This category features blog posts about supply chain management, including shipping and logistics.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturing supply chains across the world have been shaken up. We’ve noted a few ways the scene has changed and what you can do to adjust in order to avoid delay of your product delivery and meet demand. Continue reading “Avoiding Delay of Your Product Delivery”
Please note the following text is meant to be for informational purposes only and not for legal advice.
Shipping dangerous goods around the globe can be an arduous task. It is a complex and highly regulated process. There are many transport regulations that shippers must stay current with in order to have the proper knowledge to remain compliant, stay safe, and avoid penalties.
WHAT IS A DANGEROUS GOOD?
Dangerous goods (DG) are any substance or article than can harm a person, property, or environment during transport. Whether a product is considered a dangerous good depends on various factors such as flammability, concentration of the substance, or whether it is shipped via ocean or air. It is the shipper’s responsibility to determine if their goods meet the requirements to be classified as dangerous goods, depending on their mode of transport. It is important to remember to look for “hidden” dangerous goods—items that may just be a small part of a product. Any time you ship something that could be a DG (liquids, powders, creams, gels, batteries, etc.), it is important to still report it. Carriers and forwarders want proof this material was noted and is actually non DG, rather than not being noted at all.
Continue reading “How to Ship Dangerous Goods”
From the initial inception of an idea to final delivery of a finished product, contract manufacturing of a brand name product proves to be a systematic challenge. It is a 14 dimensions management job to incorporate all key aspects of a project, a concept presented in previous E-BI literatures. If examined by a systems engineering approach, the product contract manufacturing operation can be described as establishment and management of technologies, process development, manufacturing chain, value chain optimization, and a supply chain.
For every unique brand name product manufactured, the development of a new system of unique manufacturing processes is required, as well as a set manufacturing chain to accomplish each process. In order to have the manufacturing chain work effectively, it needs to be improved and optimized periodically, the process controlled, and the supply chain managed in order to minimize risks arising from day to day operation. Once developed, this system works as an ecosystem that consist of many independent contractors and is unique to this particular brand name product. The system appears when the product build process starts and disappears when the build process finishes so that all manufacturers and sub-contractors can use their resources to work on other projects. Continue reading “A Systems Engineering Approach to Contract Manufacturing of a Brand Name Product”
As the US-China trade war continues, tariffs put in place have raised costs for many businesses. Some have produced efforts to restructure their supply chains, but deep levels of supply chain integration in China have caused the conversation to open up to other potential ways to reduce import/export costs, such as the First Sale rule.
Global sourcing involves all factors related to helping make a product happen on time, meeting quality standards, and satisfying budget expectations. There are many resources required in order to build a product such as engineering design capability, tier 2 sourcing, project management, material management, and quality control. The challenge is determining how to coordinate these on a global spectrum. Beyond that, a sourcing team is focused on finding the best goods at the least expensive prices. In other words, they look for value. They help manage and alleviate supply chain risk through risk-management and keeping tabs on supplier stability.
Sourcing goes much deeper than just a simple purchasing decision. A good strategic sourcing strategy generally has a few basic components such as category planning, sourcing projects, and supplier performance measurement. The team looks to align these activities with the goals of the company and leverage expenditures with quality suppliers to maximize value.
The United States’ new tariffs on China, Mexico, Europe, and counter acts from elsewhere around the world have been a concerning topic in the business world. Since companies have built increasingly complex international supply chains, the impact of these tariff is much broader this time. However, these tariffs can also be used as a competitive advantage. We need to constantly redesign the supply chain ahead of competition to benefit from the impacts.
Continue reading “Minimizing Tariff Impact Through Global Supply Chain Design”