Europe has a short to medium term gas supply problem that it is trying to fix. This has been caused by Russia's reduced output to Europe which has not simply caused problems for European customers but it has pushed up the world market price for everyone. As always in such situations where supply and demand are mismatched there are winners and losers. In this episode Tony Hines explores how this might play out.
You can follow Chain Reaction on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook
This episode takes a look at ESG and its relevance for supply chain management. This is part of the series explaining supply chain concepts in under 5 minutes. ESG is a way of assessing risk in relation to environment, social and givernance factors. When it thcomse to protecting or minimising the harm done to the environment through industrial or business processes a company's supply chain is critical. How organizations procure, produce and distribute their products can impact beyond the organization. For example, choices in relation to transport and distribution can result in higher or lower CO2 emissions. The fule used to produce goods can be green energy usuing renewable sources or it can be fossil fuel (oil, gas, coal) and the output can benefit or harm the environment depending onthose choices. Social conditions are influenced by the way organizations structure their arrangements with other companies to procure and produce goods. For example, if you choose to source from countries where their employment conditions exploit people the n you are contributing to the harm done to that community regardless of the income they earn from your purchase. This may seem a harsh assessment but it is a fact. If you want to be ethical and sustainable the way forward is to ensure that you influence social conditions across your supply chains by maintaing standards applied consistently across the supply chain. Governance is a key mechanism for achieving environmental and social goals.
You can follow Chain Reaction on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook
In this episode Tony Hines talks about the global energy crisis and how it is impacting supply chains. Is it more than supply and demand determining prices and energy inflation. When it comes to energy supply most countries want to protect security of supply. Russia's war in Ukraine has disturbed the balance not only in Europe but across the world pushing up prices and contributing to inflationary pressure. At some point physics demands a return to equilibrium but where exactly will that be?
China has oil reserves and coal yet it is only able to meet 20 per cent of its oil demand. This was not a problem 35 years ago when China only contributed 1.6% to World GDP. Today, however it is the powerhouse of the Global Economy. It has invested heavily in rare earth minerals and it imports oil from the Persian Gulf and from states bordering its territories including Russia. Listen to how this is changing the goegraphy and security of South East Asia and the Word.
You can follow Chain Reaction on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook
What is different about service supply chains? Tony Hines discusses differences and similarities between service and goods supply chains in this episode. Service requires the organization to be customer focused not product focused. It is something that some product organizations have difficulty with. Find out how your organization can become customer focused and provide service.
You can follow Chain Reaction on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook
This is a new series of shorts explaining supply chain concepts in under five minutes. In this first episode just as Oscar Wilde said news of his demise was greatly exagerated we can say the same about Just-in-Time (JiT) systems. In this episode Tony Hines explains why he thinks Just in Time is here to stay.
You can follow Chain Reaction on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook
All things impacting global supply chains this week.
Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan and China responds angrily Gasoline prices at the pump going down Market for electric aircraft growing year on year Automobile markets for new vehicles are volatile Electric vehicle makers search for deals to secure rare earth metals for batteries Re-engineering the toilet can make a contribution to recycling The first grain ship leaves Odesa destination Lebanon via Istanbul China acknowledges climate change higher than elsewhere in the world Interest rates rise in the UK and the Bank of England says recession likely US adamant that there will not be a recession
You can follow Chain Reaction on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook
Tony Hines says that two of the most important words uttered around supply chains in the past year have been resilience and sustainability and what they mean in differente contexts. In this episodes he revisits some of the episodes in which guests discussed the topic along with some of his thoughts about them and what they mean for leaders in government and in organizations.
He spoke to Professor Wendy Phillips earlier about humanatarian logistics and discusses what resilience means in this context and in healthcare. He also spoke to Professor Eoin Plant-O'Toole about resilience and particular skills needed to become a supply chain professional. He reflects on why the US and Europe have allowed China to dominate the mineral markets that are necessary to build new technologies of the future particularly electric transport.
You can follow Chain Reaction on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook