Global trade patterns are reconfiguring. More shifts are likely and businesses need to be aware of the potential trade-offs of different paths ahead. At a glance Introduction Trade reconfiguration has been making headlines. In 2023, Mexico became the United States’ largest goods trade partner. Vietnam’s trade with China and the United States has been surging....

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Summary. As they strive to make their supply chains more resilient, global companies are grappling with two challenges: the difficulty in discerning potential sources and the extended time required to find, vet, and onboard new suppliers. Companies such as Walmart, Tyson Foods, Koch Industries, Maersk, Siemens, and Unilever are using AI tools to swiftly find...

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And Author of the book; “Reimagining Industry Growth: Strategic Partnership Strategies in an Era of Uncertainty” Hello and welcome to another edition of State of Readiness. I am your host Joseph Paris. My guest today is Daniel Varroney, President and CEO of Potomac Core; a consultancy specializing in helping trade organizations transform into strategic partner...

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It was the spring of 1995 and my firm (XONITEK) was one of the top implementers of Macola Software’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.  We were the very top when it came to implementing in a manufacturing environment.  As such, I was invited to Macola’s summit to share my views on the future direction of...

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When disruption is constant, an organization’s preparation for key supply chain trends can be a significant competitive advantage. Disruptions to supply chain operations are set to stay in 2023, whether they be existing or new geopolitical conflicts, inflationary pressures and the recessionary environment, climate change weather events, or other issues yet to emerge. They can...

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Supply chains are the lifeblood of most, if not all, businesses today. Keeping all supply chain components running as smoothly as possible ensures that your business can provide on-time delivery of products and services, especially with changing consumer demands and supply chain disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Aside from reading up on the...

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Several gauges show ship congestion continues to clear up even as shortages persist Few observers have had a better perch to watch the pandemic slowly clog — and now free up — one of the biggest arteries of global trade than Captain J. Kipling “Kip” Louttit. Two years ago this week, as fully loaded container ships...

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A survey of supply chain leaders shows the need for visibility on sustainability performance and a holistic business case to drive results. In brief EY teams surveyed 525 executives about their sustainable supply chain practices. Many have long-term strategies but struggle to measure their progress. Business case initiatives for sustainability stretch beyond cost savings to...

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Summary. Although it sounds cliché, the world really is a more volatile place than it used to be. That’s because the drivers of uncertainty are more intense — there are more and more change vectors affecting outcomes and these vectors are more and more inter-related. The range of likely outcomes five and 10 years has...

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Shipping strains are on the mend, but a painful spell of weaker demand might be next. Rock guitarist Jack White, who extended his “Supply Chain Issues Tour” into October, might want to name his band’s next road trip after a different villain. That’s because supply strains, while still afflicting many consumers and businesses, are becoming more mundane...

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Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory and manufacturing systems are management strategies where replenishment orders of raw materials, assemblies, and finished goods are based on production schedules; which themselves are based on real customer orders that are due at specific dates (even times).  The objective is to increase efficiency and effectiveness by decreasing the waste associated with carrying...

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Supply chains are global, and the world is shrinking, meaning a shock to one part is a shock to the whole. And the shocks to supply just keep coming … Just as scientists and public health officials are daring to suggest the Covid pandemic might be entering its end-game, so China announces strict new lockdown measures,...

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Research shows that different eras call for different approaches. Summary: Two decades ago, extensive research led Nohria, the former dean of Harvard Business School, to conclude that the hallmark of great leadership is the ability to adapt to the times. Today, he says, we’re in a period of significant change, thanks to global events, governmental...

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India, Turkey and Mexico are among the new sourcing destinations emerging as companies seek to mitigate risks. Last year — amid port backups, container shortages and other supply chain nightmares — retailers and brands turned to the skies, sending demand for air cargo in 2021 up nearly 7% compared to 2019 by one estimate. Shipping shirts and...

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Concerns are rising that Shanghai’s lockdown is only the beginning of months-long challenges. After just over two years of a largely successful “zero-COVID” policy, China is facing its biggest test to date in the metropolis of Shanghai and the supply chain headaches that come with a massive lockdown. On Monday morning, the city reported a...

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The issues loom as cargo volumes are rising at the port, with more imports on the way. LOS ANGELES — Rail issues, rising container dwell times and a backlog of ships in China pose threats to continuing supply chain improvements at the Port of Los Angeles. Still, port and union leaders expressed confidence on Tuesday...

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Few chief executives have faced the challenge of leading a company through an inflationary spike like today’s. Lessons from strong leaders and bold action can help CEOs make the decisions that only they can make. ast year, policy makers, economists, and financial-market participants fiercely debated the higher inflation then under way. Was it a transitory problem,...

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Supply Lines is a daily newsletter that tracks Covid-19’s impact on trade. Sign up here, and subscribe to our Covid-19 podcast for the latest news and analysis on the pandemic. Citigroup, New York Fed economists zoom in on supply headwinds Gauges should help economists better measure speed of recovery Global supply chains are nearing a...

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A continent learns to hustle. After a long slumber, Europe’s animal spirits are stirring The idea of a Europe hostile to entrepreneurs would once have seemed laughable. At its 17th-century peak the Dutch East India Company’s appetite for capital was so voracious that it demanded the invention of the public stockmarket. Investors then did not...

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The Democrats’ social-spending package cannot repair the American Dream; Social mobility has dropped precipitously In the 1940s Joseph Biden senior fell from early wealth to near-destitution. He moved his young family in with his in-laws as he scrabbled for work in Scranton, Pennsylvania, before re-establishing middle-class ease as a used-car salesman in Delaware. For all the...

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by Michael E. Porter From the Magazine (November-December 1998) Now that companies can source capital, goods, information, and technology from around the world, often with the click of a mouse, much of the conventional wisdom about how companies and nations compete needs to be overhauled. In theory, more open global markets and faster transportation and communication...

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Supply chains are adapting, not failing Much of the time most people do not think about the complex choreography that makes modern shopping possible. You just click and wait—and not too long, mind—for a package or three to arrive on your doorstep. Over the past few months, however, the world’s supply chains have elbowed their...

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We test three prevailing hypotheses about American business Concerns about the health of American business are many and varied. Chief executives are chastised for their apparent short-termism. Their companies are berated for fetishising shareholders over everyone and everything else. Elon Musk, boss of Tesla, a maker of electric cars, grumbles about a surfeit of business-school...

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When redesigning a supply-chain organization, it’s intuitive to look to successful companies’ design choices. But our research finds that other factors correlate better to bottom-line performance. How do decisions about the design of supply-chain organizations affect the overall performance of a business? We recently analyzed the supply-chain organizations of more than 50 companies in a...

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Despite a recent bout of weakness, the dollar still looks strong. Consider the Big Mac index, our lighthearted measure of currency valuation. Of the currencies of the 20 trading partners studied by America’s Treasury, our measure suggests that all have gained relative to the greenback since July, but that all apart from the Swiss franc...

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Welcome to another “open mic” edition at The Outliers Inn with JP and stand-in co-host Don Burshnick who has co-hosted enough episodes that he can be considered the co-co-host. JP and Don start-off the conversation by sharing how refreshing it is to get back out in the field and doing some face-to-face work after being...

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Unless you are a person that firmly believes there will be a second wave – or even that there might be a second wave –  the reactions and measures taken to the COVID-19 pandemic are starting to calm down and the world is beginning to unwind the measures that have been put in place; albeit...

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“Glocalization” is a portmanteau, or blending, of “globalization” and “localization”.  It is the idea of acting with global intent but with local adaptations; the notion of “think globally, but act locally.”  The glocalization of your business will result in a standardization of the various processes and procedures under which your business operates – and they...

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It is undoubtedly and incontrovertibly true that global extreme poverty has declined as capitalism has driven globalization – the trade between and among nations – to increase over time.  Certainly, there are arguments to be made that the growth in wealth has also been increasingly concentrated in the hands of fewer people, but the world...

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“AMAZON.COM: Rewolucyjny model sprzedaży i logistyki”, published in the July 2011 issue of Eurologistics Magazine – in Polish. Download PDF  

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