QMS & EMS London

A new MIT study on supply-chain risk shows no correlation between the total amount a manufacturer spends with a supplier and the profit loss it would incur if that supply were suddenly interrupted. This counter-intuitive finding defies a basic business tenet that equates the greatest supply-chain risk with suppliers of highest annual expenditure. When applied to Ford Motor Co.’s supply chain, the quantitative analysis by David Simchi-Levi of MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems Division shows that the supply firms whose disruption would inflict the greatest blow to Ford’s profits are those that provide the manufacturer with relatively low-cost components.

Restaurants and supermarkets could save millions of dollars by hanging on to bug zapper bulbs instead of tossing them every year as they normally do, a new University of Florida study has found. What’s more, the benefits could extend to the environment by keeping some of the bulbs’ mercury out of the waste stream.

Building a product is not the same as it was 10 years ago, and it won’t be the same 10 years from now. Business is evolving at a rate such that market leaders have no choice but to continually adapt to emerging strategies such as mobile apps, cloud computing, and big data to gain an edge over the competition. As relationships with global partners become more of a necessity as well as a focal point in business, the need for adaptation is undoubtedly a top-of-mind issue for those responsible for supply chain management.