Big data in supply chain

Amazing Graphs Ideas

As a consultant I need to make it simpler for clients to understand data. I am starting to put togsther graphs that I see in various publications to use them a later time.

Source: http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/Manufacturing/A_road_map_to_the_future_for_the_auto_industry

The second graph shows evolution / spread of data over years

https://image-store.slidesharecdn.com/04846778-aadb-4380-b164-38d2df518730-original.png

http://www.businessinsider.my/apple-market-cap-infographic-2015-2/#XGpVlbOd82PZVJVr.97

Fewer, Bigger, Bolder

"I am copying/paraphrasing the below text from an article I read. I do this to improve my writing skills. There is no plagiarism. Original article can be found at - http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/kwo/fall14/research-initiatives/fewer-bigger-bolder.htm"

Fewer, Bigger, Bolder that's the name of the book Mohanbir Sawhney and Vinod Khosla have put together to guide executives towards mindful business growth, and preclude them from mindless expansion of company products, brands and markets just to gain bigger market share.

Both Sawhney and Khosla have observed unwieldiness of companies, where the complexity of the company grows faster than their revenues. At this time, they believe, the companies need to slow down, take a hard look at their strategy and potentially cut down expansion if they want to further grow. The paradox of growth is that you need to cut back and do less. 

Through this book, Sawhney, a globally recognised professor, consultant and thought leader in marketing partners with Khosla, ex President of Kraft developing market to develop a "Focus 7" framework to help executive realise their growth objectives by making fewer but better bets.

It takes more than one person to take a selfie

/* I am copying / paraphrasing the below text from an ad I read. I do this to improve my writing skills. There is no f'ing plagiarism. */

It takes more than oner person to take a selfie. All the tiny and intricate components that go into your phone to create a single shot take a lot of hands to produce. Hands that are fueled by ABC Logistics. Everyday our trucks move goods and deliver millions of pieces to the factories so that those pieces can be put together to able to create a selfie. We manage distribution of products from suppliers to dealers to make sure the latest technology is able in your hands today/

Six Sigma Review - 5th Feb 12

The blog is just about putting my thoughts together of what I have revised until page 66 of the Six Sigma Handbook - Thomas Pzydek and Paul Keller

1) Understanding customer needs - Through surveys, focus groups and customer panels.

Surveys - Using Critical Incident technique is important to form surveys. You may even have to do a survey to form a proper questionnaire.

Focus Groups - Key challenge is that the focus group experts may get carried away during the discussion and the interviewer has to keep them aligned and 'focused' on the topic of discussion

Customer Panel - This is something new I learnt. Basically you just email the survey questionnaire to representative group or give them phone calls and get their inputs/answers.

KANO MODEL is another interesting model or thinking. The chart or model doesn't help much. It is a chart of quality vs satisfaction. I do not understand the second quadrant - negative/poor quality and high satisfaction. I believe the line should be absent. Even though it is above the expected quality line, it does convey the fact, that quality is great.

QFD: I am beginning to quite like it and would love to apply it on a project. I think its very powerful and provides great insights to product development

1. Start with customer requirements

2. Identify functional requirements

3. List Parts characteristics

4. Design Manufacturing environment

5. Manage production operations

The CUSASA principle

Remember the 'CUSASA' principle to have good relationship with your customers
Be Creative
Understand customer's business
Be simple
Be Accountable
Take customer's side
Be Accessible

Three good rules of holding successful meeting

Rule 1: Make sure you want quality over consensus.
Do not try to come to a solution that pleases everyone. Choose a solution that is effective and will get the problem solved

Rule 2: Have an idea but be receptive
Having your own idea is wonderful but never get locked up on it. Be receptive to others and be willing to accept conflicting or better ideas

Rule3: Listen but don't get fixed
When you dont have a point, be a good listener. Do not take sides, try to synthesize others point and try to give your own opinion

Random thoughts

This post is just going to be a random scribble since I don't have any good topic mind. Ever since read my this month's horoscope think I have become a little complacent, over confident that the things will automatically fall in place. Though things do automatically fall in place and I have no control over them, the anxiety of the things that may come in near future (or may not) have diverted my attention to concentrate on the real things on hand. But then again such is mind!

My countdown has started and I probably have around 360 days to find something for myself. This actually translates into almost 720 applications ( at least) and it would be a shame if I can not convert a single. Hopes are still high for this and even a day is enough for that significant change to happen.

I felt my brain come to life after I started my CFA studies again. It had been in hibernation since the last 3 months and with the lethal combination of sudoku and CFA, I am confident to revive my intelligent self.

I have no time to waste, lest my deadline shall pass and then..you never know..

Supply Chain Finance

I will quickly try to draft the main points of the recorded webcast - Supply Chain finance

1. Since the credit crisis, our distributors and other channel partners obviously dont have much access to the credit the way they used to have before crisis. It is our responsibility that we help them grow or sustain their business while not blowing our balance sheet

2. The goal is not have lowest inventory levels or the lowest logistics related cost but to have the most optimized "overall financial performance" - revenue growth, operating margin and capital utilization (cash operating cycle, fixed asset utlization)

3. Have to look at the factors or KPIs from an enterprise wise perspective

4. Supply Chain value added = supply chain benefits (point 2) - supply chain costs (transporation, warehouse, administration, labour, working capital finance charge)

5. What we improve supply chain - it will increase revenues, decrease labour cost, decrease logistics cost, decrease inventory levels

6. Great savings can be achieved by reducing inventory, reducing days of sales outstanding, reducing operating expenses, days purchase outstanding,

7. You have got debt, equity and the supply chain cost of capital

HOW TO IDENTIFY IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

1. Identify financial driver gap
2. Identify business process gaps
3. Supply chain enhancing initiatives
4. Map the business processes with the KPIs to be achieved ***

8. By paying the suppliers earlier, you are subsidising their liquidity and then they use the same money to purchase goods from your competitors

9. Use the "power of one" - aha moment

10. ALIGN GOALS, ALIGN STRATEGY, ALIGN RESOURCES

yet another

Once again I have failed to keep my promise of a-blog-a-day supposed to help improve my writing and thinking skills. Anyway I have come back and will scribble a few lines about the things that happened in the past few days.

I have been keeping up with my French lessons and I really hope to master the language in an years' time. Though not difficult, I need to keep good amount of motivation to achieve the same. Bonjour Monseiur !!

Things are moving slow with respect to the job hunt but I have my trust in Suzanne. Somethings gonna come from somewhere and I just have to keep my hopes high and keep trying. Gladly, I have no feelings of jealously and enviousness that my other classmates are doing significantly well and in fact I am happy for them.

I take it as a challenge and an opportunity to prove my worth to others and do even better.

I guess this is it for this time and I hope to come back more often!

The start

I have finally given into the temptation to update my LinkedIn profile. Knowing very well how slow my organisation can be in issuing a a letter of reference, I realized I cannot wait for so long. Thus I join in the long list of people trying to create a brand of themselves.

Though it might not be the best option to put my headlines as a supply chain professional, I guess I should start by being a little honest. But of course, I cannot afford to have my title as only a logistics improvement specialist. I am more. And I aspire to be more.

Thus the CFA. Trying hard to quench my thirst for analytics and finance, I have joined in the race to earn a CFA charter. Or maybe its just the title and the money. To be recognized as an Associate or a AVP definitely adds a few points to your resume.

My journey has thus began and no end in sight (which is of course contrary to a lot of management gurus who say - begin with an end in sight). I will try to track my progress through this blog and measure how well do I succeed.

Supply Chain best practices

Some of the key supply chain problems faced by companies worldwide are - overproduction, excess inventory, high cycle time, low flexibility, high defects and low human and machine efficiency.

However, there are a number of tools available that can help supply chain professional overcome these problems.

The 3 step process to reduce the supply chain waste is

1) Identify waste through value map analysis

2) Perform root cause analysis to find cause of waste

3) Use problem solving tools to eliminate waste

The tried and true tools of problem solving tools include

1) USP Analysis

2) Greiner Curve

3) BCG Matrix

4) Core competence analysis

5) Critical success factors

6) Porter 5 forces

Reliance's foray in telecommunications

1. Reliance bought the pan India broadband wireless access from Infotel for usd 1 billion. In addition the reliance industries will pay the government 2.8 billion

2. Reliance was able to buy Infotel after cancelling the non compete agreement with brother Anil Ambani

3. BWA so far does not allow voice transmission. But reliance industries is expected to over come the hurdle

4. Voice has also been commoditized in India and transmitting other types of data will open blue oceans for the reliance industries.

5. The Indian government should also be commended on the way they handled the bidding process and liberated the telecommunications industry

6. The bidding process allowed for multiple phases and allowed to create highly competitive market for Indian companies that have acquired global capabilities

tender offer and proxy contest

Proxy Contest: Done with the intention to remove/change the board or management and/or the management policies. Required to garner support of majoity of shareholder

Tander offer: Gain the support of manjority of shareholders to launch a takeover bid. Majority of shareholders will agree to sell their shares at a premium to acquirer.

How to create a 3D table

3D table

Credit Derivative

Credit derivative is a financial instrument whose value is determined by the underlying "credit risk" of the financial asset like the bond or loan.

Credit Risk is used to transfer the risk from one party to another in case if a credit event. Let us say that Party A gives loan to party B (reference party). Party A, to secure itself against a default from party B takes insurance from another Paty C.

The most commonly used credit derivative is the 'credit derivate swap' where the credit risk is swapped between 2 parties. Party A makes regular payment (premium) to party C but party C makes no payment unless there is a credit event. In case B is not able to repay the loan, partt C makes payment to A and then the swap terminates. The amount of payment made is generally the decline in the market value of the reference asset.

http://www.finpipe.com/crederiv.htm

chapter 2: DEMAND

1. The demand Curve
2. Diminshing Marginal Benefit
3. How Demand and Income are related
4. Substitutes and Complements
5. Normal vis-a-vis Inferior Products
6. How Demand and Advertising are related
7. Demand for Durable goods
8. Market Demand v/s Individual Demand
9. The Buyer Surplus

Accounting for Inventories - LIFO or FIFO

LIFO = Last in First Out

FIFO = First in First Out

FIFO means that the inventories that are purchased first are the first to be sold.

LIFO means that the inventories that are purchased last are the first units to be sold.

Companies usually shift from FIFO to LIFO to show less taxable income. Since inventories purchased last would cost higher, the net Income ( Revenues - Cost of Goods) would be less and also the taxable income calculated would also be less.

Common Ratios for Financial Analysis - III

Solvency Ratios
A company being solvent means it can meet its financial obligations.
Current Ratio = Total Assets / Total Liabilities
Acid-test Ratio = Quick Assets / Total Liabilities

Debt Ratio = Total Debt / Total Assets
Debt-to-Equity Ratio = Total Liabilities / Owners quity

Time Interest Earned Ratio : This ratio is used by the creditors who lend money to the businesses. This is to make sure if it is safe to lend money to the investors.

Time Interst Earned Ratio = EBIT / Interest Expense

Commmon Ratio for Financial Analysis - II

Activity Ratios

These ratios help in understanding how well the assets are used being utilized. Efficient usage of assets allows for lesser investment by lenders and owners and thus means less risk involved in the business.

1. Days receivables outstanding : This ratio tells about the days required to make collection on the sales. If more days are required to gather sales capital then more working capital is required to run the business.

Days Receivables Outstanding = Account receivables / Average sales in a day

2. Inventory Turnover : This ratio usually tells how quickly the inventory is moving out to earn money for the company

ITR = Cost of goods sold / Average Inventory