Like today’s economy, we all know the state of our supply chains are changing. Along with it comes a degree of uncertainty, and how we act and react will either bring success or failure. If you believe the pundits, the economy is quickly losing steam. For supply chain managers, this is a vulnerable time where volatility and risk are just around the corner.

SC Digest published results from a survey of supply chain executives that identify five supply chain challenges. Without going into detail on those challenges since many of us face those each day, the overall themes focus on pricing volatility, the lack of tightly integrated customer and partner networks, and an a growing list of risk management issues. What’s worth considering are the proactive initiative that companies can implement. These initiatives can be whittled down to two words: focus and empowerment.

It sounds simple, but accuracy and visibility continue to be the name of the game....

The Bay Area tends to be a lively place when it comes to culture, sports and public policy. So it must be quite the story when it involves counterfeiting which is what happened today. Apparently, several shops located in Fisherman’s Wharf were raided over the past few days for selling counterfeit retail items including purses and sunglasses valued at $100 million. While yet another cautionary tale of the vulnerabilities of the supply chain and the credibility of partners, the story highlights the other willing party in this mess—the consumer.

Store owners who knowingly sell counterfeited brand items are no doubt part of the problem since this impacts the bottom line of the real companies behind the brand names. Because counterfeit items are cheaply made, a bigger and longer term issue is for the consumer who unknowingly buys these items assuming they’re legitimate. Poor quality can damage the brand loyalty and reputation. But what about the consumers who knowingly...

With the economy still on the mend, economists are easy targets for humor. I wouldn’t doubt that many may even believe that an economist is someone who gets rich explaining to others why they are poor. The same can be said about supply chain industry forecasters who have wide ranging opinions on whether companies have learned their lesson from the recession. That point is clearly illustrated in this recent lessons learned article. The theme focuses on whether businesses will change their supply chain practices in a post-recession world. If the opinions are any indication, the answer is no, and maybe yes.

Have companies changed their supply chain practices? For years, the concepts of supply chain collaboration and visibility have been preached as the cornerstones of everything from inventory management to fleet maintenance. Yet, when you still have over 600,000 warehouses in North America without a computerized inventory management system, you realize that preaching...

A few days ago, I ventured along the waterfront whose route took me along the Port of San Francisco. The port by the bay has certainly seen better days, and many of the buildings that once housed bustling canneries and fishing outposts are now mostly populated by tech startups and restaurants. These days, port activity is more of an afterthought, if thought about at all, for most people. Honestly, I likely wouldn’t give it much thought either if I weren’t in the logistics industry. The reality is that port activity can provide a clear snapshot of the economy and its direction.

Port traffic in the key regions across the states has seen marked improvement supplemented by jobs. For example, Los Angeles saw imports rise 32% and exports by 13% from last year, while Long Beach experienced increases of 27% and 2%. These numbers point to several things: a significant rise in traffic, increased hiring in dock workers, and a rising trade imbalance. Container volume also...

There’s a saying that says your product has made it once it’s been counterfeited. If that’s the case, then the Amazon Kindle may be an overwhelming success. Not to make light of an ever increasing problem that costs companies billions of dollars and a significant loss of jobs annually, but fake Kindles are making the rounds. The fate of the Kindle is no aberration, and serves as yet another example in the annals of offshore sourcing and fakery.

Don’t misunderstand my perspective—offshore sourcing is a strategic and in many cases, essential part of a company’s business strategy. For better or worse, the world’s different economies rely on it to ensure productivity, demand generation, and profitability. But with the benefits of offshoring come significant risks, and the Kindle is the latest example. When establishing supply chains overseas in low-wage countries, the security of intellectual property is vulnerable. Whether products are copied or specs are “borrowed”,...