Showing 1 - 10 of 25
ECR: From early collaboration to a logistics revolution
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 21/09/2016
» Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) is a strategic approach to improving services to consumers through close cooperation among retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers. Its primary aim is to develop and disseminate best practices in supply chains. The impact on the international retail industry in particular has been dramatic over the past two decades.
Thailand as Asean logistics hub
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 10/08/2016
» Thailand's central location in mainland Southeast Asia, bordering Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, as well as access to the Mekong River and a coastline along the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, offers logistics opportunities that few other Asean countries can compete with.
Olympic logistics: Is Rio ready?
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 27/07/2016
» Amid the seemingly endless string of global calamities, terror attacks and the raucous US political conventions, it may have slipped your mind that the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics is just nine days away.
The Night Before Christmas in Bangkok
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 16/12/2015
» 'Twas the night before Christmas in Santa's warehouse
Managing supply chain risks in a changing world
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 18/11/2015
» The past 20 years have seen significant changes in global and local supply chains. With those changes has come considerable investment in both successful initiatives to improve operations and efficiency but also lost investment through failed ventures or supply chain disruption.
Overcoming supply chain obstacles and remaining competitive
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 06/05/2015
» Businesses today must contend with many challenges including global competition, product life-cycle compression and, most importantly, rising customer power. Overlay onto that the significant changes that are occurring across Southeast Asia in preparation for integration under the Asean Economic Community.
Will there be sufficient logistics skills to meet region's future demand?
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 11/03/2015
» It is coming up to 20 years since I arrived in Asia, and for most of that time I have worked in the niche professional field of logistics and supply chain consulting. Today there are many logistics professionals employed by large companies in functional roles ranging from procurement and transport to warehousing and demand management, but very few consultants.
New expectations for supply-chain skills development
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 28/01/2015
» In our last article, we presented our State of the Nation for the Supply Chain as it applied to this region. We felt it challenged the readiness of many organisations to embrace supply-chain management (SCM) development opportunities, and in reality our message was clear. Many large organisations are not even mastering the basics and are struggling in how to establish appropriate supply-chain strategies and improvement initiatives that can support efficient cross-business processes while developing internal functional skills to support them.
Developing sustainable logistics infrastructure
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 19/11/2014
» Thailand is the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, but low efficiency in its logistics systems contributes to relatively high logistics costs in relation to GDP. This is in part a result of the industrial structure, geographical dispersal of industrial centres, widely spread population centres and logistics infrastructure overfocused on road transport. Successive Thai governments have all taken proactive measures to improve logistics costs in relation to GDP, but ongoing improvement in logistics efficiency is critical for the sustainable development of the economy.
Following the grain chain into Southeast Asia
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 05/11/2014
» Last week I presented a paper at the annual Asia Pacific Food & Fibre Summit in Melbourne, Australia. The conference focused primarily on the challenges of exporting Australian food products to Asia. It was well attended by a wide range of government policymakers and senior executives from some of the world's largest bulk grain handlers.