Consider supply chain management a large puzzle comprised of many pieces. One major piece that many organizations find essential to form a complete picture is strategic sourcing, which involves the ongoing evaluation of purchasing activities and a commitment to look at all qualified solutions for both direct spend (costs associated with raw materials and parts for goods) and indirect spend (costs necessary for supporting production).
The National Council of Chain Restaurants issued the following statement from NCCR Executive Director Rob Green on the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volume mandate for 2014:
The Environmental Protection Agency's proposed adjustment to the Renewable Fuel Standard volume mandate is an implicit recognition that the ethanol mandate is out of sync and out of touch with current market realities. With this proposal, the EPA is essentially saying, 'if you like your 15-billion-gallon corn ethanol mandate, you can keep it.'
It's not enough to track goods domestically; supply chain managers must monitor shipments around the globe and account for the added complexity of moving goods across international borders.
Small and medium-sized enterprises are key drivers of growth in Asia, but they are hindered by inadequate access to finance, particularly from large banks. However, the Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain Innovation (MISI) has developed a framework for helping banks to tap into this vast market.
Suppliers to the office furniture industry better start paying close attention to the materials going into the pieces they're making.
That's because the sustainability programs being implemented by the office furniture OEMs in West Michigan and beyond are increasingly demanding the suppliers provide more detailed information about the chemicals that go into their products.
Shrink, consisting of shoplifting, employee or supplier fraud, organized retail crime and administrative errors, cost the retail industry more than $112bn globally last year, according to the 2012-2013 Global Retail Theft Barometer, and represented 1.4 percent of retail sales, on average.
Even as Cosco becomes confident it will achieve a full-year profit and avoid delisting, it was denying reports that former chairman Wei Jiafu was placed under travel restrictions, after one of its top executives resigned under a cloud of investigation.
The Washington State Legislature passed a measure on Saturday to extend nearly $9bn in tax breaks for Boeing through 2040 in an embattled effort to entice the company to locate production of its newest jet, the 777X, in the Seattle area.