Chain Reaction

Disruption is the new normal according to Tony Hines. In this episode disruption in food supply chains are discussed in the context of food security, environment and climate change. Defintions of food security are drawn from Tim Lang’s excellent book “Feeding Britain – Our Food Problems and How to Fix Them” . Sustainability means different things to different people. It is a synonym for environmen...

In this episode Tony Hines takes a look at Kaizen  a Japanese word for Continuous Improvement or Change for the Better. This approach was central to the success of Japanese manufacturing systems. Toyota embedded Kaizen in its manufacturing system. The approach is useful for all organizations and as important today as it ever was.  Send us Fan Mail Support the show   THANKS FOR LISTENING PLEASE SUP...

Developing teams that understand how they can play their part in achieving cost effective solutions to supply chain problems is key to creating value. In this episode Tony Hines discusses what it means to be cost effective and explains why it is necessary for all organizations.  Being cost effective is a culture that can be developed in any organization achieving more with less. It is a key princi...

In this episode of Chain Reaction Tony Hines discusses cost concepts that are essential to understand for those managing supply chains. Sources of value and cost in the supply chain and the wider system are examined in the discussions. To achieve supply chain advantage you must understand cost and value. Some of the most important things to understand about costs are direct costs related to the pr...

If you're wondering what transport at zero mph is listen to the episode. Tony Hines discusses why transport at zero is on the rise. Demand is increasing for goods but supply is often short in the time of Covid. Production capacity is short too as plant closures have occurred on a regular basis. In the last episode we discussed the problems due to shipping transport. This week we take a look a...

Miquel Serracanta Domenech asked me a question last week about my thoughts on the disruptions in global shipping following disruption at Yantian and other ports in China due to Covid 19. A supplementary question was what will the new normal look like? Many businesses are asking the question: Where is my box? This got me thinking more about the problems currently being experienced by many businesse...

We like to spot trends and we like to make lists. So here is my list of ten supply chain trends creating supply chain advantage for 2021. 1. Develop Resilient Supply Chains 2. Digital Transformation of Supply Chains 3. Sustainable Supply Chains 4. Visibility and Transparency 5. Risk Reduction Strategies 6. Managing Layered Complexity 7. Demand Sensing Technologies 8. Contactless Commerce 9. Cyber...

In this episode Tony Hines discusses pressing problems and how to solve them. In the discussion he defines and explains what is meant by a pressing problem. Drawing on supply chain concepts he puts pressing problems in context. The theory of constraints is used to focus attention on critical problems. A number of tools and techniques are briefly discussed that may help to solve an organization&apo...

In this week's episode Tony Hines discusses predictions and the unpredictable. Forecasts are built on the premise that the future is a continuation of the past. Data are gathered about previous performances and projected forward to give a forecast. If you have line items that are fairly standard and demand is stable then forecasting techniques are very useful but what if demand is more unpred...

 In this episode of Chain Reaction - All about supply chain advantage Tony Hines draws attention to key business skills developed by supply chain professionals. The skills are transferrable and could take you on a journey to the 'C' Suite and even to CEO. Many people on the Board of retail and FMCG businesses have spent some time working in the supply chains of businesses where they cut...

This episode is about digital transformation building supply chain capabilities which are underpinned by blockchain technology. Tony Hines discusses how Digital Transformation has impacted every aspect of supply chains from sourcing, procurement, purchase contracts, supplier contracts, transport, distribution, information systems, payments, tracking and tracing goods through the supply chain creat...

This is a trailer for Chain Reaction. If you want to know what this podcast is about listen to this short informational podcast. 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...

In this episode Tony Hines describes and explains what is meant by supply chain strategies which is the title of his book on the topic. Supply Chain Strategies demonstrates how organizations must take strategic decisions in order to manage their supply chains to sustain competitiveness in the global economy. Tony Hines defines what the supply chain strategies are, how they work and why firms inves...

In this episode of Chain Reaction Tony Hines discusses sourcing strategies and examines reasons why they are critical for securing supply chain advantage. One of the most important considerations for any organization is where to source product and which suppliers to select. Building an effective supply base is critical to the success of most organizations. The decision to source is often divided i...

Two of my 7V’s are volume and volatility. I have examined volume and volatility as part of my research into supply chain performance across a number of firms in different industries and in different geographical settings. I also worked on supply chain projects with firms in different industries to develop improvement strategies where volatility in demand and volume oscillation caused problems.  So...

End to End Supply Chain Analytics End to end analytics is a term that describes a means of integrating data sources from different supply chain activities and process cycles to understand supply chain performance with the intention of developing improvement strategies. End to end analytics provides supply chain visibility. In this episode I explain why end to end analytics are needed and how you c...

What does it mean to be Market-Driven? In the industrial age it seemed that building capacity to manufacture at scale and developing capabilities to innovate and build better goods than a competitor would be enough. However, one little detail is overlooked which is we have no mention of customers or the market. This is what came to be known as the ‘inside-out’ view of an organization that is a res...

Over six days in March 2021 a real-world drama unfolded as the MV Ever Given was stranded in a narrow section of the Suez Canal just 6km in from the southern entrance. The disruption to supply chains in Europe with goods coming from Asia was estimated at around $10 billion dollars for each day the canal remained closed. The incident demonstrates the reliance placed on the Suez Canal and indeed oth...

President Biden issued a policy statement which put supply chain resilience at the heart of the US Economy. An extract from the policy statement states: “The United States needs resilient, diverse, and secure supply chains to ensure our economic prosperity and national security.  Pandemics and other biological threats, cyber-attacks, climate shocks and extreme weather events, terrorist attacks, ge...

In this episode of Chain Reaction attention is on the post-Brexit supply chain evaluating the impact of leaving the EU for firms in three industry sectors in the United Kingdom, services, food and fisheries. We know that promises made by government ministers about taking back control, doing great trade deals with the rest of the world and life outside of the EU being less bureaucratic have not yet...

Supply chains are service systems creating and delivering value to customers. In this episode Tony Hines discusses value, customers and service. Attention is focused on what value means to customers in the supply chain and how consumers perceive value received from brands in consumer markets. This informs what happens inside supply chains and guides strategic choices.  Value and the value based co...

In this episode Tony Hines discusses recent changes in the macro environment as well as in society at large and the risk and uncertainty that plays out in the supply chain. Complexity and Disruption provide a focus for the discussion. Supply chains are discussed as complex systems. Disruptions emerge as the complexity of the system increases. Visibility is key to understanding the changes and the...

Tony Hines developed his  7V model to identify value drivers in supply chains. These Vs were validated in his research studies of international supply chains. Value is created within the supply chain by lowering cost and increasing value for customers. This often results in saving time and speeding up throughput. If Supply Chain cycle times can be reduced you lower cost and people get paid faster....