Blog Archives

Managing Disruption Risks in the Supply Chain – the DRISC model

The Disruption Risks in Supply Chain (DRISC) model is developed for investigating all kinds of disruptions that can potentially occur in the supply chain flow along the way from raw material to finished product.

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Fewer suppliers mean fewer choices for consumers

The financial crisis has created an supply chain crisis, says The Economist. What used to be a banking crisis is now a manufacturing crisis and may soon be a supplier crisis.

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The effects of brand reputation on supply chain risk

One of the major fallouts from the current finical crisis is the loss of brand reputation, and it may not even be the company’s fault. SAAB owes money to some 1400 debtors, and rumors have it that some suppliers have stopped deliveries because of delinquent payments.

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7 out of 10 businesses without a continuity plan

Is ICT forgotten in supply chain risk management? I hope not. ICT is an integral part of any supply chain. In my humble opinion, not having an ICT contingency plan show how little businesses understand (or care) about their supply chain.

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Less supply chain disruptions with vendor managed inventory?

How does a traditional supply chain compare to a vendor managed inventory supply chain when it comes to performance during disruptions?

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Global Risks 2009 – Countries at risk?

How will the current financial downturn affect supply chains? The 2009 Global Risk Report by the World Economic Forum takes a broad look, not a certain industries or sectors or parts of the economy, but looks at whole countries and their risk preparedness.

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The Benefits of Investing in Supply Chain Security

Already in 2005, the IBM Center for the Business of Government published “Investing in Supply Chain Security: Collateral Benefits”, a report which highlights how certain security investments can create collateral benefits well beyond the immediate security breach they were aimed at.

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How to secure your supply chain – 7/7

The phrase “Supply chains compete, not companies” was coined by Martin Christopher, and it is a fitting reminder for the theme of the CSCMP Europe 2009 Conference: “Overcome Barriers That Face Your Supply Chain and Turn Them into Competitive Advantages”.

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How to secure your supply chain – 6/7

Transportation runs along four different modes: sea, air, road and rail. Most goods will change it’s mode somewhere along the route, and in most supply chains that is predominantly sea to road or sea to air or vice versa.

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Book Review: Supply Chain Risk

The primary purpose of this book is to collect and share various streams of research and trends in supply chain risk, predominantly from the ISCRIM (International Supply Chain Risk Management) network.

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Global Risk Reports

While waiting for the Global Risk Report 2009, the continuation of the Global Risk Report 2008, on which I have reported earlier, it may be time to read the other risk reports by the World Economic Forum.

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Supply Chain Disruptions – Does Location Matter?

How are companies located in sparse transport networks affected by supply chain disruptions? Are businesses located in regions with sparse transportation networks more prone to supply chain disruptions than businesses located in more favorable locations? Does a sparse transportation network constrain the supply chain setup, such that it is more vulnerable and more likely to be disrupted?

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How to secure your supply chain – 4/7

My previous post was part three of a series based on the Swedish business continuity handbook titled “Säkra företagets flöden” and looked at a checklist or questionnaire that can be used in assessing particular disruption risks in your suppliers or sub-contractors. Today’s post will deal with different buyer- supplier relationships and how they can be categorized, and how such relationships may or may not contribute to supply chain disruptions.

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How to secure your supply chain – 3/7

Today’s post is part three of my continuing journey through the Swedish handbook titled “Säkra företagets flöden” or”Secure the company’s flows”, as I have translated it. This part takes a look at a checklist or questionnaire that can be used in assessing disruptions risks in your suppliers or sub-contractors. The following checklist is not meant to be exhaustive, but serves as a gateway or teaser towards asking more in-depth questions

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How to secure your supply chain – 2/7

Continuing my previous post, which talked about raising the awareness towards disruption risks in general, today’s post will take a closer look at how to analyze your suppliers for potential disruption risks, and what questions that need to be asked to gain more insight into your supply chain. In essence, this post will provide some starting points for supply chain risk analysis.

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How to secure your supply chain – 1/7

This the first post in a series that reviews and translates into English some of the content in the book “Säkra företagets flöden” or “Secure the company’s flows” as I have translated it. The book was published in 1999 by the Swedish Emergency Management Agency and is a handbook in Business Continuity Management and Supply Chain Risk Management.

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How to secure your supply chain

“Secure the company’s flows” or “Säkra företagets flöden” in the original Swedish language is the title of a handbook published in 1999 by the Swedish Emergency Management Agency, the Swedish eqivalent to FEMA in the USA. Although 10 years hold, much of this handbook still holds true.

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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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Practical Supply Chain Risk Management

Supply chain trends such as offshore manufacturing, global outsourcing and lean sourcing continue to impact the supply chain and supply chain risk management has taken center stage as a vital risk management priority.

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Supply chain disruptions by pirates

Yesterday I cited the press release of the Norwegian shipping company Odfjell, which no longer will send their tankers through the Suez Canal, but take the long route around Africa instead, hoping to avoid being hijacked by pirates. Maybe just in the nick of time.

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ARTICLES and PAPERS
Building the resilient supply chain
Following up last weeks post on a 2003 UK report on supply chain resilience, here is another "spin-o[...]
Risky decisions - just do it, or not?
Choosing the right supplier is a risky decision. Chose the wrong supplier, and you may face a severe[...]
BOOKS and BOOK CHAPTERS
Risk and resilience in maritime logistics
This week's focus are risks in the maritime supply chain and today's paper sets out a framework for [...]
Organizing Resilience
Resilience. A word that his been in the media perhaps more than ever before these days. I am of cour[...]
REPORTS and WHITEPAPERS
Assess the vulnerability of your production system
So far I have reviewed "international" literature and web sites, and it is only fitting that now it [...]
Highway Vulnerability and Criticality Assessment
Transportation vulnerability and resilience have been the focus of this blog for the past two days, [...]
from HERE and THERE
Retail SCM Summit 2011
China. Perhaps the biggest arena for future development in logistics and supply chain management? It[...]
Call for papers – MITIP 2009
The factory of the future is calling for a shift in strategic vision.  Already, many operations are [...]