Chain Reaction

In this episode Tony Hines takes a look at superforecasting and AI and how it will change and impact the supply chains of the future. Super in this sense means better.  According to Phillip Tetlock superforecasters consistently make better predictions.  They do this avoiding bias, updating as new facts emerge and through their cognitive processes.  We examine how forecasts can be better by examini...

All things impacting global supply chains this week. Cause for concern that inflation is driving the movements in the banking sector at present. Two recent regional bank failures are at the mercy of central banks as they try to dampen inflation. Last week interest rates increased by 0.25 per cent. GlenFlat has created solutions to lowering cost of moving empty containers AI concerns have been rais...

April Episodes for Chain Reaction Advanced Information. Super Forecasting and Artificial Intelligence (AI) The Role of Management Consultants and Business Schools Ethical Supply Chains 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 content for you to listen to...

All things impacting global supply chains this week. Importance of labelling for cross border checks and quality control Brexit problems continue to disrupt supply chains in the UK adding additional costs and friction with added risks and reputational damage to many businesses Average inventories have increased for many businesses since the pandemic with higher risk and cost trying to make supply...

Tony Hines takes a look at key challenges facing global supply chains. Five strategic challenges are the focus for the discussions in this episode:- The move from analogue to digital supply chains - combining the digital and physical to serve customers efficiently and effectively.  Culture of supply chain organizations. Hines' 7V's - Value Creation Model Value in the supply chain is dete...

All things impacting global supply chains this week with Tony Hines. Shell CEO plans to keep oil for at least the next decade. Tomato imports into the UK suffer from supply chain friction. This has caused shortages on supermarket shelves. Delays to HS2 as costs rise. Many think this is a pull back from the levelling up agenda which is likely to impact of future economic advantages HS2 promised to...

Tony Hines talks about partnerships and power within supply chains and how it impacts arrangements. Partnerships in supply chains are essential to create effective and efficient systems. Nevertheless. How many supply chain partnerships work like we would expect? Many supply chain arrangements are partnerships in name only. The reality is that power of a dominant actor in any supply chain will redi...

Tony Hines with all things impacting global supply chains this week.  UK Government agrees a revised Northern Ireland Protocol avoiding borders on the island of Ireland and in the Irish Sea. This should reduce supply chain frictions that hampered the post Brexit trading arrangement.  Brent crude closed the week at $85.47 per barrel which is about 1 per cent up on the week. UAE denied rumours that...

We have four episodes in March which cover different aspects of managing supply chains and their impact on business. All Change asks if change is always a force for good. Partnerships and Power asks the question what impact does power have in supply chain partnerships. Five key strategic challenges for supply chain management. What impact has management consultancy had on supply chains, business a...

All change, no change, continuous change. Is change a force for good or should we be more sceptical about change? When we learn we change and that is good but what about other types of change. In this episode Tony Hines takes a look at reasons for change and weighs up when change is good and not so good. Winston Churchill said to improve is to change and George Bernard Shaw said progress is imposs...

All things impacting global supply chains this week with Tony Hines UK Government returns to renegotiate the Northern Ireland Protocol Post Brexit Trading Agreement Food Security remains an unresolved issue againin the UK Supply Chain  China wants state firms to stop using the Global Big Four Auditing Firms Job cuts in Tech again McKinsey cutting jobs Sanctions have not stopped brands reaching con...

Tony Hines talks supply chains with Frederico Crespo CEO of Valiot an AI business that supports supply chain operations to create visibility and value in the system. FactoryOS captures data from a variety of internal inputs, such as IoT cameras and sensors. Once captured the data are applied to run simulations to optimize throughput. Frederico Crespo is CEO at Valiot. He is a graduate of MIT and h...

Tony Hines takes a look at Banana Supply Chains and how this special fruit arrives on your table. More than 100 billion bananas are sold each year.  The market for banana's worldwide is worth USD 13 million. Ecuador supplies 26% of all bananas. Wilmington Delaware is the busiest banana port in the world.  Send us Fan Mail Support the show   THANKS FOR LISTENING PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW You can...

All things impacting global supply chains this week with Tony Hines This week's earthquakes in Turkey and Syria has shown the devastation natural disaster has when it strikes.  if you would like to make a donation please go to Https://dec.org.uk to do so. Maersk publishes 4th Q 2022 profits - Profits remain high overall for 2022 but prices for sea freight is falling  British Volt was the only...

In this episode Tony Hines talks to Dr Regina Frei and Professor Diego Vasquez Brust about their research into plastic waste in four European Cities. The research project is PlastiCity. Researchers involved are investigating commercial waste in the four cities:Ghent (Belgium) The Hague (The Netherlands), Southend-On-Sea (UK), and Douai (France). Waste owners, designers, recyclers, policy makers, N...

All things impacting global supply chains this week with Tony Hines It is 3 years since the UK left the EU and we take look at the impact of leaving the EU and how it has impacted supply chains. Energy cost is driving up inflation. We take a look at how businesses and supply chains are impacted by energy costs and what governments need to do to secure energy and bring more certainty for business d...

Tony Hines discusses how political, economic, social and technological change influences supply chain strategies (PEST). The external environment influences the strategies we  implement. Political change such as wars,  policies towards pandemics and trade such as Brexit in the UK or Trade Wars with China in the US all come under the political influences. What happens in the political sphere impact...

All things impacting global supply chains this week with Tony Hines. Amazon lays off 18,000 employees in the US, Canada and Costa Rica Do you get the support you need from your C Suite? Building sustainable supply chains - what to do. Fairtrade tool for mapping sustainability and human rights issues - what does your risk map look like? Identifying risks is the first step to tackling them – Fairtra...

Tony Hines talks about the application of systems thinking to improve supply chain practices. Systems Thinking is an approach developed by Peter Checkland to understand the system. The system that Checkland concerned himself with was an organization and its human interactions with physical space, technical systems and places / locations in a temporal dimension. Supply chain systems are such a syst...

This is a special edition discussing some of the issues from the World Economic Forum in Davos. 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 content for you to listen to. Follow like and share the Chain Reaction Podcast with colleagues and friends on social...

All things impacting global supply chains this week: Port of Antwerp Bruges New Gen Circular Economy Project to build a plastic recycling plant at the Port. Mario Paganini from Stord writes about doing more with less. Hapag Lloyd FE9 managing ocean freight demand and over capacity. Port of Georgia handled 6 million TEUs in 2022. James E Martin comments on the Procurement Professionals Survey condu...

In this episode Tony Hines takes a look at the questions we need to ask when we want to solve a problem in the supply chain. What Where When Who How Why 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 content for you to listen to. Follow like and share the Chai...

Tony Hines assesses the economic outlook for 2023 and what it might mean for supply chains, businesses and consumers. 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 content for you to listen to. Follow like and share the Chain Reaction Podcast with colleagues...

All things impacting global supply chains this week. Container prices fall as demand and congestion eases Amazon announces 18,000 lay offs UK new car sales hit a 30 year low in 2022 but likely to grow in 2023 Tessla car sales fall to lowest level in 5 months Dell is looking to phase out China made chips because of US blacklisting Oil prices fell 9% in the first two trading days of 2023 Russia is s...

These are some of the forthcoming episodes that you will want to listen to. Topics cover systems thinking, problem solving, managing the external influences and mitigating risks. Supply Chains Improve Cash Flows Economic Outlook for 2023 Problem Solving in Supply Chains Systems Thinking Supply Chain PEST And of course every Saturday we publish the News Round Up all things impacting global supply c...