Euro zone crisis calls for more liquid supply chains
For the last 5 years, businesses operating in the euro zone have been plagued by a host of financial crises. As slow growth and sovereignty issues endure into 2013, businesses are under increasing pressure to improve their cash flow situation.
An article featured in the CFO this week, explores how making marketing, finance or supply chain management decisions in isolation can have adverse effects on working capital. The article explores how Adidas, Apple and Spanish super market chain Mercadona have all successfully taken enterprise wide measures to reduce inventories, preventing operations from becoming financially over-stretched. When implementing strategic decisions such as new product ranges, new cost cutting models or shifting to off shore production, businesses must take a holistic view of the supply chain to prevent starving the business of working capital.
To read the full article click here
Be prepared to pay more for transpacific container shipping
To those shipping containers from Asia across the Pacific to the US West Coast, be prepared to pay up to $400 more per 40 foot container (FEU). Shipping lines plan to implement these rate increases at the beginning of April if they are approved. Contract negotiations between shipping lines and cargo owners are currently underway and are expected to pick up in the weeks to come.
Click here for the full story
Boeing Supply Chain keeping planes chained to the ground
The 787 Dreamliner project from Boeing has proven to be quite a challenge. The blame has now officially fallen on the outsourcing techniques of the company’s supply chain. Reduced oversight and flexibility along the supply chain have had an impact on the quality of parts being used. The news has, up until this point, focused mainly on the faulty batteries being used in the planes, but a new report shows that the problem goes much deeper. Boeing engineers are now concerned about the power panels. These panels move electricity to the various systems onboard the plane.
Click here to read the full article
Have a great weekend!
