Today I am resurrecting a long neglected task, my review of selected blogs and websites that deal with supply chain risk and related issues. It is almost a year since last time a blog was added here, and one of the reasons why I haven’t done so is that a) this blog has turned its attention towards literature reviews as the main focus, and b) there are simply too many blogs to mention them all. Noneless, today I’m resuming my reviews, and the first one out is Bob Ferrari’s Supply Chain Matters blog.
Why now?
The main reason for resurrecting the task is that this blog has gained a considerable readership, and many people have asked to be added to my blogroll in return for them adding me to their blogroll. Unfortunately, this blog does not maintain a blogroll, but from time to time I review other blogs/sites or posts on other blogs/sites. I consider that a lot more valuable than just a simple link. If you would like a review, please contact me.
Bob Ferrari
Supply Chain Matters is maintained by Bob Ferrari, the managing director of the supply chain consulting arm of The Ferrari Research and Consulting Group. Bob Ferrari is a highly visible supply chain technology executive and noted industry analyst, with demonstrated experience in business planning, process, and information technology transformation. Bob Ferrari’s experience spans across the whole supply chain board, with almost nothing left untouched, something that definitely shows in the topics he addresses on his blog.
Supply Chain Matters
On the Supply Chain Matters blog Bob provides his unbiased views, insights, and reader education into today’s burning topics surrounding the managing and deployment of global supply chains. What I enjoy is how Bob brings his strategic insights into his posts, and links them to current events or news stories related to supply chain management, stories that he draws from a a wide range of sources, from news sites to company press releases.
Posts of note
Bob has many interesting posts related to supply chain risk management and supply chain disruption. In a post reflecting on the current state of supply chain risk management, Bob remarks that
One of the most interesting observations I have made is that the question of who in the organization has the most ownership of risk remains clouded. Sourcing and procurement professionals feel that they are the logical point focus to drive awareness, but clearly do not desire to have enterprise risk management ownership.
This reminds me of my post on risk as a core competence, where I reflected on a recent paper by Donald Lessard and Rafael Lucea, Embracing risk as a core competence: The case of CEMEX. Here companies are advised to shape rather than shed their risks and to evolve from haphazardly dealing with risk to fully exploiting and integrating it into their business management strategies.
In two other posts, Bob looks at the Nestle Toll House product recalls and their implications:
The current reach of social media and the Internet has already associated the words of E.Coli and Nestle Toll House together in numerous entries. The question remains if this will have any long-term impact.
and what the food industry should learn from it:
Regarding Nestle, they will have to do better than just re-packaging of the product. There needs to be a very comprehensive and visible inspection process surrounding all future production, packaging and distribution. This is a challenge to not toss over the wall to marketing. The brand has suffered a setback, and in my view, marketing alone will not mitigate this problem.
These are just two of the more recent posts, and there are numerous other posts in supply chain risk management and supply chain disruption on Bob Ferraris blog.
Conclusion
This is an excellent blog. Bob’s post are profound and insightful. Rarely are there just short snippets like on many other blogs. Most posts are long, but not overly long, and they contain a wealth of information. It is a blog well worth reading and keeping in your bookmarks.
Link
- Bob Ferrari’s blog: Supply Chain Matters
Author Links
- linkedin.com: Bob Ferrari
Related
- husdal.com: Supply Chain (Risk) blogs of note
(If you would like to have your blog/website reviewed, please contact me)
