I wanted to share a few thoughts – or afterthoughts – after my previous blog that revisited the Gorilla and the Elephant. As I noted, many organizations can relate to and “see” gorillas and elephants in the midst of their own deals. Someone responded on this idea of gorillas and elephants, saying it was a […]
alignment
Don’t Buy It If It Doesn’t Fit
A recent blog from marketing guru Seth Godin talks about that beautiful pair of shoes—and on sale at a great price!—only there’s one catch: they are one size too small. There’s a decision to be made: should you opt for the good looking bargain and go with sore feet until maybe the shoes stretch out? […]
SupplyChainBrain Resource Guide — Jan/Feb 2015
SupplyChainBrain 2015 Supply Chain Management Resource Guide Includes articles by Kate Vitasek and Karl B. Manrodt at pages 46, 74, 77, 86 and 92. Here’s the link to the entire 116-page issue: http://tinyurl.com/owavn3r
Transforming the Workplace
In a previous post I talked about the importance of aligning company cultures in order to be successful. There’s an equally important cultural corollary: aligning and modernizing the workplace to join the 21st Century. Guy Laurence, former CEO of Vodafone UK Ltd., talked about the “death” of the traditional workplace in a talk he gave […]
Company Culture Really Matters
We often think companies can work around cultural differences with their partners—or prospective partners—in part because they may be overconfident, or in love with everything else about the deal they are negotiating. But that’s almost always a short-sighted mistake, as outlined in a recent article in SupplyChain247, by John D. Hanson and Steven A. Melnyk, […]
Taking Care with OPM
It sounds like a great situation—playing with other people’s money (OPM). In gambling parlance it’s called playing with house money. However attractive that OPM sounds, it can be very risky business, even when most of the risk is shifted to the person or company with the deep pockets. There are several factors about OPM that […]
Email Ping Pong
I attend many conferences speaking on the Vested Way and teaching the virtues of the Vested methodology. A good thing about conferences is they bring people together with new and fresh perspectives. Last week I spoke at the Warehouse Education Research Council’s annual conference and the morning kickoff speaker was Chris Helder, a 44 year […]
Supply Chain Brain – February 2014
Get Supplier Relationships Right, Then Maintain Them Article by Kate Vitasek, published on Feb 25, 2014 Analyst Insight: If the wheels on your vehicle are out of alignment, you’re in for a rough and inefficient ride. The same holds true for businesses. Alignment, especially in strategic relationships, gets businesses beyond the initial “yes” that sets […]
Yoga Gear Needs Alignment Too
Getting your supplier relationships right is more and more a question of getting and then nurturing the relationship’s alignment. Supplier relationships are not only vital to the financial health of your company, but can also be a key driver to overall brand health. These thoughts occurred to me as I listened to a short Wall […]
RVCF Link – September 2013
Five and Ten: Five Rules and Ten Steps for a Successful Supplier Contract Article on the Five Rules and 10 Elements by Kate Vitasek and Joe Tillman. Alignment, communication and collaboration are crucial for an effective buyer-supplier retail value chain. That’s easy to say, not necessarily easy to accomplish… Here’s the link: https://www.rvcf.com/page/RVCF_LINK_13_09_02/?
