Category: Customer Content

Please Watch Out for Power BI or Tableau. Do not be a victim of technology. Students: More and more employers are asking students during job interviews if they know how to use Power BI or Tableau.  For example, Eaton Corp in Galesburg, MI uses Power BI to visualize data and Kellogg's is called Tableau world because they use Tableau so much. It becomes easier for managers to solve problems and...

ESI = early supplier involvement & CE = concurrent engineering (everyone does this for their "core" material needs)ESI = early supplier involvement and CE = concurrent engineering, and they mean the same thing.  Before companies go into production with new products, they have to design those products, it is called the new product development process (NPD).  Companies expect suppliers to do a lot of the design work for the parts...

Subject: Read: These stats came out from ISM Supply Chain Weekly (you get this if you join ISMWorld.org - $35 for students)Students:Companies within the same industry (and even across different industries such as aerospace, steel, chemical, etc.) are dependent on each other. The flows are more intertwined ("Integrated" supply (no chain) management) than ever before. In a recent study, 90 percent of manufacturing companies report having some level of outsourcing (no...

MOST FIRMS WILL CONTINUE TO REDUCE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SUPPLIERS THEY MAINTAIN, AND THE REDUCTION WILL CONTINUE TO BE AS DRAMATIC AS THEY HAVE BEEN IN THE LAST 8 TO 10 YEARS. TRUE OR FALSE. False.  Yes, the companies that recruit from WMU HCOB  have long been on an aggressive outsourcing strategy.  Over the last 30 years, they keep outsourcing more and more of their material needs to a fewer and...

Subject: Read: One of our WMU SCM alumni put the video above together on supply chain risk management for you. Students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjziSDoeOcU One of our WMU SCM alumni put the video above together on supply chain risk management for you.  It has become a huge area within SCM since covid, especially at the automotive OEMs in Metro Detroit.  Feel free to reach out to Lisa and say thank you for doing...

Subject: Read: Apple's Core Competency is SCM? I thought it was technology/innovation?Students: Apple's Core Competency is SCM?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMLbnsKGRfo Notice how Apple went from $300B in cash to $200B and now to $165B.  Where did it go?  It appears that this company that outsources almost everything is taking ownership of very selective parts of its supply chain.  It will now start doing most of its own design work (i.e., chips, screens, etc.) & it...

Subject: Read: This could change the world forever (and it is from WMU, not MIT, so stop wearing MIT shirts on campus). Students: We might have time to talk about potential "disruptive" technologies in class such as 3D printing, the hydrogen powered fuel cell, the Internet of Things, the Cloud, RFID/Smart tags rather than bar code labeling, electronic reverse auctioning, blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles,...

Students: LOCAL VS. NATIONAL VS. INTERNATIONAL SOURCES? This information will be very useful in your MKGT 3720 class (Purchasing).  You will notice a lot of these emails and handouts can be used in other SCM classes (so save it).  Pick up on the trends and generalizations being made.  Employers expect you to have a pulse on what is going on out there.  Thank you.  Sime___Most buyers prefer to patronize local...

Students:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHnEYcIYR3o&t=812s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO4RLGskpBM&t=733s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3phYBaiRn4&t=525s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NsmpiJ-Vxg&t=147s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Gt71HxWvl4&t=249s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4gdWY8IUaA&t=287s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4gdWY8IUaA&t=287s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VGgeYsNb44&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrBN_T9ogao&t=424s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay2orDXjP8o&t=8s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5SD4ugLMks&t=107s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TAqu5IUcv8&t=62s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZisC97bsNZY&t=46s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EePQkl7Lwws&t=268s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7tg_ebiIzw&t=1254s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n879P75eSUs&t=793s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Avyihs_oBo&t=2174s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRl2O5YI2h8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFD1R0De_zQ&t=791s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSt8nnLn8Kc&t=150s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1orKbGDEbM&t=113s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9cyD9ydG3w&t=1185s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shO_ItxFGpE&t=1634s ___  Assume a supplier estimates the following costs on an RFQ (Request for Quote - buyer wants supplier to quote on some potential business):Potential supplier says to you (you are the buyer/potential customer):Costs of Direct Materials $12,000Cost of Direct Labor $3,000Cost of Overhead $4,500Total Costs $19,500Profit...

Subject: Do you know what this means? 2/10 net 30 (now employers want you to be Financiers!!??)Students (this should/might look familiar to you): Read:  Do you know what this means?  2/10 net 30 (now employers want you to be Finaciers!!??)  The good news is that they will pay more for more strategic skills... Here is my lecture to reinforce all of this...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRl2O5YI2h8A Purchase Order is a contract between a buyer and...