Category Archives: Strategy

China’s strategy links global supply chain investments by ‘one belt, one road’

Posted on June 14, 2016 by | Comments Off on China’s strategy links global supply chain investments by ‘one belt, one road’

Hercules Haralambides weighs in on the ‘one belt, one road’ (OBOR) initiative China is mounting.  It’s been unclear what it really is. But it would be natural for it to be strategic rather than specific to particular investments.  That’s his point.  Early in the game, we can expect it to be unclear to others what’s going on.   His message is to think geopolitically to understand how Chinese investment in transport and supply chain resources might evolve.

  Source: China’s strategy is to link its global supply chain investments by ‘one belt, one road’ – The Loadstar

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Posted in Logistics, Shipping, Strategy, Supply Chains

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On southwestern fringe, China’s Silk Road ambitions face obstacles

Posted on June 7, 2016 by | Comments Off on On southwestern fringe, China’s Silk Road ambitions face obstacles

Here is an example of the difficulty of building a major infrastructure improvement, in this case, a rail line from China to Thailand and thence to Singapore.  Who’s got the money?

The answer is no one; and so they can’t agree on terms that advantage all of them fairly.  One interesting factor is land use rights.  Thailand and Laos will not give the Chinese land development rights on each side of the rail line.  Those were expected to help the Chinese pay for the route.  I think those countries are right to retain their sovereignty over the land.

screenshot-www.reuters.com 2016-06-07 08-17-27    Source: On southwestern fringe, China’s Silk Road ambitions face obstacles | Reuters

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Posted in Rail, Strategy, Supply Chains

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Understanding the 2016 Gartner Top 25 Supply Chain Rankings

Posted on May 26, 2016 by | Leave a comment

Here is Dan Gilmore’s interesting comment on the Gartner Top 25 Supply Chain companies  (See my earlier post.)  Of course, it is all about marketing for Gartner, who makes money from consulting with these and other firms.  Still, the debate over metrics is interesting, and hones our critical thinking skills.

Clearly corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasing in importance for supply chain professionals. There  is a lot of talk about it in the profession, saving energy and carbon and the like, as well as the ‘triple-E’ message of sustainability (economy, ecology, equity); customers are asking as well.   It’s a good idea to use some triple-E measurement on our own supply chains.

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Dissecting this Year’s List, as New Corporate Social Responsibility Factor Added to Scoring Mix

Source: Understanding the 2016 Gartner Top 25 Supply Chain Rankings

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Posted in Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chains, Sustainability