NECON 2007 my Knowledge Based Services – Low Cost Country Sourcing talk

The NECON Conference is a great event and will be will be inaugurated   by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley  with a whole lot of great speakers. NECON is a collaborative initiative of  the Boston and North Shore Chapter of APICS ,The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, the CSCMP New England Roundtable, the NEContinue reading “NECON 2007 my Knowledge Based Services – Low Cost Country Sourcing talk”

Dell available in Wal Mart – end of pure online business models?

Ever since I saw some Dell computers in my local Wal-Mart, I have been well, shocked! Shocked because like so many others, I have believed that Dell had a unique end to end supply chain that linked its customer preferences directly to its supply chain partners through a very visible and transparent global supply chainContinue reading “Dell available in Wal Mart – end of pure online business models?”

Toy recall , tire recall and the supply chain

Tell me frankly- if you have children are you worried about brain damage caused by lead paint from toys ? If you changed a tire recently, did you look for the "Made in" label – discreetly but anxiously.Globalization is really catching up with everyone and I feel bad for the supply chain managers at MattelContinue reading “Toy recall , tire recall and the supply chain”

Apple iPhone launches tomorrow and the supply chain is tops

The iPhone launches tomorrow (Friday 29th at 6 pm) and there are excited shoppers lining up in front of the Manhattan Apple store today i.e. as of Thursday morning. Amazing! The phone is not cheap and you need to sign up for a 2 year contract with AT&T which means a commitment of $2000.  TheContinue reading “Apple iPhone launches tomorrow and the supply chain is tops”

Figuring out supplier-customer relationships

I enjoyed the article by Dr. John Gattorna in the Supply Chain Digest based on his book Living Supply Chains. John Gattorna obviously has years of experience and therefore is rightly incredulous as to why organizations both on the selling side and on the buying side, don't take care of their good suppliers and goodContinue reading “Figuring out supplier-customer relationships”

Barry Diller and the IAC

Fifteen years after Barry Diller had gone to see QVC the home shopping network, he was on CBS 60 minutes today. Within minutes of being on 60 minutes the Internet search engines were buzzing with searches for "Barry Diller" ! How much the media consumption experience has changed over the last 15 years ! AndContinue reading “Barry Diller and the IAC”

So what is the big deal with “Sterling Service Contracts” ?

Well for one,  the new Sterling Service Contracts , gets linked to many of the categories that I blog about! And that is a lot of categories… Some of the things that Sterling Service Contracts will do includes, and I quote from Sterling’s press release: START QUOTE: Storefront capabilities that provide customers and partners withContinue reading “So what is the big deal with “Sterling Service Contracts” ?”

John Seely Brown to join John Hagel at Deloitte Technology and Strategy Center

Just as things were slowing down for the summer I read the exciting news that John Seely Brown is joining John Hagel as Co-Chairman  at the Deloitte  and Touche Technology and Strategy Center. Readers of this blog might remember John Hagel ‘s great book  Net Gain which talked about communities in 1997, a full decadeContinue reading “John Seely Brown to join John Hagel at Deloitte Technology and Strategy Center”

Skype in Salesforce.com

The news that Skype is available with Salesforce.com is interesting for two reasons. First, Sales Force Automation (SFA) systems can be introduced with or without ERP particularly if they are web based like salesforce.com. Second, innovators  who really use SFA will certainly try Skype particularly calling computer  to phone.  I use red italics for "reallyContinue reading “Skype in Salesforce.com”

Supplier Relationship Management

I guess it was my particular managerial experience with high value packaging lines involving major installation, servicing and material supply that made it natural for me to look at SRM and CRM as pretty obvious things to do even in the "round"  world ( as opposed to the flat world ). Frankly, as any systemContinue reading “Supplier Relationship Management”