Supply Chain Management
Business strategy and supply chain go hand in hand. Without a sound strategy, all action is merely dillydallying. Find out why there can be no strategy without a supply chain management and vice-versa.
current supply chain priorities - in 2023 and beyond
Our Books on Business Strategy and Supply Chain:
Must Read Article - on Business Strategy and Supply Chain:
Supply chain management is a critical component of any business operation and the concept of modularisation has become increasingly popular in recent years. Modularisation in supply chains can help to reduce costs, improve efficiency and allow companies to remain competitive.The field of international goods transportation has witnessed several great advances over the last 100 years.
Modularisation in Supply Chains– Before 1965, all packaged goods were packed into boxes of different sizes and shapes to be loaded on ships. General cargo ships themselves were small in size – no bigger than 20,000 tonnes or so – and stayed anywhere between 1 week and 4 weeks in any single port. About 70% of the ship’s time was spent in non-value-producing activities such as planning and loading boxes and crates of diverse sizes and shapes into the ship’s holds.
Containerisation
Containerisation changed all that. Ships are now built to carry standard containers of 20’ (or 40’). Containers are packed and unpacked in container yards far from ports – reducing the need for holding the ships in port, and costly warehousing space close to port.
The size of container ships has increased greatly – the latest ones will carry nearly 10,000 TEUs (twenty equivalent units) or about 100,000 tonnes. These ships utilize more than 80% of their time on value-producing activities.
No wonder the cost of shipping a one-meter cube of packaged cargo has gone down by nearly 75% to 85% in real terms over the last 40 years. This has made it possible to reconfigure the global supply chain in such a way that most activities are now carried out in the best place to do so…