Blog Archives

Posts inspired by whatever else I find interesting

Sparse transportation networks and disruptions

The vulnerability of the transportation network as part of the supply chain is of particular interest in countries or regions with sparsely populated areas, and hence, a sparse transportation network, because sparse transportation networks, and thus sparse supply chains, are vulnerable to many different kinds of internal and external risks.

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Sustainable Manufacturing Summit Europe

Soaring fuel prices combined with increasing awareness of the need to adapt for a low-carbon future has brought sustainability to the forefront of every manufacturer’s agenda. How can regulators and manufacturers integrate sustainability in to industrial policy and practice?

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Identification and simulation of risks in supply networks

The graphical model uses a Bayesian Network to determine the accumulated probability of failure in supply networks. The Bayesian network captures common causal relations of risk events in a supply chain. It is not complete and is not constructed by a proper risk assessment of a special company.

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Sustainability means less vulnerability?

A sustainable supply chain is a supply chain where resources are not just consumed but also replenished, and where business decisions consider long-term overall environmental and societal impacts.

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Norwegian roads are dangerous!

In a recent study undertaken by the Molde Research Institute in Norway, a point is made that the typical socio-economic impact of road network disruptions in Western Norway varies greatly, depending on a) the traffic volume, b) the actual possibilities of rerouting traffic and c) the composition of the traffic that uses the impacted road.

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Economies of scale

It is unfortunate that the decision-making process for infrastructure projects in Norway rests heavily on local and regional governments and less on the oversight of the national planning authorities. Overall socio-economic benefit is set aside to satisfy local desires or is simply overruled by successful local lobbyists.

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Cutting back on road spending may not be wise

Improving roads standards is not just a traffic safety issue, but is also a major contributor towards reducing transportation costs and improving overall supply chain quality.

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Supply Chain Visibility through Web Conferencing

It’s weekend and time for some reflections. Maybe slightly off-topic for this blog, but the other day I came across “Web Conferencing”, a feature-rich full web collaboration service, and it occurred to me how useful this tool is in Supply Chain Management.

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NOFOMA – The Nordic Logistics Research Network

The Nordic Logistics Research Network (NOFOMA) is a network of Nordic researchers within the field of Logistics and Supply Chain Management. Why haven’t I heard about this before…stupid me! It’s amazing how one can be a researcher in a certain field without being aware of the most obvious network one should join.

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eSourcingWiki – can it be trusted?

eSourcingWiki is sponsored by Iasta, a software and global service provider of cost effective Supply Management solutions. Does this bias the information? Not as far as I am able to tell. However, I focused mainly on the Supply Risk section.

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Supply Chain Risk – Business Continuity Management

Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) has many similarities with Business Continuity Management (BCM). That is why SCRM can and should draw upon BCM for advice. A well-handled supply chain disruption can mean business continuity, while an ill-handled supply chain disruption can mean business dis-continuity.

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A lesson in supply chain disruption: German railways during WWII

Supply chain disruptions have occurred as frequently in the past as today, and particular within the military in war times. A supply chain serving a war machine is under extreme strain, but is an essential element in winning or losing not only a battle or two, but an entire war.

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Location, location, location

How do companies or businesses located in such places adapt to the terms and conditions of their supply chain, how do they hedge against the risk of supply chain disruptions, how are they impacted if there is a disruption?

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Sheffi’s disruption profile

This is tell-tale illustration of what happens when supply chains are disrupted and businesses are impacted. They may, or may not, be able to bounce back to where they were before the event. The survivability of the company depends solely on the company’s resilience towards the disruption.

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Can you outsource risk?

This article, at the China Sourcing Blog, points at what is probably the weakest link in global supply chains: the fact that the more you outsource, the less control you have over your supply chain. In essence, by outsourcing, you give someone else control over your supply chain.

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Piracy at sea – is your supply chain at risk?

You may not consider it the foremost supply chain risk, but piracy can endanger civilians, can disrupt the economy, can encourage corruption, and could trigger an environmental disaster.

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Supply Chain Risk Management 2008

Supply Chain Risk Management 2008, 3rd & 4th November 2008, World Trade Centre, the Netherlands, is an event that you as a Vice President, Director, Head of, Managing Director or Manager of Risk, Supply Chain, Supply Management, Logistics, Distribution, Operations should not miss.

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Defining and Measuring Economic Resilience

In contrast to the pre-event character of mitigation, economic resilience emphasizes ingenuity and resourcefulness applied during and after the event. It focuses on the fact that individuals and organizations do not simply react passively or in a “business as usual manner” in the face of a disaster.

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The art of reviewing journal submissions

It’s always interesting to look at the submission in question and ask myself why was I picked as a referee. Sometimes it is because the article topic is linked to my own research, or maybe because some of my work is listed in the bibliography or references

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Should you join the Supply Chain Network SCN?

From a quick browse before making this post I realized there are quite a number of highly qualified and merited members, which most certainly will help me keep up to date the latest in Supply Chain Management.

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ARTICLES and PAPERS
Risk Analysis of Critical Infrastructures
The vulnerability of critical infrastructures is a recurring theme on this blog, and today's article[...]
Robust, Rapid, Resilient
The resilience of infrastructure systems can be measured by two dimensions: robustness, the extent o[...]
BOOKS and BOOK CHAPTERS
SME Risk Management
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up the majority of enterprises in most countries, and[...]
Book Review: Political Risk
Egypt is in crisis. After Tunisia, now Egypt is rocked by a popular uprising, and the outcome of the[...]
REPORTS and WHITEPAPERS
Transport infrastructure resilience
Is it possible to devise a simple framework for assessing the resilience of the transport infrastruc[...]
Global Risk Reports
While waiting for the World Economic Forum Global Risk Report for 2009, the continuation of the Glob[...]
from HERE and THERE
Sparse transportation networks and disruptions
The vulnerability of the transportation network as part of the supply chain is of particular interes[...]
SAAB no more...
What do you when your major customer goes bust? How do you cope with finding a new business partner?[...]