Blog Archives

Wintry disruptions…again

Winter has come early to Europe this year. Very early. Snow has covered much of Europe that hasn’t seen snow in winter for years,with widespread ramifications for all sorts of transport.

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Volcanic ash cloud – really a surprise?

Icelandic civil aviation authorities have warned Europe for a long time about the potential consequences of a volcanic ash cloud, but no one took them seriously…perhaps we should have.

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Volcanic Ash Cloud Day 5

While it is fair to assume that volcanic eruptions are in the business continuity plans of most airlines, it is probably not so fair to assume that 5 days of sudden air traffic restrictions is in the business continuity plans of most companies reliant on frequent air travel.

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Can we do without air traffic?

The German newspaper Die Welt has an interesting, semi-humorous article, looking at the possible impacts of a volcano scenario that lasts one week, one month and one year. Can we do without air traffic?

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Business continuity 101

This is the 3rd day with severe transportation and thus supply chain disruptions all over Europe, due to the volcanic ash clod from Iceland, forcing travellers, cargo shippers and logistics providers to seek alternative solutions. In essence this is a very practical lesson in business continuity.

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Today’s transport disruption: volcanoes

Now Norway and much of Northern Europe are facing a major supply chain disruption: The shutdown of all air traffic because of a volcano eruption on Iceland. What will happen next?

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Happy Holidelays!

We rarely see news flashes of truck drivers stuck in snow, or perishable goods that has to be scrapped. That is not news that sells. What does sell are passengers and people, but should they really count so much?

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Airports – vital to supply chains?

Is the temporary shut-down of Bangkok’s two international airports important in a supply chain perspective? So far, the issue has been stranded tourists, maybe as many as 100000. Not only that, air freight will also be impacted, but why is this important?

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Oslo airport shut-down…lessons learned?

The airline industry is a highly competitive market and even established airlines like SAS have been forced to give in low-cost carriers and reduce their own prices. But slashing ticket prices often causes slashing service too, in order to keep expenses down. However, the long-term costs of loosing passenger loyalty compared to the short-term costs of dealing with an emergency cannot be underestimated.

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ARTICLES and PAPERS
SME: A supply chain risk?
Does having Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in your supply chain constitute an increased e[...]
Supply Chain Risk: Invasive Species
With 90% of world trade carried by sea, the global network of ships criss-crossing the oceans provid[...]
BOOKS and BOOK CHAPTERS
Book Review: Risk Modeling, Assessment, and Management
First published in 1998 and now already in its 3rd edition in 2009, but still unknown to me, althoug[...]
Book Review: Creative Destruction
Like with so many of my other recent book reviews I came across Nolan and Croson's book, Creative De[...]
REPORTS and WHITEPAPERS
Future Value Chain Trends 2020
The twelve future trends that will shape value chains and supply chain management during this decade[...]
Supply chain vulnerability: an invisible global risk?
Supply chain disruption - a global issue? All companies and governments dependent on external suppli[...]
from HERE and THERE
Lean logistics = risky logistics?
A posting on Evolving Excellence called Long is not Lean caught my attention the other day. The auth[...]
How to disrupt a supply chain
This is a brief description of a model I developed for supply chain risk and vulnerability, with ris[...]