In Charles Koch’s book "Good Profit," the concept of benchmarking is highlighted as a crucial tool for achieving sustainable success. For supply chain leaders, benchmarking offers a systematic approach to measuring and improving performance by comparing practices and metrics against industry standards or best practices. This post explores why benchmarking is essential for supply chain leaders and outlines the different types of benchmarking, along with their applications. Why Supply Chain Leaders Should Care About Benchmarking Benchmarking is not just a buzzword; it’s a powerful method for dri ..read more

I am always fascinated with what makes brilliant people tick. Yes, they are definately born with brilliance however many have processes they use to to really ensure they have a deep understanding of the topics they care about. One of them, and perhaps the master of them all, is Bill Gates. Ever since I watched the documentary, Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates (Netflix, link is to IMDB) I have been fascinated with his process and I thought I would outline it here and also discuss how we, as supply chain leaders, could use this process. Here goes: Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft ..read more

In the rapidly evolving landscape of supply chain management, automation is often hailed as the panacea for efficiency woes. However, as we delve deeper, it's crucial to consider whether this rush towards automation is genuinely beneficial or if it's another trend fueled by industry hype. The Automation Surge Post-pandemic, many supply chains have turned to automation to cope with unprecedented demand and labor shortages. Companies like Amazon and Home Depot have invested heavily in automated systems, expecting long-term gains in efficiency and cost reduction. Yet, the question remains: are th ..read more

In the complex world of supply chain management, the pursuit of efficiency and effectiveness is unending. Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR) is a strategy that has revolutionized this space, offering a systematic approach to reducing supply chain inefficiencies. This blog post will explore what CPFR is, why companies are interested in it, how it yields better results, and provide real-world examples of its application in business. I will also cover why it seems so elusive when it really is such a smart approach to planning.  What is CPFR? CPFR is a business prac ..read more

I am continuing my series on simple definitions and thoughts in Supply Chain Management. Today, we will cover all things Demand Planning and I will follow this with a sub-post dealing with the topic of CPFR (Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment). This is an overtalked about but underused part of demand planning. And why it is so underused I will never understand. You would think suppliers and sellers would want to be hand in hand to make things better. I will discuss that in my next post. Demand planning is a critical component of supply chain management that predicts customer ..read more

We have all heard of the global freight recession and much has been discussed. I thought I would provide a simple summary of "how we got to here" and what the outlook is for the future. So, here goes... In the dynamic world of global trade, the freight industry often serves as a barometer for economic conditions. Recently, this sector has entered a period of downturn, commonly referred to as a freight recession. This article delves into the underlying causes of this recession, evaluates its severity, and forecasts the potential timeline for recovery. What Caused the Freight Recession? The frei ..read more

 The term opportunity cost is thrown around a lot in business. However, my experience, through observation, is very few people truly understand it. My intent in this blog post is to try to explain why you should always consider opportunity cost in every decision you make.  Let's start by defining the term using the economic idea: "Opportunity Cost is the potential benefits an individual, investor or business misses out on when choosing one alternative over another"  I had a conversation with a person today who said they were saving a lot of money by not hiring a house cleaner ..read more

 Last week I spent most of my time at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Edge conference in Orlando Florida. Just a few hours into the first night and I remembered why coming to this conference is so important and has been such a great part of my supply chain career. I thought I would share some thoughts with you and hopefully the younger readers will realize your supply chain career is a life long journey. Getting to know the leaders of your generation will make you a leader. So, here goes: Relationships: Yes, we all talk about this, however, this is truly ..read more

 I always find it interesting to compare these two companies and looking at the 10K's for 2022 and the 10Q's for the first half of 2023 and interesting picture is emerging: Projection for 2023 at Beginning of Year from 10K: Summary (Beginning of the Year): JB Hunt and Schneider are two of the largest trucking companies in the US. Both companies reported strong financial results in 2022, but JB Hunt's results were slightly better. JB Hunt also has a more optimistic outlook for 2023. Here's a quick look at the numbers: JB Hunt: Revenue of $18.4 billion, up 27% year-over-year; Net inco ..read more

 Using an AI tool, I had it look at the 10K's for the top 5 trucking companies and asked it to provide a SWOT analysis for the trucking industry. NOTE: This is Generative AI: Here are the top 5 trucking companies in the US, based on revenue in 2022: UPS Inc. (NYSE: UPS) FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO) J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KNX) I have reviewed the 2022 10Ks of these companies and here is a SWOT analysis for this industry: Strengths: Strong financial performance: These companies have all report ..read more