We were forced into it . . .
There was a time when the key focus in logistics was on inventory and warehousing. That is where most of the costs were incurred, so finding ways to reduce inventory and save warehousing costs was to the good – even if sometimes it meant putting up...
Published:
26 August 2008
Is there money in going green?
Green logistics has been top of the agenda for supply chain professionals in the UK for some time now. Marks & Spencer took a lead with its “Plan A” (because there is no Plan B) and it is now hard to find a company that doesn’t have an environmental...
Published:
19 August 2008
Who do you think deserves recognition?
The European Supply Chain Excellence Awards offer the happy opportunity to say thank you to an individual who has made major contribution to the theory and practice of supply chain management.
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Published:
12 August 2008
Resilience is the key
All across Europe, banks are writing off billions of euros as the credit crunch takes its toll. Deutsche Bank’s last figures show that pre-tax profit for the quarter April-June at 642m euros was down from 2.7 billion euros the year before
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Published:
05 August 2008
Going green: who pays?
Apparently, going green is all very desirable – but only if someone else is paying for it. A survey conducted by Transport Intelligence and sponsored by IT supplier Kewill found that three quarters of companies awarding logistics contracts included...
Published:
28 July 2008
Taxes that target the supply chain
The workhorse of logistics operations across Europe is the humble and all too often unloved lorry. The past few years have seen all sorts of positive discrimination ideas to encourage the use of alternative modes of transport but at the end of...
Published:
22 July 2008
Supply chain skills at a premium
The findings from PRTM’s latest Global Supply Chain Trends Survey indicate that “by 2010, the need for greater supply chain flexibility will overtake product quality and customer service as the major driver for improving supply chain...
Published:
15 July 2008
Who owns the logistics industry?
Who owns the logistics industry? On the face of it, that might seem a bizarre question, but stay with me for a moment because even a superficial survey reveals changing patterns of investment around Europe.
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Published:
08 July 2008
Taking advantage of the crunch
More evidence of the impact of the credit crunch on supply chains comes from the Aberdeen Group which suggests that adopting technology to improve productivity will help businesses in the supply chain weather the storm
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Published:
01 July 2008
Sustainability – time to be a little more selfish![]()
Going green is often presented as a purely altruistic exercise – being kind to small furry creatures, saving the planet for future generations and so on.
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Published:
24 June 2008
Do you have what it takes to win?![]()
What do Des O’Connor, Victoria Wood, Joan Bakewell, Lawrence Dallaglio and Joe Calzaghe all have in common?
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Published:
17 June 2008
Supply chain financing takes off![]()
The squeeze on normal lines of credit appears to be prompting financial directors to seek alternative ways of raising finance and to free up working capital
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Published:
10 June 2008
Productivity focus sparks interest in IT![]()
In times of leaner credit availability, change programmes prevail. Many suppliers may be increasingly cautious about extending credit terms to smaller customers, but most companies are looking to maintain profitability through leaner times by re-aligning...
Published:
03 June 2008
Adding up the green benefits![]()
An increasing number of carbon footprint calculators are available on the internet but the outcomes of these differ widely as various methodologies and emissions conversion factors are used
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Published:
30 May 2008
Automation of invoices pays off![]()
Any stage in the accounts process that involves manual activity acts as a drag on efficiency and profitability so it''s no surprise that SAP users are turning their attention to extending process automation beyond core processes to traditionally
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Published:
30 May 2008