Chain Reaction

Business Briefcase It has been six years since the UK voted to leave the EU. One thing that has become clear since is the woeful lack of preparation and planning by the Government. Listen to why this is so. Supply chain chaos, additional friction, labour shortages, delays, problems with border controls and the Northern Ireland Protocol. Things have moved on and we have had disruptions due to the G...

Everything happening in supply chains this week: Shanghai in lock down and the impact on China and the rest of the world. Food and energy supplies, inflationary pressures and the economy. The price of Brexit continues to impact the UK economy as the government delays border controls yet again. Port Authorities threaten to sue governmnet. Flying taxis and how they could impact supply chains.  Send...

Inflation is driving supply chain costs and disruptions remain. Listen to the news from around the world affecting supply chains this week. Retail sales were lower last month as spiralling price increases hit discretionary spend. It cost Apple $6 billion dollars in each of the past two quarters due to microchip shortages. Update on US Port delays. Further delays likely on customs checks at British...

Global Supply Chains have been the dominant paradigm for the past thirty years or more. In this episode learn why that is so. Listen to what Professor Hines has to say on this topic.   " Volatility suggests instability and unpredictability. Chain reactions occur when chemicals added to existing chemicals cause further reactions that spread throughout the system. " Volatility in supply ch...

Food prices are rising and consumers are paying a heavy price. CPI reached 7% in the UK in the year to March 2022 and 8% in the US. Pork prices are up 25% year on year. Energy prices have increased starkly too. Diesel and Gasoline have risen too making transport costs much higher. Problems at UK ports persist and there are still serious labour shortages including HGV drivers. Shanghai is still loc...

Are you protecting your assets? Two of the most important assets all businesses need to protect are inventories and brand reputation. There are of course others but in this episode we focus on risk and reputation. Risk - When you deliver goods to a port to be loaded on a ship that is when risk begins. Transporting the goods that you have produced with all the cost that has gone into those goods is...

The Supply Chain News Round Up for April 2nd reports on events around the world impacting supply chains. P&O The UK CEO dismisses 800 employees on a Zoom call wiyhout notice. The UK Government has instigated criminal proceedings. Shanghai is in lockdown again with Covid. The OBR says Brexit will cause a loss of 4 per cent.  The Sustainable Apparel Coalition Higg Index gives polyester a green l...

Service levels require careful planning. If supply chains are to be resilient businesses have to be responsive to customer demand and agile to supply goods and services when required. To provide excellent service means meeting customer demand and that requires inventory management.  Planning service levels to meet dynamic demand is key. Serving customers means businesses have to have inventory ava...

In this episode Tony Hines introduces the topic of supply chain skills necessary to enter careers in supply chain management. In conversation  with two special guests Dr Regina Frei, Associate Professor at Southampton University Business School and Dr Eoin Plant-O'Toole, Associate Professor at Napier University, Edinburgh he asks them what they think are the skills needed to build a career in...

Oil prices steadied this week but consumer and business costs are still rising as a result of recent increases. Food inflation is giving cause for concern. This week as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues many of the world's largest brands have pulled out of Russia closing plants, retail stores and pausing operations. Payment system providers such as Visa, Mastercard and Pay Pal have...

In this special edition we take a look at the adoption of redistributed manufacturing(RDM) as a means of making health care supply chains more resilient. Tony Hines speaks with Professor Wendy Phillips who is professor of innovation at Bristol Business School, University of West England and a leading researcher in this field. RDM has potential to engage local communities to become co-producers in...

Russia's invasion of Ukraine dominated news headlines this week.  We take a look at the implications for global supply chains. We also take a look at California's 22 point plan to combat plastic waste along with a new tax on plastic packaging in the UK. Public procurement may need to take a look at the wider geopolitical implications of procurement and not simply choose suppliers offerin...

This is a short extract from a forthcoming episode on resilient supply chains in healthcare where Professor Wendy Phillips from Bristol Business School discusses redistributed manufacturing as a strategy to improve timeliness to meet patient needs better. Send us Fan Mail Support the show   THANKS FOR LISTENING PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW You can support the podcast by following the link here. It make...

Russia invades Ukraine and this will have implications for supply chains everywhere. Do you know how vulnerable your supply chains might be? A cargo ship in trouble of the Azores carrying a large number of vehicles bound for the United States a further example of the hazardous and precarious nature of shipping supply chains.  Inflationary pressures are everywhere as you will hear.  City traders be...

In this episode Tony Hines takes a look at the philosophy behind supply chains in our material world. We also look at the whole area of reverse supply chains with special guest Dr Regina Frei, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at Southampton University. We look at how some customers cost us more than others as well as how some suppliers are more costly to deal with than others and we...

This is the weekly round up of everything happening in global supply chains.   Inflation is still the biggest story everywhere with input costs rising. The pandemic has been blamed for lowering ouput and supply chain disruptions. Governments in Europe and the United States are trying to deflect criticism for consumer price inflation at its highest level for 30 years in the UK at 5.5%  and at 7.5%...

AIR CARGO We hear a lot about trucks and ships but we don’t hear much about air freight. In this episode Tony Hines takes a look at the world’s largest airport and the part it plays in cargo movement. About 1.7 million metric tonnes of cargo pass through Heathrow annually. Heathrow Airport is the UK’s largest airport. It has two runways and wants to add a third as it deals with passenger volumes a...

This is a short preview of a forthcoming episode. Tony Hines talks to Dr Regina Frei who tells us about her research in this area. Listen to the brief extract from that interview which will be available shortly. Send us Fan Mail Support the show   THANKS FOR LISTENING PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW You can support the podcast by following the link here. It makes a big difference and helps us make great c...

Supply Chain News from around the globe. This week Tony Hines looks at the continuing CO2 production problems for the UK Food Industry returning to a story that hit the headlines back in August 2021. CF a US company has two fertilizer production plants in the UK one at Ince near Warrington and the other in Durham. CO2 which is a byproduct of fertilizer production is sold to the UK Food and Drinks...

In this episode of Chain Reaction Tony Hines takes a look at emergent battery technology for the electrical vehicle revolution . The announcement by the UK Government this week of a new factory in Northumberland will increase capacity and yet the British Volt investment along with the existing plant in Sunderland previously owned by Nissan before it was sold to a Chinese based business will still...

If you are a CEO, Supply Chain Professional, Policy Adviser, Academic or Student you should spend some time each week listening to Chain Reaction - All About Supply Chain Advantage; we will keep you updated with what's happening. Listen on your way to work or on the way home. We have regular listeners comprising CEO's, Supply Chain Professionals, Governments, Policy Makers, Academics, St...

Electric Vehicles and concerns about battery power feature in this epsiode. We also take a look at supermarket retailing in the United Kingdom. How discounters are winning market share. Gas prices are rising in Europe and Gazprom is seeking approval to open its pipeline from Russia through Europe. China has announced the removal of subsidies for New Energy Vehicles (NEV's). Gazprom is the lar...

In this episode Tony Hines takes a look at tariffs, trade policies and how they impact supply chains. Is managing international trade through the blunt instrument of tariffs and quotas fit for purpose in the 21st Century? Should governments be looking for better ways to facilitate trade? We begin by examining a brief history of tariffs by taking a look at how they developed as an instrument to gro...

What’s New In 22? In this episode Tony Hines sets out his supply chain predictions for 2022.  What will the supply chain landscape look like in 2022? What will you do in 22 that will make things better for you and your organization? Digital Transformation is top of my list if you are not already there yet.  Returns are a big problem for retailers online and in store. We take a look at the problem...

Listen to the episode to find out more about all the major events that shaped supply chains in 2021. You might also want to review some previous episodes that deal in detail with some of the topics discussed. You can also read articles by Tony Hines here. To say 2021 was a difficult year for supply chains and everyone working in them would be an understatement. Keeping goods moving around the worl...