Supply Chain Resources

Supply Chain Articles

Supply chain management 101  

Answering the question of what Supply Chain Management is, is as simple as breaking down the phrase into its component parts. Supplies are those inputs that a company relies upon to produce the product that will ultimately reach its customers. The chain is the group of suppliers that bring those inputs to a company and the process whereby those inputs are integrated into the company. And finally, management is the coordination and organization of all these inputs and their implementation. So put it all together, and Supply Chain Management is the science and art of improving the processes that bring suppliers of raw materials together and move those materials through the company until they reach the endpoint, the customer. Click here to read the article in full.

Best of Lean Electronic Supply Chain Practices, e-Kanban with Datacraft Solutions

According to Matthew Marotta, President of Datacraft Solutions, "If American manufacturers labor costs were free, administrative costs would still make them the high cost competitor." Joining Marotta at the AME Boston 2005 Annual Conference is Kevin Sumstine, former director of Corporate Purchasing, Planning, and Logistics for dj Orthopedics. The two Lean manufacturing leaders will address, "Best of Breed Lean Electronic Supply Chain Best Practices." Click here to read the article in full.

What is Lean Six Sigma

Lean Six Sigma combines the quality improvements that come from using Six Sigma with the speed improvements that come from using Lean manufacturing principles . Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process -- from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service. Lean manufacturing focuses on improving the speed of a process and the elimination of waste primarily by eliminating non-value added steps. Lean Flow and Six Sigma are strongly compatible. Combining these two powerful process improvement methods are combining the contents of two toolboxes that can help your organization improve quality and efficiency. Click here to read the article in full.