Recalls: A $10 million Reason for Supply Chain Integration

Need a justification for supply chain integration and automation? Here’s one: $10 million.

That’s how much the average product recall costs, according to a May 2010 Deloitte study performed for several food industry organizations.

“That cost alone is enough to bring a large public corporation to its knees, not to mention the unquantifiable effect on reputation,” states Tom Kozenski in a Supply Chain Digest column.

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2 Critical Factors when Evaluating Suppliers for Risk: Location and Ability to Recover

When you’re trying to decide where you want to source supplies, it’s not just about the supply chain risk caused by a natural hazard — you also have to evaluate how quickly the country will bounce back from a disaster, according to Maplecroft’s new edition of the Natural Hazards Risk Atlas.

That’s why even though Japan, China (ranked 15^th), Taiwan, the U.S. (ranked 16), and Mexico — all rated as having the highest economic exposure to natural hazards — didn’t rate among the top countries most at risk.

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I’ve Got the Music in Me: Supply Chain Songs Volume 3 – Successes

As we finish up summer, there’s nothing better than cranking up the tunes while you work on the next great strategy to optimize your supply chain.  No matter your choice of beverage, log into iTunes, download the play list and let the wisdom of these specially chosen artists wash over you.  Talk about thinking outside the box, it’s time to get that music in you!

Volume 3 focuses on Supply Chain Successes when your supply chain is just humming along, and highlights tunes from Joe Cocker, Led Zeppelin, Dido and AC/DC.

You can load up the play list in your iTunes by clicking on this link.

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Supply Chain Visibility: Key to Fixing the Dairy Market?

Dairy may be the most embattled supply chain in the world. Across the globe, dairy farmers are already facing rising feed costs and weather problems that have lead to financial problems. On top of that, major dairy companies — most notably in the UK — proposed a price cut for what they pay for milk.

The result: An overflow of protests by dairy farmers in the UK, along with reports of a “rebel trading company” forming in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.

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