The Art of Real – 1

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Keeping it Real!

This is our first and initial foray into uncovering and sharing some of the great things happening in the world of Supply Chain, Logistics and Manufacturing. The changing world order, economics, consumer behavior, and technology are profoundly changing supply chain, logistics and manufacturing strategies and tactics. Charles Dickens very aptly describes our current period.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”

Let’s not, however, forget that much of the hope springs from innovations in Supply Chain, Logistics and Manufacturing innovation.

Insights from around

  • Alexis Madrigal from The Atlantic digs deep into the fleeting and often suspicious supply chains that form around commerce driven by Instagram and Facebook marketing.
  • Nike finally realizes that the new consumers value short lead times as much as they value the design of latest Kyrie 3
  • Warehouses, trucks and automobiles are the big 3 of last mile logistics. Here is an excellent overview of Trucking in the 21st Century from TruckingInfo
  • Zara is the envy of many consumer oriented organizations, including retailers and brands and especially fast fashion/apparel companies. Many will try to copy Zara, but few will succeed. This small post highlights why Zara’s operations mimic some of Toyota Production System’s principles and to be like Zara organizations have to ALL IN into Toyota Production System.
  • Tesla is a fine luxury automobile manufacturer and does really set the agenda for innovation in automobile industry. This Vox interview highlights that its successful transition to a mass market automobile manufacturer depends on reaching manufacturing and quality levels of a normal auto manufacturer.