Chain Reaction

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...

In this episode Tony Hines talks about business success. Here is the link to the full text of the talk  Fashioning Business Success | LinkedIn I hesitate to write or talk about business success. It is like writing about the Holy Grail. There are so many opinions and little evidence to determine what business success looks like. Nevertheless, given this caveat write about business success, I will....

In this Christmas Special this is the first of three episodes looking at past, present and future of supply chains. In this episode Tony Hines looks at the road travelled by supply chain professionals over the past half century and more. Noting  that the phrase supply chain itself was only coined back in 1982 and then it was simply looking at what went on in a single firm. It is remarkable to thin...

Supply Chain Critical could well describe many supply chains around the globe right now. In this episode Tony Hines takes a look at US food and other supply chain disruptions following President Biden's initiative to get parties around the table to discuss issues. On November 29th the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an order to discuss what's going on in those supply chains.  The F...

Inflation in the US is at a thirty year high standing at 6.2% and in the UK the Consumer Price Index stands at 4.2% in November up 1.1% from a month ago. As demand goes up and supply remains short inflation is one consequence. In this episode Tony Hines discusses cause and effect and what it means for supply chains. Shipping is such an important part of global supply chains and 90 per cent of glob...

In this episode Tony Hines provides a short summing up of the recent COP26 event in Glasgow UK and discusses what's next for supply chains beyond COP. He also takes a look at the importance of supply chain partnerships and the benefits they bring to organizations. It is a way of accessing complementary skills. He revisits some early lessons that he thinks are just as important as ever for sup...

In this episode Tony Hines discusses greener, cleaner, frictionless trade as well as catching up on some news issues. The fire on the container ship off the coast of Victoria British Columbia is another reminder of the hazards involved in transporting chemicals. A new way to produce electric vehicles is discussed focusing on Arrival's Oxfordshire site. Some interesting innovations point to th...

In this episode Tony Hines discusses why supply chain research is such a rich area of knowledge generation with both practical relevance and academic rigour. The episode will be of particular interest to those doing research into supply chains as well as new entrants to supply chain management. Students on MBA courses and doing research degrees may find this episode of particular interest. Board m...

Timing is everything says Tony Hines when it comes to achieving supply chain advantage. Whether it is how long it takes to procure goods, process work-flows or transport goods (raw materials, work-in-progress or finished inventories) to the customer. Time endows advantage. Of course time can also be a problem if you do not manage it well. Managing time in supply chains is a risk. Ther are uncertai...

In this episode Tony Hines looks at the troubled waters everywhere in supply chains. As the world is slowly opening up trade again excessive demand for energy, shipping and other goods has put pressure on struggling supply chains grappling with labour shortages. In Europe wholesale gas prices increased by 60 per cent in just one day before falling back. This was a result of Russia controlling supp...

This episode discusses some issues affecting supply chains in the news this week. They include: Problems for Pig Farmers in the UK; The Oil Spill in the Amplify Pipeline in California; Ways to lower your carbon footprint in supply chains and what governments are doing to achieve net zero targets; There are still supply chain issues in the UK because of a shortage of HGV drivers and the shortages o...

This episode takes a retrospective view of supply chain disruptions during the Pandemic. In it we examine the rhetoric of policy makers and the realities of disruption and in some cases the supply chain chaos caused by a failure of planning and execution. Evidence for the claims is brought into focus. Some of the unusual events were certainly that but were they really ‘Black Swans’. One could argu...

Energy Supply, Cost and Disruption This week's episode takes a closer look at energy cost and food chain disruptions occurring in the supply chain.  Energy usage in the UK still dominated by fossil fuel 47 per cent Gas and 2 per cent Coal. Last week the UK had to bring back a coal source when wind powered fell short of the target. Border Controls and Food Supply Disruption Border controls pos...

In this week's episode we follow up from last time and discuss what went wrong with supply chains in the past eighteen months and how to fix the weakest links in your supply chains. Tony Hines makes the distinction between two types of problem that disrupt supply chains. His type 1 problem is one caused by issues in a particular supply chain. Type 2 problems are systemic and effect all supply...

Since the pandemic began in 2020 disruption to supply chains has become expected.  Transport is at the centre of getting the right goods to the customer in the right place, at the right time and at the right price. On time and complete delivery was the mission for those delivering supply chain promises. Retail Logistics has been responsible for some great innovations in combining technologies to d...

In this episode of Chain Reaction Tony Hines revisits some of the stories he covered in the past few months and gives an update on those disruptions in global supply chains. Shipping containers in short supply with sky high prices likely to push up prices at the store. Driver shortages in the UK since Brexit means idle trucks and disruptions to supply.  See how labour shortages are affecting food...

In this episode Tony Hines reviews the need to achieve zero carbon to protect the planet for future generations. He examines what this means for supply chains and how supply chain thinking could contribute to help solve the problem. He offers some pointers of what we need to do and how you can play your part in the supply chain. The problem in a nutshell is human activity and its impact on the pla...