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ASICS keeps pace with growing demand
ASICS America's single distribution center couldn't keep up with surging demand for its athletic shoes and apparel. Changing its distribution pattern and adding another warehouse helped the company manage both current sales and future growth.

Supply chain versus the volcano
The disruption to air traffic caused by Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano is a reminder of why we should prepare for both expected and unexpected supply chain risks.

Dealing with our oil addiction
Will the Deepwater Horizon disaster spur us to develop new sources of energy?

There's more to performance management than metrics
Getting people to consistently perform at a high level requires more than implementing an incentive program.

Keeping it personal in a digital world
While electronic communication has become a permanent part of our daily lives, face-to-face communication is still important for supply chain success.

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The case for "profitable proximity"

By SIMON ELLIS

Forget low-cost country sourcing as a strategy. Today, a comprehensive approach to procurement requires that companies also consider total supply chain costs and lead times. This means that the most profitable source may be close to home.

From the Quarter 03 2008 issue

The current myopic pursuit of "low-cost country sourcing" as a primary cost-mitigation strategy is coming to an end. One reason for this change is that most projections of global consumer demand show a significant amount of future demand growth coming from today's low-cost regions—a shift that moves those regions from the category of low-cost countries to one of emerging markets. It's a change that will bring increased expectations in these countries for a "globally fair" wage, which will raise the cost of goods produced there. Companies that sell to emerging markets will need to better balance cost and service, and that will force many of them to take a more strategic, customer-oriented view of global network design and sourcing....

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