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This Week in Supply Chain Digest

From Customer Sacrifice to GM's current situation, to the Theory of Contraints, SCDigest editor Dan Gilmore tackles these and other important issues in this week's column.

Read Gilmore's full comments

Random Musings

In the midst of the summer season, I thought it would be fun to offer some random thoughts on a variety of supply chain topics.

Relative to my piece a few weeks ago on Customer Sacrifice is Different than Customer Satisfaction, we received several humorous responses from readers who noted they regularly used the irons in hotel rooms. The point Jim Gilmore was trying to make, of course, was not that no one used the irons in hotel rooms (I threw out the figure of 1 in a hundred or less). Obviously, some people do. The point was that whatever the percentage is, it’s certainly well less than 100%, but hotels chains go to the expense of outfitting each room with the equipment nonetheless. This whole concept of understanding customer sacrifice is still very interesting to me. Take a look at the piece if you haven’t read it and share your perspective.

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Supply Chain Digest Logistics Cost Survey Details and Charts - now available

Supply Chain Digest Logistics Costs survey




Featured Reports:

	Worst Ever Supply Chain Disasters
	High Volume, Multi-Modal Shipping - What Executives Need to Know
	Winning New Customers - The Case for Gaining Competitive Advantage through Operational Efficiency
	...View all Reports


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News & Views

	Dell Financial Troubles
	What are the Limits to “Leanness?”
	When Changing Businesses Processes, How Much Time Should You Expend Documenting the Current Ones?
	Getting China Sourcing to the Next Level
	Spectrum Brands Latest to Blame Retailer Inventory Cutbacks on Sales Shortfall
	Ok, Wal-Mart Needs RFID
	HP Announces New Memory Chip, with Attributes of RFID, But Much Greater Storage
	Global Logistics: Will You Become Your Own “4PL"?
	Georgia Tech Extends Project to Benchmark Global Lead Time Variability
	Coke Says It Feared Private Label Sports Drink Brand by Wal-Mart if It Didn’t Change Distribution Approach
	Logistics Costs as a Percent of U.S. GDP
	HP Unwinds Central Supply Chain Function
	Weyerhauser Finds Basic Blocking and Tackling Helps Link Supply and Demand
	HP Raises the Bar in Procurement Through Use of Technology
	The Pros and Cons of the On-Demand TMS Model
	Bear Stears RFID Report Confirms What We Should Have Known All Along – New Technology Adoption Takes Time
	Dell Retools to Get its MoJo Back
	QVC Gets Transportation Right
	Is Saudi Arabia Running Out of Oil?
	ISCEA and SCDigest Partner on Supply Chain Excellence Award for 2007
	Even in China, You Have to get “Lean”
	Does Incentive Pay in the Warehouse Work?
	New Cannondale Associates Report Offers New Way to think about Retailer Segmentation
	Will Retailer/Wal-Mart Inventory Cut Backs Mean Sales Risk for Consumer Goods Companies?
	New Texas Plant Shows How Toyota Continues to Gain Advantage over Gm
	Sign of the Times – Restaurant Chain O’Charley’s Gets Chief Supply Chain Officer
	i2’s CEO Outlines "Next Generation" Solutions and What i2 Needs to Do to Succeed
	Managing Supply Chain Complexity
	Wal-Mart Inventory Policy Changes Impact Its Suppliers’ Financial Projections, Stock Prices
	RFID Market Shows Signs of Real Growth; Big Ramp-Up Still “Just Around the Corner
	The Impact of Lead Time Variability
	Aldo Gets WMS, DC Automation Implementation – and Even “Big Bang” Deployment – Just Right
	Ten Trends in TMS Software
	The Perils of Transitioning Offshore Manufacturing
	Weyerhaeuser Restructures to Lower Inventories, Build a More Responsive Supply Chain
	SCM Software Consolidation Continues, as Manugistics is Acquired by JDA
	Why is Oil at $72 per Barrel, with Inventories at Record Levels?
	Wholesale Supply Chain: VWR Finds Getting More “Demand-Driven” and Changing Its Approach to the Business Can Pay Big Rewards
	Pallet Supplier IFCO Caught in Illegal Worker Sweep
	Wal-Mart, Albertson’s, Sign RFID Reader Deals, Bear Sterns Reports
	Procurement Outsourcing Trend Continues, as Colgate-Palmolive Turns Over Many Purchasing Functions to IBM
	Chrysler’s Flexible Manufacturing Strategy Starting to Payoff, Wall Street Journal Story Says
	Wal-Mart Moves Key Executives, Impacting Supply Chain and Logistics Leadership
	“Motes” Continue to Gain Attention, as Venture Capital Interest Heats Up
	22 People Reach U.S. Stowed Away in Cargo Container
	Time to Align the Supply Chain to the Boardroom, says The Limited Brands' Paul Mathews
	North American Material Handling Show 2006 “Best of Show" Review
	Best Buy Continues to Soar, Citing Supply Chain Efforts, but is Now also in Cost Cutting Mode
	Should the DoD Tag Its RFID Tags?
	Supply Chain Value: Another Survey on the CEO’s Perceptions of Supply Chain Management
	Suit over PowerAde Distribution Highlights Changes Dynamics in Beverage Distribution
	Supply Chain Thought Leaders: Eli Goldratt Unplugged - Part 2
	Supply Chain Digst Logistics Costs Survey Details and Charts Released
	Summary of Reader Feedback on Wal-Mart RFID Out-of-Stock Study
	Building a Flexible Supply Chain Network
	The Gap Splits Its Supply Chain Function, as Chief Supply Chain Officer Leaves the Company
	Bear Sterns Quarterly Shippers Survey Finds Supply-Demand Balancing in most Modes, but Continued Price Pressure in Rail
	RFID World - Audio Review Live from Dallas
	Latest Customer Satisfaction Index from the University of Michigan again shows Publix, Kohl’s and Costco at the Top of Consumers’ Perceptions
	i2 Acquires RiverOne, Highlighting On-Going Supply Chain Software Trends
	Port “Ownership Controversy Mostly Has It Wrong, but May Be Good for Security in the End
	Supply Chain Thought Leaders: Eli Goldratt Interview
	New Warehouse Management System TCO Calculator
	Lean Guru James Womack Analyzes What Ails GM, Ford
	The DoD’s Quadrennial Defense Review Looks to Visibility, Cost-Benefit Management, Non-Military Best Practice and RFID to Help Move Logistics to the 21st Century
	What’s the Real Size of the RFID Market? Look at Public Company Numbers
	2006 Forecasting Benchmarks Released
	Procter & Gamble on RFID/EPC – Three Categories of Products, Three Main Benefits
	Alien Technology Ups the Ante with New RFID Solutions Center
	Logistics Cost Increases Hit Amazon.com Hard; Free Shipping Program Takes Toll on Profits as Stock Drops
	Rail Carrier Norfolk Southern Uses Technology to Drive Big Efficiency Gains
	When Selecting Supply Chain Software, Be Sure to Understand Third-Party Software Requirements
	Where are the Risks to the Global Supply Chain? New Tool Assesses Risk by Country
	Loblaw, Targeting Wal-Mart Like Efficiency, Still Battling Supply Chain Re-Design Woes
	Supply Chain/Warehouse Management Industry Continues Consolidation as RedPrairie Announces the Acquisition of MARC Global
	Supply Chain and Manufacturing Issues Loom Large in U.S. Automaker Woes – and Recovery
	Takeover Battle for P&O Illustrates Continued Growth in World Trade
	Best Buy Moves to “Customer-Facing” Supply Chain
	Body Shop Hits Supply Chain Snags
	Keys to Multi-Modal Shipper Success?
	Greenspan Cites Global Trade as Key Factor in Price Stability
	Seven Supply Chain Lessons from Dr. Hau Lee
	Same Day Delivery Coming from a Store Near You?
	Gartner Predicts Solid Growth in RFID Spending, but Focused on True Value-Added Applications
	Wal-Mart in Trouble for Hazardous Waste Handling
	...View all News & Views

	The Executive View

	Strategic Trends and Issues in Supply Chain Management
	By Gene Tyndall SCDigest Contributing Editor I had the pleasure recently of presenting the keynote at the “IBM Transportation and Logistics CXO Summit.” My address was a “scan” of the strategic trends and issues that C-Levels are most concerned about as they compete in our dynamic and changing world of transportation, logistics, and supply chain management in this first decade of the 21st century. Over two and a half days, the invited participants heard about, discussed, and debated these issues, as well as the state of some promising new solutions and approaches for achieving successes in this increasingly challenging global marketplace. I thought that sharing some of this information with readers of SCDigest might be of value. As we have discussed before, keeping C-Levels engaged and up to date on the key issues of managing supply chains, and potential solutions, is in all of our interests. Executive sponsorship and commitment to supply chain excellence, and building corporate capabilities to get there – whether we are customers or service providers – is a critical success factor to our companies’ competitiveness, differentiation, and market value. The seven strategic issues we addressed were: The effects of globalization Issues of infrastructure Mergers, acquisition, and alliances Safety and security Leveraging human capital Responding to customers Exploiting technology Click here to read full article

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