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About Supply Chain View

Martin ArrandWelcome to Supply Chain View, a regular look at current supply chain issues.

I’m Martin Arrand, an experienced supply chain and Lean consultant from the UK. I have a policy of keeping the Supply Chain View voice separate and independent, so I don’t publicise here who my my clients are. I work on projects both independently and partnered with larger consulting firms.

My columns here draw on my experience of strategy and implementation for a wide range of industry sectors – I hope you find them informative and thought-provoking. Most of the supply chain improvement projects that I have run have been informed by a Lean perspective, drawing heavily on the Shingo Shigeo maxim that “Know-why is even more important than know-how”. I have recently spent some time on more “pure” Lean implementation work, leading to some interesting learning on how to apply process improvement approaches in service environments.

Much of my work has, predictably, been focused on reducing supply chain costs. But the most interesting projects have involved using the supply chain to produce a competitive advantage that goes beyond cost – by reducing the time to market, for example, and allowing the creation of innovative customer propositions.

I have been publishing Supply Chain View since January 2007 and, work permitting, I aim to write one quality posts each week. I used to update more frequently with news and commentary, but comments and web traffic stats tell me that you prefer more in-depth reflections on a subject.

As of October 2008 I am relaunching the site after an enforced hiatus. I will be concentrating on the following supply chain themes:

  • Inventory management (always popular)
  • Forecasting
  • Planning and control in manufacturing and other processes
  • Supply chain strategy and design
  • Commercial and customer perspectives on supply chain management

I have also been writing about Humanitarian Logistics, in support of the CILT’s Humanitarian & Emergencies Logistics Professionals Forum.

Some of the posts are prompted by news found on the web, some from latest research, and others from reflections on personal experience.

Please get involved! You can leave comments against blog posts for me or others to resond to. Please subscribe to the RSS feeds to get notification of new blog posts.

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