Being based in Cupertino, California, it is not uncommon to run into people who speak two, sometimes three different languages. My children are well-versed in explaining American idioms to classmates who might take “barking up a wrong tree” literally. Silicon Valley is its own little global microcosm.

Friday, October 3^rd marks the third annual Manufacturing Day or MFG DAY in social media parlance. In case you have not previously heard of Manufacturing Day, it is the annual celebration of manufacturing in North America, particularly in the United States. This National Event was established to expand knowledge about manufacturing and improve the public’s perception of U.S. manufacturing. The special day emphasizes the importance of American manufacturing to the economy. It also stresses educating the public about the value of US manufacturing careers. (Much has been written lately about the US Manufacturing Skills gap and how it impacts manufacturing). 

Albert Einstein said intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them. Built-in engineering rules allow customers to define rules on any event or action that occurs in the supply chain. 

Inventory health can be deeply impacted as day-to-day manufacturing operations involve thousands of transactions being processed. When system updates from enterprise resource planning (ERP) system do not happen on a real time basis the results often lead to inventory discrepancies. Even daily reconciliation of all transactions may allow for merely adequate results. 

Ultriva is pleased to announce an update to the company’s supply chain execution software. Ultriva is now offering version 7.7, which includes many enhancements and some new features. I am happy to report that most of the new features were driven by our customer requests.  Ultriva has its roots in promoting lean manufacturing, and is a pioneer of End-to-End Pull (E2E) throughout a supply chain.  This new release adds features and enhancements that keep improving manufacturing productivity and profitability.  

ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems provide built-in work flows to control different tasks within an organization. For years that was sufficient as many manufacturers operated a single plant within four walls with a finite number of suppliers. Confined to the factory floor is a constraint that renders many technology solutions impotent in a global supply chain.

Chad Smith is the co-author of the third edition of Orlicky’s Material Requirements Planning 3/E (Ptak and Smith, McGraw-Hill, 2011) and the co-author of Demand Driven Performance – Using Smart Metrics (Smith and Smith, McGraw-Hill, 2013). He is a co-founder and Partner at the Demand Driven Institute, an organization dedicated to proliferating demand driven methods globally.  Smith serves as the Program Director of the International Supply Chain Education Alliance’s Certified Demand Driven Planner (CDDP) Program.  Clients, past and present, include Unilever, LeTourneau Technologies, Boeing, Intel, Erickson Air-Crane, Siemens, IBM, The Charles Machine Works (Ditch Witch) and Oregon Freeze Dry.  Chad is also a certified expert in all disciplines of the Theory of Constraints studying directly under the tutelage of the late Dr. Eli Goldratt. 

Supply Chain Brief, an aggregate website for supply chain content officially launched today, Thursday, August 14. The website is a combined effort with The Logistics and Supply Chain Management Society and The Logistics of Logistics blog. The creators have started a supply chain community to encourage sharing of best practices as well as provide a forum for thought leadership.

Last Tuesday, August 5, 2014 Chad Smith, a Supply Chain expert and co-founder of the Demand Driven Institute presented a webinar about consumption-based replenishment.

Smith argued that forecast error is on the rise and that supply chain complexity and volatility are increasing; he also noted that legacy planning tactics and tools are breaking down.  Co-hosted with Narayan Laksham, founder of Ultriva, Smith noted during the webinar, “Worldwide there are more complex planning and supply scenarios than ever – the past is NOT a predictor for the future.”

Third party logistics providers (3PL) offer a variety of services, but the primary function of these organizations can be summarized as providing transportation, warehousing, and management of inventory for another company. Some companies handle inventory on consignment. Consignment stock is often defined as inventory owned by one party (in this case the “Supplier”), but held by another (the “3PL”). This risk rests with the first party, and do not get paid until the goods are sold (in this case the third player, the manufacturing “Company”).