 25% and cut inventory levels by a quarter.

Headquartered in Westport Connecticut, Terex Corporation may not be such a well-known name, but if your company has ever rented an aerial working platform (a scissor-lift or similar), there is a good chance it was manufactured by Terex and dispatched to the rental company from its transfer center in North Bend, Washington.

The North Bend facility is always full of lifting equipment. The company makes most pieces to order and customizes them to meet customers’ unique preferences. Terex maintained a manual system for yard management at the transfer centre, which generated excessive costs for what should have been a relatively simple process of locating customers’ units to prepare them for delivery.

The Supply Chain Cost Reduction Challenge:  A wallboard and sticker system was a low-tech solution for identifying equipment items in the yard at Terex. While inexpensive in itself, the solution cost around six minutes every time an employee had to locate a unit in the yard. It also required a considerable number of hours to be spent each month taking physical inventories and updating the company’s ERP platform.

The Path to Cost Reduction:  Terex decided to replace the outdated manual yard management process with a new, digital solution using RFID tracking. Terex decided to replace the outdated manual yard management process with a new, digital solution using RFID tracking. Decision-makers chose a yard management software (YMS) product, and then had the transfer centre surveyed before initiating a pilot project covering a small portion of the yard.

After a successful pilot, the company approved the solution for full-scale implementation, replacing stickers, yard maps, and wallboard with electronic tracking and digital inventory management. As of December 2017, Terex was planning to integrate the yard management solution with its ERP platform to enable even greater functionality.

Supply Chain Cost Management Results:  While the YMS cannot reconcile inventory automatically with the Terex ERP application, it does at least provide a daily inventory count via its business intelligence module. That alone has saved the labour costs previously incurred in carrying out manual counts.

More importantly, though, the RFID-based unit identification and location processes have saved the company around 70 weeks per year in labour costs, by cutting the process-time down from six minutes, to a mere 30 seconds per unit.

Avaya is a global force in business collaboration and communications technology, and not so many years ago, was operating what, by its own executives’ admission, was a worst-in-class supply chain. That situation arose as the result of multiple corporate acquisitions over a short space of time. The company was suffering from a range of supply chain maladies, including a long cash-to-cash cycle, an imbalance in supplier terms and conditions, excess inventory, and supply chain processes that were inefficient and wholly manual.

The Supply Chain Cost Reduction Challenge:  After Avaya purchased Nortel Enterprise Solutions in 2009, the freshly merged company found itself but loosely in control of an unstable and ineffective supply chain operation. Aside from having too many disparate and redundant processes, the company had multiple IT solutions, none of which provided a holistic view of the supply chain or supported focused analysis.

The Path to Cost Reduction:  Avaya’s senior management team realized that its technology solutions, which varied from being inadequate to inappropriate, were causing many of its problems. The various acquisitions and mergers had transformed Avaya into a different kind of enterprise, and what it needed, rather than a replacement for all the discrete systems, was one solution to tie them all together.

To that end, the company put its trust in cloud technology, which was relatively immature at the time, and migrated all processes onto one platform, which was designed to automate non-value-added activities and integrate those critical to proactive supply chain management, namely:

• Point of sale analysis
• Procurement analysis
• Supplier communication
• Supply and demand planning
• Inventory planning
• Inbound and outbound logistics planning

Of course, the technology was merely an enabler, and to transform its supply chain operation, Avaya embarked on a long-term, phased program to standardize processes, initiate a culture change, invest in top talent, and implement a system of rigorous  benchmarking and KPI tracking .

Supply Chain Cost Management Results:  Avaya’s program of transformation took place over a period of three to four years, between 2010 and 2014. The path to cost reduction was a long one, but ultimately successful.

By making a conscious effort to lead the enterprise into a new way of thinking, change business culture, and unify technology under a single platform, Avaya has improved inventory turns by more than 200%, reduced cash tied-up in stock by 94%, and cut its overall supply chain expenditure in half.

This dramatic turnaround also required the company to switch from a preoccupation with improving what it was doing, to a process of  questioning  what it was doing and why.

7. Sunsweet Growers

This final mini-case study in our collection, highlights how sometimes, excess supply chain costs are not about warehousing and transportation, but can be attributable to inefficiencies in manufacturing or production and—often at the root of it all—forecasting and planning.

Sunsweet Growers is the world’s biggest producer of dried fruits and a little over a decade ago, found that while it was managing distribution operations well, high production costs were inflating end-to-end supply chain expenditure.

The Supply Chain Cost Reduction Challenge:  When the leadership at Sunsweet looked into the company’s production cost issues, recognition soon dawned that the distribution network was at least partly behind the problems. As a result, the company looked at how it could redesign the network to take out some of the production costs.

Later, it became apparent that although a redesign would yield some benefits, one of the most significant issues was in the approach to demand forecasting. Sunsweet was using a manual forecasting approach, with spreadsheets being the only technology involved.

The inefficiencies of this approach proved not only to hamper effective forecasting and production planning, but the knock-effect was an excess of warehouses in the network—so forecasting proved to be both a driver of production cost, and a key to improving the distribution network.

The Path to Cost Reduction:  As in a number of the studies we’ve explored here, technology played a large part in solving Sunsweet’s problems. After evaluating some 30 different software solutions, the company finally settled on a supply chain planning suite, and planned its improvement program to make use of each of the solution’s modules in sequence, allowing ROI to be realized in phases as each module was implemented and leveraged.

At the same time, Sunsweet implemented a sales and operations planning program  (S&OP)  that once established, enabled plant resource requirements to be anticipated months—rather than weeks—in advance. As the overall improvement plan passed through its five phases, positive results accumulated and as hoped, software ROI reached 100% even before the company completed its full implementation.

Supply Chain Cost Management Results:  Of course, the objective of Sunsweet’s improvement program was not merely to achieve a 100% return on investment in its supply chain planning platform. The aim was to reduce production costs, and although the company hasn’t published hard figures to quantify the total financial gain, it has claimed the following wins:

• A 15 to 20% increase in forecasting accuracy
• A reduction in overtime from 25% to 8% in production facilities
• A 30% reduction in finished-goods spoilage
• Number of warehouses in the United States cut from 28 to just eight
• A transportation cost-per-unit that remained static for two years despite increased utilization of costly refrigerated transport and rising fuel costs

From the achievements documented above, and highlighted in several industry publications and articles, you don’t need to be too much of a mathematician to deduce that cost savings would have been considerable.

Making Supply Chain Cost Reductions Stick

Of course, the above case studies are merely summaries of the changes these high-profile brands made to their supply chains. What can be seen from these brief accounts, though, is that for an enterprise to make significant and sustainable cost improvements, substantial change must take place.

• Deere & Company had to overhaul its network completely.
• Intel had to shift an entire supply chain to a new and previously unheard of strategy in its sector.
• Starbucks had to shake up its third-party relationships and increase production capacity.
• AGCO had to invest in technology and collaborative partnerships with external service providers.
• Terex had to implement costly (but effective) RFID tracking capabilities.
• Sunsweet Growers needed a best-of-breed software solution, and an S&OP program to improve forecasting and planning.
• Avaya needed to change company culture, implement cloud technology, rethink processes completely, and invest in the best supply chain talent it could find.

At the same time, none of the changes took place overnight. Each of the companies tackled issues in phases, effectively learning more as they went along.

You Won’t Find Savings in the Comfort Zone

When it comes to making supply chain cost reductions that stick, you should explore every avenue. However, at the root of high costs, there will usually be one major factor requiring innovation, whether it’s the network, inventory strategy, the working relationships with supply chain partners, or some other element of your operation.

Seldom do companies make decent savings by whittling away piecemeal at what seem, on the face of it, to be the most pressing issues of the day (such as direct transportation costs or supplier pricing).

If you want to see sustainable cost reductions, your company will need to view the big picture from a new angle or two, and be prepared to step outside of the comfort zone to which it will have become accustomed.

Rob O’Byrne  is a supply chain consultant, coach and author with 40+ years experience in Supply Chain management. He is the expert making the blog called  Logistics Bureau .

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Risk management methodology in the supply chain: a case study applied

• S.I. : Risk Management Decisions and Value under Uncertainty
• Open access
• Published: 10 August 2021
• Volume 313 , pages 1051–1075, ( 2022 )

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• M. J. Hermoso-Orzáez   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6430-3233 1 &
• J. Garzón-Moreno 1  

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A Correction to this article was published on 28 February 2022

This article has been updated

This work provides a general risk management procedure applied to synchronized supply chains. After conducting a literature review and taking the international standard ISO 28000 and ISO 31000 as a reference. The most important steps that enable organizations to carry out supply chain risk management are described. Steps such as defining the context, identifying and analyzing risks or avoiding them, controlling them and mitigating them are some of the main points of this work. On the other hand, we carried out a practical case in which the execution of this procedure is carried out in a real supply chain located in the city of Jaén. In this specific case study, the most important risks and those that require early treatment will be discussed. In addition, a series of suggestions and ideas will be established, by way of conclusions, that allow said organization to improve the results that we have obtained in risk management.

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The Model for Risk Management and Mastering Them in Supply Chain

Supply Chain Risk Management

Categorizing Supply Chain Risks: Review, Integrated Typology and Future Research

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

1 Introduction

Most of the companies there are frequently alterations in their operation that cause disruptions in their daily operations (Artikis, 2016 ). These types of alterations are a consequence of potential risks that exist in the environment in which the business activity takes place (Prakash et al., 2020 ). Identifying and analyzing the risks of supply chain disruption is essential to prevent disaster scenarios (Shareef et al., 2020 ). Recent studies analyze the impact of supply risks on the company's optimal purchasing decisions (Zhang et al., 2020 ) and the importance of correctly identifying the source of supply risks (Guo et al., 2016 ).

In a globalized world, where the flow of products and / or services of many organizations have an international reach, it is essential to be able to manage the risk or at least (Xue et al., 2020 ), to have plans that mitigate (He & Yang, 2018 ) to a greater or lesser extent the potential risks to which one can Face any organization (Schauer et al., 2019 ). The configuration and coordination analyzes can be used as a foundation for further research in the context of integrating manufacturing network and supply chain theory (Rudberg & Olhager, 2003 ). On the other hand, Risk management using decision methods (AHP) (analytical hierarchy process) to face solutions with a value under uncertainty (Álvarez-lópez, 2016 ) is presented as a practical and innovative tool (Choi et al., 2017 ). There are some recently published review papers on risk management in the supply chain operations processes under uncertain environments. For example (Colicchia, 2012 ) use a rigorous literature review methodology, called systematic literature network analysis, to identify future research directions of supply chain risk management and to recognize streams of research that appear to be most promising. Heckmann et al. ( 2015 ) systematically define supply chain risk concepts, terminologies, and risk measuring and modeling methods from related fields. Fahimnia et al. ( 2015 ) use bibliometric and network analysis tools to identify key research clusters/topics, interrelationships, and generative research areas on quantitative models for managing supply chain risks. Chiu and Choi ( 2016 ) review the use of mean-risk models for analytical supply chain risk analysis. Govindan and Jepsen ( 2017 ) review the risks related to suppliers in service supply chains. Snyder et al. ( 2016 ) examine operations management literature on supply chain disruptions and provide an overview of the research within six supply chain processes (Snyder et al., 2016 ).

The result of this work is the elaboration of an applied methodology that allows companies to carry out a risk management of their supply chain in a useful and logical way (Senna et al., 2020 ) In parallel to the explanation of the procedure, we will carry out a practical case of risk management for a real supply chain located in the city of Jaén (Spain).

One of the objectives of this document is to demonstrate the importance of the risk management of a supply chain to guarantee the success of the organization (Fernando et al., 2018 ) Supply chains need great care to function properly and, risk analysis is the most powerful tool to minimize problems in the near future (da Silva et al., 2020 ).

At all times, the international standard related to the management of supply chain risks, ISO 28000, will be used as a reference and other standards that have been considered convenient, such as ISO 31000 (Leitch, 2010 ) (project risk management) or (UNE-EN- IS0 9001, 2015 ) (quality management). Both ISO 31000 (UNE-EN-31000 AENOR, 2018 ) and ISO 28000 (UNE-EN-ISO 2800 AENOR, 2008 ) reflect the need for risk management not only in the supply chain, but in all parts of an organization (Blos et al., 2016 ) Both require more reflection than many organizations do on the subject (Hermoso-Orzáez et al., 2020 ).

2 Methodology and objectives

There are studies that used the integrated approach consisting of AHP to solve multi-criteria decision-making problems (MCDM) with criteria weights (Sarkar & Biswas, 2021 ) for risk treatment. Este documento tiene como objetivo identificar, clasificar y priorizar los riesgos de la cadena de suministro que enfrentan las pequeñas y medianas empresas de fabricación de pan y derivados para desarrollar una metodología de gestión de riesgos de la cadena de suministro (Alora & Barua, 2020 ). With this study we intend a triple objective:

Risk detection, risk mitigation, and risk recovery, Reduce risk management in supply chains to a single procedure through the study and collection of numerous methods and documents related to the subject (DuHadway et al., 2019 )

Apply this procedure to a practical case in a current supply chain, measuring the results and assessing them for possible measures that can reduce the probability of occurrence of each one or reduce or mitigation its impact on the chain.

To make the reader aware of the importance of risk management in supply chains and the corresponding role they must acquire within organizations.

The methodology that is summarized in this document, we find stages that are more qualitative, such as definition of links or description of phases, and stages where it will be necessary to use numerical techniques that allow us to quantify, evaluate and prioritize the risks that are going trying during the early stages (Machado Nardi et al., 2020 ) The methodology for proper risk management consists of six steps characterized by a descriptive content in most of them and a logical chronology that helps and complements the beginning of its next phase. (Felfel et al., 2018 ) There are high impact research works that include and measure qualitative elements with methodologies designed to be qualitative, inductive and exploratory, thus involving multiple data collection methods and tools. More specifically, during the first stage of empirical analysis, these studies map and analyze preferences and perceptions of product quality at both the consumer and supply chain level.These qualitative insights may not be given adequate value initially. But it is precisely in the following stages or steps of risk monitoring and control that we are going to adjust its real impact on the supply chain (Tenorio et al., 2021 ).

2.1 Define the general process and establish the context of the supply chain to analyse

Correct risk management requires a detailed knowledge of the company, the market in which it operates and the legal, social, political and cultural environment that surrounds it.

In order for a company to initiate an analysis to make an improvement, it must know at what point it is to, from there, perform an assessment or diagnosis. These states of maturity include information, talent, workers, their objectives, values, their policy, the activities of each process, etc. Organizations must know what their position is within the chain to which they belong. Within this aspect we have two options: that the organization occupies most of the supply chain to which it belongs (the same company is responsible for most of the activities) or that the organization occupies a link within the chain supply (vertical integration is less).

Our case study will focus on "PanJaén", a family business located in the city of Jaén (Spain). This company in the services sector offers its customers a wide variety of breads, coming to work with more than 10 types of flour (some organic) for its preparation. Other of its products are savory, whether snacks or puff pastry, and cakes. In addition, during all seasons they merge the most avant-garde and innovative styles of the market to offer products of all kinds, such as mantecados or roscones de Reyes at Christmas time.

It is defined as a company experienced by a family totally related to the bakery sector and known for the quality of its artisan products. They presume to use quality raw materials, ecological ingredients and be in continuous training and qualification, integrating any technological advance for their productive development. In addition, these bakeries are in an expansion process, that is, they increasingly incorporate new products in their stores to serve the citizens of Jaén.

All the activities that “PanJaén” controls in its supply chain are in the city mentioned. Some of the general aspects of our study company are those found in Table 1 .

On the one hand, the information obtained up to this point, allows to place the entire supply chain (except the domain of the suppliers) under the same location. There will be risks that do not matter to those responsible for “PanJaén”, such as those related with customs or exchange rates.

On the other hand, knowing the main characteristics of the corporate environment of the organization, such as the objective or its policies, we will have a guide by which to make decisions about preventive measures to avoid the risks detected.

2.2 Separate the process into groups of related tasks and systematically consider the characteristics of each operation

The supply chain has different links with specific planning and execution and dependent on the rest. Therefore, we can differentiate, in general, three large blocks for all supply chains. These blocks will be supply, production and distribution. These three links are of general application, that is, depending on the supply chain we are studying the links may vary and can be all considered, depending on the interdependence they have with each other and the need to differentiate them. (Ventura et al., 2013 ).

In the “PanJaén” supply chain, we will classify four groups: suppliers, production, distribution and points of sale.

2.2.1 Suppliers

Suppliers are those companies that supply others with goods or services necessary for the proper functioning of the business. "PanJaén" has several suppliers of raw material, one of them being the main one for the elaboration of all its products. This first supplier supplies them with almost all the necessary elements, such as flour, yeast, baking powder or butter. The raw material of this supplier represents the highest percentage in the company's products.

Another provider supplies you with eggs, milk, sugar and salt.

A third supplier is the one in charge of the complements, that is to say, those components (like the decorative ones) that accompany the main product and that are normally edible. There are many products sold accompanied by edible flowers, chocolate chips or colored balls that are purchased and applied directly to the target piece.

And finally, a fourth supplier is the one that supplies the assembly, that is, the materials that the company needs to be able to transport its products, such as covers, bags or boxes for the cakes. These, unlike the previous ones, are not edible and most of them have the company logo, as well as contact information, since they have a direct relationship with the customer.

2.2.2 Production

It corresponds to the internal processes that comprise the activities and manufacturing tasks that occur within the company. In other words, a production process is a system of actions that are related to each other and whose objective is none other than to transform elements, systems or processes. For this, some input factors are needed that, throughout the process, will increase in value thanks to the transformation.

In our case study, all production processes are carried out in the same physical place established in the industrial polygon of the capital Polígino de los Olivares s/n Jaén (Spain), except for a final baking that occurs at the point of sale. According to "PanJaén", the key to its products is in slow fermentation. This process is done since the water is mixed with the flour and goes until the first minutes of baking. First, a pre-fermentation is done slowly that will favor the final fermentation in order to be precise in the furnace jump. This is the key to improving the quality of bread, since it manages to respect and take care of the benefits that each of its stages generates.

This company has tunnel ovens with independent temperature controls throughout the oven. These ovens help to easily adjust the different temperatures during the baking cycle and optimize the first bake. Once the final result is achieved, they are packaged and go to the destination physical stores, giving way to the next link in the chain. Subsequently, at the point of sale, a second baking is carried out, which lasts approximately 15 min.

2.2.3 Distribution

It is made up of the different delivery processes until reaching the customer. The first thing that comes to mind when talking about distribution is the section from when the product is ready to be delivered to the final customer until this happens, but this is not always the case. A company that belongs to an intermediate link in its supply chain is a customer and at the same time a provider of other links in the same chain, but it is not the end customer (Ocampo & Ospina, 2016 ). “PanJaén” uses a subcontracted fleet that carries out this work. Logically it is done on a daily basis due to the products with which it works. This link is, without a doubt, the one with the least dominance of the company “PanJaén” (together with the suppliers) since it does not dominate it in its entirety. Road maps, vehicle maintenance, packaging and management of entrances and exits of the means of distribution are planned and coordinated by “PanJaén” and by the transport company.

2.2.4 Points of sale

They are the places where customers directly access products, that is, physical stores. Here, the customer can observe all the products that the company offers and buy them at the same time. There are almost 20 points that "PanJaén" has in the city, so they are accessible to virtually the entire population.

Its opening hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., seven days a week. These establishments, as I have mentioned before, have ovens where the second baking of the bread is produced to achieve greater splendor for the customer.

2.3 Risk identification

No matter how much a company strives to control its processes, a crisis may arise from the weakest link. Even this link can be several levels away from the company that is directly affected (such as a supplier that provides a transport service for the distribution of food in a vehicle that does not meet the necessary quality requirements).

In general, supply chains are made up of similar agents. However, the risks for two similar chains may vary depending on various factors such as the activity to which they belong, the agents participating in it, the place where they are developed or the number of customers they satisfy. It is therefore difficult to assume that a particular risk for a supply chain has the same importance and value as that same risk in another supply chain.The biggest drawback of the risk is based on its great diversity, its multitude of origins, its variable consequences and the complex interrelation with the rest. The identification of risks involves naming the risk without explaining or quantifying it. Logically, people who work in a part of the supply chain have a greater facility to identify the risks of that part. That is why the definition and functional separation of parts of the supply chain is really important to carry out a successful risk identification.

Knowledge is an important resource in the supply chain and a critical determinant of the competitiveness of the supply chain (Jayaram & Pathak, 2013 ). This is developed both at the organizational level and at the individual level. While some authors focus on knowledge as a firm attribute, others point to the individual as the place of knowledge creation. When using the individual-level perspective of the knowledge-based vision, the company's ability to manage supply chain risk will depend on the risk mitigation competence of its supply chain managers. Therefore, we seek to better understand the factors that affect the risk mitigation competence of the manager (Ambulkar et al., 2015 ).

The risks of the supply chain can also encapsulate, for example, the risk of suppliers (delays in receiving raw material or poor quality material). Within an organization, internal risk factors, such as those related to forecast errors, failures, capacity problems and inventory problems, should also not be overlooked. Another example would be operational risks, related to the internal activity of the organization (Rogers et al., 2016 ).

Through the use of the qualitative methods “What if…?” And “Brainstorm”, the main risks that exist in the supply chain we are studying are collected (ITM Platform, 2016 ) (UNE-EN 31,010 2011). The risks identified in the “PanJaén” supply chain have been obtained from a list of their own elaboration for the first assessment of their impact using sources such as the Iowa State University College (Amling & Daugherty, 2020 ), the International Journal of Logistics and Applications Research (Rogers et al., 2016 ) and the International Journal of Production Research (Blos et al., 2016 ). The identified risks appear in Table 2 . These have been ordered according to their meaning and we have obtained a total of five risk groups: operational, direct process to the product/service, suppliers, safety and labor rights.

2.4 Risk analysis and assessment

The purpose of analyzing the risks is to obtain a list in which the risks of the chain are prioritized, which determines the relevance that should be given to each of the elements mentioned. With this prioritization, it will be much easier to visualize the importance that each risk has within the supply chain.

We will use the "Hierarchical Analytical Process, AHP". The AHP model was developed by the mathematician Saaty ( 2008 ) and consists of formalizing the intuitive understanding of complex problems by building a hierarchical model. The basis of the process is based on the fact that it allows numerical values to be given to the judgments given by people, managing to measure how each element of the hierarchy contributes to the immediately higher level from which it emerges. (Khalilzadeh & Derikvand, 2018 ; Delgado-Galván et al., 2011 ; Aznar & Guijarro, 2012 ). The process will consist of two phases: a first qualitative analysis and a second quantitative analysis. For the qualitative analysis, we will use the probability and impact matrix where the evaluator, in this case the organization, will determine for each risk these two characteristics. Probability refers, as we know, to the feasibility of something happening. The impact, on the other hand, refers to the consequences they would have on the supply chain (Ramanathan, 2001 ) (Wang et al., 2008 ).

Thus, we ask that each risk of the 14 identified be assigned a probability of occurrence between four categories (very low, low, medium or high) and an impact on the organization (mild, moderate, high or catastrophic) (Zamora Aguas et al., 2013 ). From here we will look for the relationship between the different risk groups we have. This relationship will be achieved by comparing the rating of each risk group with the rest of the rating and, depending on that comparison, we will establish the importance of one group over the other (Díaz Córdova et al., 2017 ),

Once we have each risk defined, we can assign a general probability and impact to the risk group. This allocation is given by an average of the probabilities and impacts of the risks that form that group. For example, all operational risks have an average probability, so the probability of the group of "Operational risks (1)" will have an average probability. Its impact will be high since two of the risks have this impact, while the remaining two have it moderate and catastrophic.

The next step will be to rate the risk group according to the probability and impact we have previously assigned. This rating will be determined according to Table 3 , with four possible levels (Ayuso-Muñoz et al., 2017 ).

For example, for the “Suppliers” risk group, its probability is low and its impact is high, so it will have a high rating. We will obtain a total of 5 ratings, since there are 5 types of risks we have. Once we perform this procedure for all groups, we will have as a result Table 4 , which we show below (He & Yang, 2018 ).

From here we will look for the relationship between the different risk groups we have. This relationship will be achieved by comparing the rating of each risk group with the rest of the rating and, depending on that comparison, we will establish the importance of one group over the other through Table 5 (Díaz Córdova et al., 2017 ; Khalilzadeh & Derikvand, 2018 ).

The "Linguistic variable" column refers to the importance of one risk group over another. As can be seen in Table 4 , when we are going to compare two risk groups, we will always compare the one with the highest rating with the other. In our case, we see that the risk group that has a rating above is 2, with a critical rating. The rest have a high rating, so Group 2 has a strong importance over the rest (Hermoso-Orzáez et al., 2020 ; Yusof & Salleh, 2013 ).

Once we have the relationships between the different risks, we will assign them numerical values. To do this, we will use the author Saaty comparison scales, which are shown in Table 6 (Hermoso-Orzáez et al., 2019 ; Saaty, 2008 ).

When two risks are equally important, even if they are two critical risks, the weight of one over the other will be low. The greater the weight of one risk with respect to another, the greater the importance it has over it. The intermediate values of the scales also represent that group, that is, if one risk has a strong importance over another, the value that we will assign not only can be 5, but we could also assign the values 4 or 6. These values in this Scales can be used as margins when the risks are of very similar importance, as is our case.

Looking at our results, of 5 groups of risks that we have, 4 have a high rating, that is, when we compare a risk of those four with the rest we can use the values of the scale (1, 2, 3) to prioritize in small magnitude those 4 values of equal rating. Logically, we will not be able to apply high values, such as 5 or 6 between two risk groups with the same rating, because among those risks there is not so much clear difference. Thus, we will begin by comparing the risk groups among them, assigning values of the scales corresponding to their comparison. For example, for risks 4 and 5, which have a high rating, their score will move in low values. Finally we decided that those of type 3 will have a little more importance over those of 4 because their probability of occurrence is greater, so that group 3 will have value 2 when compared with group 4.

In the end, we will add the columns to see the total in each risk. Table 7 shows the results.

The next step will be to weigh the table. It will be done by dividing each of the column values by the total calculated above. In this way we will obtain the weighting of each risk when compared to another, so we will need to average the weights in a new column.

That result will be the weighting of our risk group, which if multiplied by 100 will result in a percentage. The calculations of this step are reflected in Table 8 (Aznar & Guijarro, 2012 ; Ramanathan, 2001 ).

We note that the sum of all weights is "1", so they have been done correctly. The table that really interests us is the following (Table 9 ), with the importance that each group of risks must have when managing them.

We already have our final weights. We see that the most important risk is number 2 (Risks related to the direct process to the product / service), followed by risk group number 5 and 1 (Blos et al., 2016 ).

2.4.1 Consistency analysis of the AHP methodology

Before continuing, we will check the consistency of our results, as there are times that when it comes to rating the risks, the relationships established initially do not make sense. When the matrices are of a larger size, there are occasions that the criteria with which the risks are qualified are contrasted with each other and do not really reflect the importance of one risk over another. Thus, we have to verify that it is not our case and that the judgments carried out are consistent. (Baudry et al., 2018 ; Park et al., 2019 ).

To do this, we will calculate the consistency ratio that is given by the division of two parameters (1). This relationship will be more correct as it approaches 0. We will consider our rating reasonable as long as this ratio is less than 0.1. The two parameters that define this relationship are the consistency index and random consistency (Aznar & Guijarro, 2012 ; De Brucker et al., 2013 ).

2.4.1.1 Formula 1-consistency ratio

First, we will multiply the initial matrix by the average vtor (weights of each risk group). The result will be a vector that we will call “Total row vector”.

2.4.1.2 Formula 2-vector calculation total row

Next, we divide each term of this “Total row vector” by the average vector, resulting in a new vector that will be around the values of the size of our matrix (in this case the value 5). Ideally, the quotients should be the same number as the size of the matrix, indicating that the coherence is excellent. But as this does not happen, we will have to calculate the average of the quotients, which will correspond to \(\lambda_{\max }\) . All these calculations are reflected in Table 9 .

We calculate the consistency index, which is given by the formula ( 3 ).

2.4.1.3 Formula 3-consistency index calculation

To know what the value of the random consistency is, "RI", we move to Table 10 . The values of this variable are established depending on the size of the matrix we are studying. This consistency is the average consistency of 10,000 randomly constructed matrices and will help us move from the consistency index to the consistency ratio of a matrix.

Upon fulfilling the condition, we verify that the criteria for rating our risks are correctly performed, that is, they do not contradict each other.

We already have our final weights. We see that the most important risk is number 2 (Risks related to the direct process to the product / service), followed by risk group number 5 and 1.

The whole process must be checked for the consistency of the results, as there are times that when it comes to rating the risks, the relationships established initially do not make sense. When the matrices are of a larger size, there are occasions that the criteria with which the risks are qualified are contrasted with each other and do not really reflect the importance of one risk over another. Thus, we have to verify that it is not our case and that the judgments carried out are consistent.

This consistency relationship is given by the division of two parameters. We will consider our rating reasonable as long as this ratio is less than 0.1. The two parameters that define this relationship are the consistency index and random consistency. (Valladão et al., 2019 ).Upon fulfilling the condition, we verify that the criteria for rating our risks are correctly performed, that is, they do not contradict each other (Aznar & Guijarro, 2012 ). Once we have achieved a prioritization of risk groups, we will do the same process for each specific risk within its category. That is, we will carry out this process five times, and we will see what prioritization each risk has within its group to, finally, be able to compare the 15 risks suffered by the supply chain we are studying.

The result would be as shown in Table 11 below.

Once the prioritization of all the risks within your group has been calculated, we can make a final table where the importance of each risk group will appear on the one hand and, on the other, the importance of each risk within your group. Thus, on a percentage scale, we will see that priority occupies each of the 14 risks identified in the beginning, giving it a position of 1 to 14 possible, 1 being the most important risk of studying and 14 the least. Table 12 shows the order of importance of the risks, which have a color assigned in their box that follows the criteria of Table 13 .

2.4.2 Risk management

In risk management, good knowledge and classification of the risks obtained during the analysis process are necessary to be able to make decisions about future actions to reduce, mitigate or avoid them. Decision-making to deal with risks is often conditioned by ethical, legal, financial or strategic considerations.

It is very important to identify the risks that need treatment and those that do not. This decision of whether or not to treat risk, and how to do it, may depend on the costs and benefits of accepting the risk and/or implementing controls to mitigate, reduce or eliminate it.

In our case study, the most important risk is 2.1, which represents the risk of "Poor quality of the final product". Then we have 5.2, which represents the risk of "poor staff training," and third we have the risk of "poor customer service."

The following Fig.  1 shows a 3D bar graph that allows us to observe it visually.

3D bar diagram of the prioritization of risks in "PanJaén". (Own elaboration)

2.5 Risk monitoring and control

As part of the risk management process, risks and controls should be monitored and reviewed on a regular basis. This monitoring must establish and maintain procedures to be able to track and evaluate the performance not only of the risks to which it is subject, but to be able to follow its own risk management system as a whole.

This evaluation of the plans, procedures and capacities should be carried out periodically through actions that the organization considers as it has been analyzed throughout the risk management process, such as performance evaluations or reports. That is why monitoring and review should take place at all stages of the process (UNE-EN 31,010 2011 ).

This monitoring and control process can be carried out by two agents: management or independent staff through audits.

The objective of this step will be to verify that:

The hypotheses established in relation to risks continue to be valid.

The assumptions on which risk assessment has been based, including external and internal contexts, continue to be valid.

The degree of compliance with the risk management policy, objectives and goals is monitored.

Risk assessment techniques have been properly applied.

The recording of data and the results of the follow-up that facilitates subsequent analysis actions.

2.6 Risk mitigation

The risks can be reduced o mitigated through supply chain redesign such as diversification or modularity in processes and design (Kleindorfer & Saad, 2005 ), strategic inventory stockpiling (Chopra & Sodhi, 2004 )), risk pooling (Sheffi, 2003 ), principles from TQM Total Quality Management (Lee & Whang, 2005 ), or reducing supply chain complexity (Manuj & Mentzer, 2008 ). Using the traditional classification of risk frequency and impact (Norrman & Jansson, 2004 ), appropriate risk levels can be determined. Identifying general risk levels for Force Majeure disruptions and designing appropriate procedural safeguards and prevention mechanisms such as earthquake-proofing or fire facilities, backup inventory or suppliers, and contingency plans can effectively reduce the impact of a disruption.

Reducing the risk of Inside Jobs and other opportunistic behavior within the supply chain is more reliant on relationships than processes put in place.

These approaches are presented in Fig.  2 and connected to the different phases of risk management (DuHadway et al., 2019 ).

Effective risk management strategies (Own elaboration)

Reducing the risk of poor customer services, or bad quality of final products within a supply chain is manageable through setting up appropriate processes with a supply chain such as carrying safety stock and using reliable supplies (Tomlin, 2006 ), using a list of approved or preferred suppliers who have been pre-certified to some degree of reliability (Gosling et al., 2010 ), or using a risk management process to identify and manage risk levels for inadvertent disruptions which occur within the supply chain. Certain safeguards might be taken such as securing against theft (Sullivan, 2010 )(Sullivan, 2010 ), but in general, there are limited actions that a firm can take to prevent a targeted disruption. Recognizing that the entire supply chain might be exposed in the case of a disruption and strategically developing a balanced supply chain that is not extremely dependent on the contribution from a single firm can alleviate some of the risk, but there is no simple solution to eliminate targeted.

For our study case, the risk that most concerns those responsible for the supply chain is related to the final quality of the product. This may be due to several reasons:

The product has direct contact with the buyer, who is the one who finally makes sense of the supply chain. The customer expects a quality of the product they buy and this quality may not be what the customer expected, both better and worse.

The organization is not really aware of the quality of its products, that is, it does not know the real thinking of the client exactly. For this reason, when assigning a value to the probability and impact of this risk, those responsible for the chain are worried about something they cannot control, a fact that is logical because it is beyond their reach.

The good or bad quality of the final product has part of many risks that we have been analyzing before, such as raw material, poor staff knowledge or breakage through packaging. That is why quality represents, with this percentage so something, the consequences of many actions along the supply chain.

On the one hand, we know that the organization defines its products of a high quality, both in its elaboration, result and customer service. In fact, the objective of this company is “Create a quality brand image”. So, when customers go to their points of sale or buy on demand, they expect excellent quality, which is the quality that the organization claims to offer. So, could we lessen the impact of this risk in case it occurs? The answer would rather be no. If a customer is disappointed with one of their products, the impact would be catastrophic. So we will try to treat and mitigate the risk by playing with the probability of its occurrence.

There are many factors that influence the quality of "PanJaén" products. In fact, they are found along the supply chain. To analyze the causes of this risk, we will use one of the methods explained in the “Risk analysis and assessment” step, as we will analyze a risk. The method that we will use will be "Analysis of cause and effect (fish bone)", as can be seen in Fig.  3 . We will try to explain this Fig.  3 , cause and effect analysis for the risk "Poor quality of the final product". We have different causes from different points in the supply chain and a negative final effect or risk that we want to eliminate, treat or mitigate.

Cause and effect analysis for the risk "Bad quality of the final product." (Own elaboration)

3.1 Raw material

The poor conservation that the raw material presents with respect to time, either in the places of production, due to the inventory, or at the same point of sale, makes the product quality worse.On the other hand, the complements are pieces that accompany the final product, such as nuggets or edible wrappings. These, normally, are added directly to the product to be sold, so you have to be careful with their taste since they are not treated throughout the process.Finally in this group, the components of the raw material are essential, as many of the clients look for certain properties in the bread and ours may not comply with them. Thus, we must be clear about each of the properties of each component for treatment.

3.2 Manufacturing

It can be greatly affected by ignorance of the processes. The ignorance is not only of the personnel, but that a process in general is wrong and, although the personnel carry it out correctly, the result is not the ideal one. This may occur, for example, in the stages of component blends.On the other hand, product burns are crucial, as they give an undesirable appearance and taste. Because our bread has a double baking, you have to plan well the conditions of each of them and constantly monitor them.

3.3 Point of sale

The physical conditions of the establishment, such as cleanliness or smell, cause the client's expectations to decline. In the same way, the treatment of the shopkeeper influences the clients and the way of attending or taking the products.On the other hand, the products must have a strategic distribution not only intended for consumption, but also for the mixture of odors that may arise.

3.4 Physical appearance

This is one of the most direct aspects with the client, because it includes the attractiveness of the product that can be given by its touch or its shape. On many occasions, the customer has an opinion about a cake or a loaf of bread simply by looking at it, regardless of its taste.

If we perform an ABC classification of our risks, the result is as shown in Fig.  4 . We can see that only a few risks produce very negative effects.

ABC classification of "PanJaén" risks. (Own elaboration)

We see that the first five risks occupy 80% of the prioritization (Group A of the classification), while the other nine add up to 20% among all. Therefore, the Plan of Measures among the five main risks could be the focus of proposing measures to reduce their probability and impact (Lo & Tang, 2019 ) See Table 14 . In this table, we identify each risk with the causes that originate it in the supply chain and the measures to be taken to avoid or mitigate it.

4 Discussion

The risk of poor quality of the final product may be given by the uncertainty of the organization about the opinions of its customers, so it would be important to take measures to inform us about the opinion of the customers about our products, as the rest of the tasks of the supply chain are under the control of the organization.

One possible measure would be for the supply chain to conform to some global standard that accredits the quality objective, such as ISO 9001(UNE-EN- IS0 9001 2015). This international standard takes into account the activities of the organization, focusing on all the elements of quality management. with which a company must have to have an effective system that allows it to manage and improve the quality of its products or services. (Khalilzadeh & Derikvand, 2018 ).

Another possible measure would be the creation of an application App movil aplications phone, for the mobile phone that rewards customer loyalty. Through this application, created by the company, consumers would have the possibility to value all products without having to do so in front of the workers. In addition, each time customers make a purchase, they can pass their identification code (on the phone screen) through a reader who is at the point of sale, transmitting the purchase data to the application. Thus, both clients and the organization would win:

The application, knowing the products that each customer purchases, can customize the suggestions and offer discounts and offers for their next purchases.

On the other hand, the organization will add more value to its chain and attract a greater number of customers. You can instantly report all your products without the need for a customer to enter the point of sale to learn about a new product.

5 Conclusion

This work allows us to conclude that the supply chain is valued by two key strategic concepts: its vulnerability and its resilience. Risk management is a fundamental tool for its control and future of the company.

Organizations will always be exposed to different types of risks that arise as an organization progresses in its activity. These risks will be characterized by their probability of occurrence and their impact on the organization. These variables can initially be assessed subjectively or qualitatively by the risk manager. Being able to seem not dependent on or outside the organization. That is, the risk exists and due to the circumstances of the moment, it will have a certain probability and impact. This is where risk management itself begins, which allows organizations to identify, analyze and quantitatively assess risks through techniques such as the use of "Hierarchical Analytical Process, AHP", presented in this study. That allows hierarchical ordering of risks, to later be able to treat and manage them appropriately, avoid them, mitigate them or eliminate them.

When an incident occurs and it is acted upon after its occurrence, the organization must be aware that early risk management allows a less demanding and faster reaction to that emergency, so risk management is an improvement process The flexibility between chain actors continues to increase.

Another of the great conclusions that we obtain from this study is the following: a supply chain can effectively challenge its vulnerabilities when all the actors that comprise it frequently share information. This will build trust, increase visibility, and decrease uncertainty in the network. Collaboration is related to visibility, as it includes the organization's willingness to share risk. Therefore, an organization regardless of its location or operating environment is part of a complex supply chain and has political, economic, competitive, logistical or infrastructure concerns. Therefore, up-to-date information flows are required regarding the products and services produced, which are highly coordinated within and outside the limits of the organization itself. All this leads us to affirm that information and its transfer are key in the processes of identification and treatment of risks.

Risk management in supply chains is increasingly important not only for the activities carried out in them but also for managers. Logically, organizations are not born with risk management in place but are created as events occur and according to the perspectives that managers acquire with their knowledge and experience.

Finally, it should be noted that the risk management process should never be an arbitrary process, but rather carefully crafted and prepared. The key tool to carry out this entire process is the creation of a department dedicated to risk management that analyzes and determines the scope of each situation and the measures to be taken, being aware that a crucial element is a strong communication. between all the members of this department and the different links in the chain. All this will give us the ability to face, avoid mitigating or eliminating the risks that affect us, whatever their nature. In this way, we will start the path towards a strong, flexible and competitive chain.

Looking at our case study, it can be seen that many of those factors that influence quality are risks that we have already identified, so the measures we take will be directed towards these risks that affect quality. In this way, we will reduce the probability and impact of these risks and we will also reduce the probability of occurrence of our main risk.

The risk of poor quality of the final product is observed as the main risk to be treated due to its impact on the supply chain of food production companies, on the final customer. It does not always have to occur in its entirety due to the combination of factors throughout the supply chain, but can be given by the uncertainty of the organization about the opinions of its customers. Therefore, it would be important to take measures to inform us about the opinion of customers about the final products placed in the hands of the consumer, since the rest of the tasks of the supply chain are under the direct control of the organization. In this process, the transmission of information along the supply chain is essential for risk management. In this sense, the use of new technologies such as Mobile Apps, which allow the customer to assess quality directly and interactively, is shown to be a powerful tool for the future for interactive risk management.

Change history

28 february 2022.

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-022-04583-w

Alora, A., & Barua, M. K. (2020). Development of a supply chain risk index for manufacturing supply chains. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management . https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-11-2018-0422

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Hermoso-Orzáez, M.J., Garzón-Moreno, J. Risk management methodology in the supply chain: a case study applied. Ann Oper Res 313 , 1051–1075 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-021-04220-y

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Case study: How EY optimized the supply chain of a leading Indian MNC

EY helped a leading FMCG company optimize vendor costs, eliminate redundancies, and create a common sales and operations platform.

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Ashish Nanda

EY India Business Consulting Leader

The better the question

How can we unlock synergies from two businesses post acquisition?

After acquiring several iconic brands, a leading FMCG company needed to capitalize on the synergistic benefits of the opportunity.

I n 2018, one of India’s leading FMCG companies acquired a consumer business which housed several reputed brands. After the acquisition, the immediate priority for the company was to identify and tap into synergistic opportunities of the acquisition. Supply chain and procurement was one of the primary focus areas for cost, operation and capacity optimization. Both sets of businesses had many overlaps across the supply chain, including suppliers, locations, and raw materials. The company had to quickly identify all existing overlaps and eliminate redundancies.

The better the answer

We optimized the supply chain of the complete brand portfolio

The optimization covered three critical areas ꟷ procurement synergies, logistics and network optimization, and sales and operations planning.

As the company wanted to ensure that it leveraged the benefits of synergies from the acquired entities, it employed EY to optimize the complete supply chain. The core areas of  supply chain optimization  included:

• Realizing procurement synergies and optimizing vendor costs.
• Lowering of warehouse and freight costs by identifying logistics overlaps.
• Integration of sales and operations planning across the complete brand portfolio. 

EY led three critical areas of supply-chain optimization: procurement synergies, logistics and network optimization, and sales and operations planning.

Procurement levers to extract synergistic value

To realize value from various synergistic opportunities in packaging, EY investigated several cost levers and their potential impact. The team deep dived into cost sheets and identified saving opportunities for major packaging material through index-linked buying. In addition, EY also consolidated vendor bases and leveraged scale across key categories for negotiation, besides leveraging different price floors which the two organizations had.

EY also conducted market assessments and index identification for synergistic raw material categories and alternate vendor and price discovery for high priority categories. It also developed a scientific price forecasting model for better indicative price visibility.

End-to-end network optimization from analysis to implementation

EY conducted an end-to-end investigation to identify network cost optimization opportunities. It included, sales gravity analyses, cost and service lever optimization runs, and network footprint implementation. The team also conducted center of gravity analysis for CFAs and hubs and determining cost baseline values and identified a list of several CFA locations and determined their associated cost savings.

The value drivers of the network optimization exercise included warehouse and freight lanes consolidation, price discovery and alternate vendor identification, and primary freight management. EY also piloted the 3PL logistics model in key regions.

Building a common sales and operations planning strategy

Since the two entities had different sales and operations planning approaches, the company needed a common governance model and tech-enabled process to establish visibility and control across the integrated entity’s complete value chain. EY’s intervention was targeted at bringing three crucial components of the sales and operations planning processꟷ demand planning, replenishment planning, and sales and operations planning meetings. These included overhaul to the company’s forecasting processes and reporting mechanisms, improving responsiveness of the entity’s replenishment planning approach, and establishing a formalized decision-making process.

Related article

The better the world works

An efficient supply chain led to lower costs and better value

The company realized lower supply chain costs, more operational efficiency, and better decision-making across the complete brand portfolio.

EY’s approach was premised on several value drivers spread across different cost or value measures across all three optimization categoriesꟷ procurement synergies, network and logistics, and sales and operations planning. It involved investigation of different pricing models, alternate vendor discovery, and rightsizing different logistics costs. As a consequence of the supply chain optimization , the company identified and started implementing synergies across the target areas.

Cost and value improvements which EY’s delivered for an Indian FMCG company

• Procurement synergies

Identified procurement synergies of

across key packaging material categories

• Network and logistics

Optimized network and logistics cost reduction helped in identifying opportunities of

in logistics spend

• Sales and operations planning

inventory reduction potential

(Contributors include Nishit Bhatia, Shreyan Sarkar, Abhijeet Vaidya, Amit Kumar, Shivagurunathan Narayan, Chirag Goel.)

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Sourcing product from Korea, the customer initially used Noatum Logistics to assist with international freight forwarding and the custom clearance process for shipments to the U.S. As the customer grew their customer base and product offering, it was apparent their outsourced warehouse solution in the U.S. could not keep up with their needs. The end customers’ orders frequently required special packing, rush deliveries, and special project handling, straining the customer’s inventory management practices.

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Capitalise on the retail expertise and capabilities of Noatum Logistics, including our robust warehouse management technologies and local capacity. The benefits of greater inventory visibility and control would cascade into other supply chain functions including transportation, warehousing, distribution and customer service.

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A leading manufacturer of cell phone accessories was in a crisis. Issues with an overseas partner completely shut down their supply chain. They needed a new logistics services provider to quickly step in and get shipments moving. The manufacturer also recognized the need to rethink its supply chain to gain better control over vendors, reduce costs and achieve more efficient handling of orders.

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Our customer is a leading multinational manufacturer of automobiles and agricultural machinery. The company entered the U.S. market in 2000; since 2002, Noatum Logistics has handled the company’s customs brokerage at Noatum Logistics’ Houston branch.

Case Study – Fashion industry logistics

Founded in 1920, New Era Cap Company is an American headwear company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. Best known for being the official on-field cap for Major League Baseball, the official sideline cap for the National Football League, and the official on-court cap for the National Basketball Association.

Case Study – High tech firm

The customer, a global provider of secure IP/Ethernet switching solutions, sources products from South China and Taiwan for sales in the United States. They identified cost containment objectives and wanted to improve the overall performance of their supply chain.

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Iim calcutta & emeritus roll out 'advanced programme in supply chain management' enabling professionals to drive business profitability.

BusinessWire India Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 23: In an era defined by intricate global supply chains and dynamic market landscapes, organisations face unprecedented challenges in optimising their operations. Recent disruptions have exposed vulnerabilities, highlighting the need for professionals equipped to navigate complexity, mitigate risks, and optimise end-to-end supply chain operations for sustained success. Recognising the need to equip professionals with methodologies, frameworks, and best SCM practices, the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC), one of the leading B-schools in India, ranked 4th by NIRF 2023, launched the 12th batch of Advanced Programme in Supply Chain Management in partnership with Emeritus , a global pioneer in offering accessible and affordable high-quality education to individuals and organisations. This high-impact 12-month programme is meticulously curated for mid to senior-level professionals, seeking to elevate their expertise in the dynamic realm of Supply Chain Management . It is also tailored for seasoned professionals looking to navigate the intricacies of Chain Management or seeking innovative strategies to optimise various aspects such as purchasing, production, inventory control, and logistics. Additionally, professionals aspiring to broaden their career horizons within logistics or supply chain management, be it in service or manufacturing organisations, will find this programme beneficial in helping them unlock new opportunities and drive success. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) report titled "Worldwide Small and Medium-Sized Business and Digital-Native Business 2023 Predictions -- India Implications", by 2025 around 30% of Indian Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) will consider intelligence decision systems to promote R&D and supply chain management. It further predicts that logistics and supply chain managers are more focused on meeting demand rather than just managing supply and therefore it is an ideal time for professionals to enhance their skills for a promising career in supply chain management. Aimed at addressing the growing demand for skilled professionals in the field, this programme rightly equips participants with an integrated understanding of contemporary best practices in supply chain management and logistics and helps them with end-to-end supply chain visibility and continued success. The IIM Calcutta Advanced Programme in Supply Chain Management , designed by renowned IIMC faculty, includes live online sessions delivered by top IIM Calcutta faculty as well as an 8-day in-campus immersion at the IIM Calcutta campus. It also includes a capstone project guided by IIM Calcutta Faculty, real-world case-studies, hands-on learning through business simulations on supply chain and an opportunity for peer-to-peer learning. The programme includes modules such as introducing supply chain management, supply chain strategy, inventory management, procurement and sourcing management, and ecommerce supply chain & fulfilment among others. Through this programme, participants will be able to: * Cultivate advanced strategic thinking skills in supply chain management and logistics to effectively analyse and optimise intricate global supply networks

* Attain proficiency in leveraging cutting-edge tools and technologies to enhance supply chain efficiency and supply chain transformation * Develop expertise in fostering supply chain agility and distribution, facilitating swift adaptation to evolving market dynamics and customer demands * Assess and refine supply chain performance metrics by harnessing data-driven insights to pinpoint areas for enhancement and drive continuous improvement throughout the supply chain * Design and implement collaborative supply chain and sourcing strategies to cultivate closer partnerships, promote information sharing, and optimise coordination Commenting on the launch of the programme, Mohan Kannegal, CEO, India and APAC, Emeritus , said, "Recent disruptions have underscored the critical need for agile and adaptable supply chain management practices. Through a focus on operational activities like procurement, logistics, and sales planning, this programme empowers participants to enhance end-to-end visibility and harness opportunities for continued growth. The Advanced Programme in Supply Chain Management (APSCM) by IIM Calcutta will equip professionals with the essential tools and strategies to successfully assume cross-functional roles, efficiently coordinate with suppliers and customers, and drive corporate success. We are thrilled to partner with esteemed institutions like IIM Calcutta to launch high-impact programmes that will help participants in their professional journeys." The eligibility for this programme includes Graduates (10+2+3) and Diploma holders (10+2+3)/ Postgraduates from a recognised university (UGC/AICTE/DEC/AIU/State Government/recognised international universities) with a minimum of three years of work experience. This programme is set to begin on June 30, 2024, with a fee of INR 4,60,000 plus GST (Discount of INR 10,000 available until May 29, 2024). Upon successful completion of the programme and maintaining a minimum attendance of 75 percent, participants will be awarded a certificate of completion from IIM Calcutta . They will also be eligible for prestigious IIM Calcutta executive education alumni status. For more information, visit the programme page here . (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)

ANI PR Wire 23rd May 2024, 23:17 GMT+10

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