Back to School
BACK TO SCHOOL is a blog focusing on academic and professional development in the supply chain and procurement fields. Blogger Richard Weissman is a 25-year veteran of both the professional and academic worlds of supply chain. For full bio, see Profile.
The Personal Supply Chain
After 55 years of hard work, my oil-fired furnace is nearing its demise. As capital equipment goes, it is fully depreciated. Soon the clanking, puff-backs, and failed ignition sequences will be replaced by a state of the art system that promises to save me oil, provide copious amounts of hot water, and allow me to take advantage of a $1500 tax credit. Still, what seems like a simple decision came ...... Read More
Comments (0)You Can Exhale Now
I’ve been deep into the corporate psyche in the last week or so and I’m liking what I see. I’ve had the pleasure of conducting a couple of seminars for my local purchasing association; one with a number of companies represented and one that was company-specific. I also chaired the quarterly meeting of a corporate advisory committee, made up of business leaders from a wide vari ...... Read More
Comments (0)Summertime and the Living is Easy
Or more likely, summertime and my suppliers are closed. We’ve all been there. We need to expedite a critical part and a quick call to the supplier results in either an endless ring or a recording that the supplier is on summer shutdown for a week or two, or in these days, even more. One of my first purchasing jobs was to keep track of supplier’s summer shutdowns. Not one job that I r ...... Read More
Comments (1)Vendor Defender comes to Detroit
Over the years, I’ve earned the nickname ‘vendor defender’ for my staunch support of suppliers who are blamed for everything from late deliveries to high prices to poor design. While I never shy away from a good supplier bashing when the situation warrants, I often come to their defense when it way my company that caused their poor performance. It is always easy to blame those ...... Read More
Comments (1)Worried
I’m worried that raising oil prices will catch us flatfooted. Again. I’m worried that some and more likely many vital suppliers are on the verge of bankruptcy. I’m worried that bankruptcy is now considered “fast and easy” and not recognized as a painful process of last resort that dramatically impacts all facets of the supply chain for years. I’m worr ...... Read More
Comments (0)Rebate This!
I am waiting, still waiting actually, for a rebate from the local office super mega store. It is not a big rebate, but one I am due for a couple of reams of printer paper I recently purchased. It is all of eight bucks, but I’m sure that I’ve already spent that on the twenty minutes trying to navigate a balky online rebate site and not losing track of ‘checking for rebate statu ...... Read More
Comments (0)The Triple Bottom Line
One of the topics becoming increasingly popular in my graduate operations management classes is the concept of the “triple bottom line” as it relates to the study of sustainability. The TBL advocates for economic prosperity, social responsibility, and ecological stewardship. I ask students to write a 4-5 page position paper (along with at least 5 references and related citations!) on ...... Read More
Comments (2)Welcome to the Real World
Sounds sarcastic, doesn’t it? I don’t mean it to be, nor am I drawing parallels to the popular MTV reality show, but a whole new set of college graduates is about to descend onto the work scene looking for that first real job. Many students, mine included, say they are about to join the “real world.” I say welcome them with open arms. Certainly, the employment picture i ...... Read More
Comments (0)Supply Chain Risk Rears its Head in Mexico
While we enjoyed extraordinary summer like weather in New England this past weekend, Mexico was reeling under a swine flu outbreak and even an earthquake. There is suffering, uncertainty, and even death in Mexico and many of the schools and businesses are closed due to this expanding swine flu outbreak….one that is expanding in the United States and around the globe. Some are calling it a p ...... Read More
Comments (0)Happy Birthday Peter Principal
Happy 40th birthday to the Peter Principle. This is the concept which one is promoted into a job that they cannot do, creating a broad range of organizational incompetence. It is a simple concept really. Someone does a good job and they get promoted into another job. If they are successful in that job, they may get promoted again. However, if they fail or do poorly at that job, no more promotions ...... Read More
Comments (0)Taken for Granted
Secondary to the pirate/hostage story successfully played out off of the coast of Somalia is the public’s newfound awareness of the merchant shipping industry. Countless pictures of the Maersk Alabama have been shown on television and splashed across the front pages of the world’s newspapers. Some additional human interest was generated locally as the captain and second in command we ...... Read More
Comments (1)Negotiation 101
I had the pleasure of conducting a brief workshop on negotiation to a room full of IT services folks this week. This was a nice group that worked closely with IT suppliers but were not purchasing folks. They had no formal negotiation training yet controlled a large amount of spend. I was brought in by the purchasing organization to offer some guidance, tips, and techniques for them. While they som ...... Read More
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