Art of Supply

Energy costs are surging, partially because of a lack of supply and partially about the constraints placed on the movement of existing supplies. The Northeastern United States is in a particularly precarious position because of the supply chain modes used to transport the fuel needed to heat people's homes. As with all Dial P topics, energy is complicated - and the sources of fuel that we think of...

Last week's business news was all Twitter all the time. With Elon Musk as the new owner of the company, and the company losing $4 Million per day, something had to give. Then came the announcement that about half of the company's employees would be laid off, entire teams in some cases. And yet, Twitter is hardly the only company laying people off this year. There have been many stories in the pape...

NATO was formed in 1949, in the aftermath of World War II, to ensure peace in Europe. Under article 5 of the treaty, an attack on one member nation is considered an attack on all - and therefore a military response is required. Since 2006, NATO countries have committed to spend a minimum of 2 percent of their GDP on the military - a promise most have not upheld. Now there is a proposal to standard...

There's a reason that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and there are many examples of this principle playing out in business today. Many of them boil down to two specific scenarios: -An idea is conceived of by one person, but handed over to another for execution, or -An idea that works when led as a one-off, but which does not scale well at all. One of those could easily be at play...

On September 19th, 2022, the European Commission released a proposal for a new Single Market Emergency Instrument. The instrument, which is effectively a toolbox of options that can be leveraged in case of future supply chain disruptions, is one of the many changes the world has seen since the start of the pandemic. The proposal includes flowery phrases like "unity and solidarity" and "cooperation...

Procurement never makes the news, but when we do, we don't hold anything back. Case in point: a viral video featuring (former) Apple Vice President of Procurement Tony Blevins. He recently made headlines for all the wrong reasons. The question is whether he was truly fired for what he said in that viral TikTok or whether it was an opportunity for the company to distance themselves for his 'old sch...

Global supply chains are decidedly intermodal, and rail plays a much larger role than many people may realize. The potential for a rail workers' strike recently dominated news headlines… until it didn't. The strike was averted at the 11th hour by efforts made by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. But is the strike risk really behind us? Nothing is over until it is over, and the membership of the 12 unio...

FedEx has been in the news a lot lately, and for all the wrong reasons. They are facing a challenge from many of the 6,000 contractors that handle their FedEx Ground and FedEx Ground Economy deliveries. Spencer Patton has been the loudest voice in the dispute. As FedEx's largest Ground contractor – at least until August 26th when his contract was cancelled – he has used his voice to call attention...

Banned Books Week is an annual effort to call attention to censorship and intellectual freedom. This year it runs from September 18th through the 24th. While Banned Books Week is mostly marked by libraries around the country, the drive behind it is something that all adults need to understand. Banned books are the physical representation of banned ideas. The idea of banning (or burning) a book, ma...

Although the most memorable shortage of 2020 was toilet paper, there was a span of time in the spring and early summer when the food supply chain was under strain as well. Concerned about lockdowns and being able to feed their families, people bought huge quantities of groceries and stocked up their homes. This kicked off a strong bullwhip effect, clearing supermarket shelves and creating shortage...

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which took effect on June 21, 2022, is aimed at stopping human rights abuses taking place in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. All goods coming from the region are assumed to be the result of forced labor unless the importer can prove otherwise – an uphill climb to be sure. Despite the good intent behind the law, many challenges remain. The United Nat...

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) programs are at the top of many C-suite agendas, and they have held their place despite economic challenges and sustained supply chain disruption. And yet, in the world of investing, ESG Funds are starting to come under scrutiny – do they satisfy requirements for fiduciary responsibility? Although most conversations about ESG focus on the environmental a...

With today's challenging economic conditions, all companies are under pressure to remain profitable and hit earnings expectations. Retailers may be feeling the greatest stress of all, simultaneously dealing with inflation, changes in consumer sentiment, and loads of unwanted inventory. The result? Working capital problems galore. Watching for evidence of how retailers handle this combination of ci...

Empathy is frequently cited as one of the most important qualities in hiring, management, and corporate culture in general. Empathy peaked in 2020 as communities and companies rallied to withstand the pandemic, but time has a way of wearing away all things. Are we finally succumbing to 'empathy fatigue?' In this week's Dial P audio podcast, Kelly Barner gathers data and anecdotes – plus a little c...

On July 27th, the Senate passed the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. It is now awaiting President Biden's signature. Proponents of the bill say it will reduce U.S. dependence on foreign producers of semiconductor chips by building manufacturing capabilities at home. Skeptics – which oddly include both progressive Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and conservative Republicans – say it amounts to "corpor...

Why is fuel so expensive? Consumers have been feeling the pain at the pump for a while, and now large companies like Amazon and Walmart are adding fuel surcharges to cover their costs. If they can't negotiate their way out of high rates, the rest of us have very little hope of being able to do so. In this week's Dial P audio podcast, Kelly Barner digs into the oil supply chain, considering: – What...

On June 17, 2022, the member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) accepted a proposal made by the U.S., E.U., India, and South Africa that modifies nationally granted intellectual property rights related to the COVID-19 vaccine. The proposal was leaked early, so the world knew the vote was coming. But other than the WTO and a few media organizations, most of the world shrugged at the ne...

Corporate sustainability initiatives are critical to the health of our planet – but the distance between objectives and regulated execution on a detailed level can sometimes be very broad. Case in point: Worthington Industries, the last U.S. based manufacturer of lightweight recyclable cylinders for transporting refrigerants. Because their cylinders are used to transport hydrofluorocarbons (or HFC...

If you joined Art of Procurement and Supply Chain Now for the 2022 Supply Chain and Procurement Awards, you know that we partnered with Hope for Justice, a global non-profit dedicated to ending human trafficking and modern slavery, as our philanthropy partner. This is a cause that supply chain and procurement professionals can do more than support; we can play an active role in the fight against h...

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the sepa...

In late January 2022, hundreds of heavy-duty trucks headed for Ottawa, Canada. They parked in front of the national legislature building and in nearby streets. Period. They parked. Those drivers shut down most of central Ottawa for 23 days in protest of the nation's vaccine mandates and related requirements. But did you know that just a couple of weeks ago there was another truckers strike, one th...

Supplier diversity is not a new corporate initiative. In 1968, General Motors started what is generally recognized as one of the first supplier diversity programs in America. The death of George Floyd in 2020 raised awareness of supplier diversity programs in the C-suite. Widespread demonstrations and public outcry drove renewed corporate interest and activism across industries and in companies of...

Although no one expected it, the war in Ukraine is now approaching the end of its fourth month. Refugees continue to flee the country and calls for weaponry persist. President Zelenskyy and his leadership team are hanging tough, advocating for their citizens, and requesting as much military assistance as they can get from the rest of the world. But now the war in Ukraine is starting to claim casua...

The innovation we saw play out in the development of multiple COVID-19 vaccines was evidence of the power of modern medicine when combined with the determination of the human spirit. Global collaboration plus investment plus information sharing compressed the time from start to finish from 10-15 years to just one year. But now that the smoke has started to clear, questions are beginning to arise a...

ESG – or environmental, social, and governance – programs are high visibility opportunities for companies to grab headlines, earn goodwill and brand loyalty from consumers, and hopefully make the world a better place. But if not pursued strategically, they can also be a company's downfall. In this week's Dial P audio podcast, Kelly Barner shares the lessons learned from companies who have chosen t...