Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 10, 2018

Companies are cutting supply chain complexity and accelerating responsiveness using the tools of artificial intelligence. Through AI, machine learning, robotics, and advanced analytics, firms are augmenting knowledge-intensive areas such as supply chain planning, customer order management, and inventory tracking.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Technology System Engineering 8

Strategy Driven

JUNE 29, 2016

Instead, longevity is based on entrepreneurial thinking and innovation – in exploring ways to adapt corporate and business strategies in response to market, technological, and social and cultural change. In the meantime, the firm and supply chain invest heavily in the product or service offering, in hopes of luring customers.

Supply Chain 52

Supply Chain Real Estate Resistance Competitive Advantage 52

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 9, 2018

supply chain is generally recognized as an integral part of the American economy. From Intel’s semiconductors to Microsoft’s enterprise software, the supply chain builds the goods and services that businesses need. economy that reveals new ways to drive American growth and innovation.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain B2C Policies Industry 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 19, 2016

where one of us is Vice President Supply Chain, suggests this “magic” can be repeatable. In 2010, Coty was rapidly expanding through acquisitions and internal growth and needed to align, integrate, and further accelerate improvements in its supply chain. The experiences of global beauty company Coty Inc.,

Supply Chain 9

Supply Chain Kotter Critical Success Factor Learning-by-Doing 9

The Horizons Tracker

AUGUST 24, 2020

With various supply chain issues also emerging in key areas, such as with personal protective equipment, ventilators, and other medical equipment, there has been growing concern that the golden era of globalization might be coming to an end, as countries resort to a more insular, nationalist approach to post-covid life.

Cooper 91

Cooper Supply Chain Long-term Globalization 91

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 20, 2015

Challenged by other entrepreneurs in Scale Up Milwaukee’s Scalerator program to come up with a plan for rapidly ramping up his business, Cronce wondered: “What if I redefined Raphael as a strategic link in the global medical imaging supply chain, rather than as a paint shop?” Manage the arduously long sales cycle.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Collins Golden Handcuff Pharmaceuticals 8

N2Growth Blog

MAY 16, 2010

The dumb factor not only applies to talent, capital, and technology, but it also extends throughout the entire value chain. It applies to your branding, marketing, supply chain, and ultimately to your customer base. When Google started they had the greatest focus, the simplest vision, and the least cluttered search engine.

Business Model 298

Business Model Brand Blog Supply Chain 298

Mills Scofield

APRIL 15, 2013

We’ve built our entire supply chain from the ground up and are the first to introduce guayusa to international markets. He was an experienced forestry engineer who had managed a number of different cacao and coffee projects in the region. Our first hire in Ecuador was a great man named Fausto.

Talent Management 167

Talent Management Management Supply Chain NGO 167

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 18, 2018

That spells trouble for American manufacturers with global supply chains. As companies rethink their supply chains, they ought to seriously consider embracing a new manufacturing technology that’s now ready for prime time: 3-D printing. Undoubtedly, it will accelerate the reshoring of items now sourced in China.

Supply Chain 9

Supply Chain Contract Manufacturing Software Learning Curve 9

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 14, 2011

In what now seems a distant past, company research facilities like Xerox PARC and Bell Labs fueled innovation and growth for dominant American manufacturing firms. Large firms like Proctor & Gamble can push R&D and product innovation out through their supplier networks. Large firms can also buy smaller ones to acquire new technology.

Innovation 14

Innovation Supply Chain Competitive Advantage Globalization 14

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 17, 2015

In this article adapted from their new book, Jerry Davis and Chris White explore what makes some companies more fertile for social innovation — that is, the ongoing (rather than one-off) initiatives that have positive social impact while promoting the core mission of a business.

Innovation 8

Innovation Company Supply Chain Open-book 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 22, 2015

Connecting the digital world of research, design, engineering and manufacturing enables a company to drastically reduce the time to introduce new products, leading to faster responses to customer needs and higher engineering productivity. GE now employs 14,000 software engineers. Higher responsiveness leads to higher sales.

Industry 8

Industry Supply Chain Company Software 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 27, 2015

Can you think of any business topic that’s been hotter for longer than innovation? In a McKinsey poll , 94% of the managers surveyed said they were dissatisfied with their company’s innovation performance. And yet when it comes to innovation, the gap between aspiration and accomplishment seems as big as ever.

Innovation 8

Innovation Company Engineering Supply Chain 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 16, 2010

These six ideas emerged in 2010 as powerful "innovation invitations" and seem sure to intensify in power and influence. They'll increasingly be a source of, and resource for, innovation differentiation in 2011, if not for your organization, then for the firm you most dread competing against. That's right. Contestification.

Innovation 16

Innovation Supply Chain Business Simulation Advertising 16

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 19, 2013

Too often, though, managers set what appears to be a good stretch goal, only to discover that it did not produce the hoped-for innovative thinking. It demands innovative thinking. two examples of innovation — one product, one process — drawn from the annals of innovation at Toyota: 1. And for $30,000 less.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Productivity Products Engineering 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 10, 2012

That leaves Apple vulnerable to a whole host of supply chains risks (e.g., Everyone recognizes Apple as a product innovator, but what is often less appreciated is that Apple also develops innovative manufacturing processes. As I noted above, a local production base can facilitate local innovation. Why is that?

Supply Chain 15

Supply Chain Innovation Industry Engineering 15

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

Having a strong domestic manufacturing base is vital to the United States maintaining its world leadership in innovation. With the exception of two jet-engine factories and two plants that make heavy equipment, all were located outside the United States. Manufacturing provides the foundation for many kinds of innovations.

Supply Chain 15

Supply Chain Offshoring Engineering Pharmaceuticals 15

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 14, 2018

The term “innovation” is often associated with geniuses turning startups into gold mines — the next Google, Apple, or Amazon, with products no one even knew they needed. These bets on the next growth engine often depend on luck more than insight. Meanwhile, every company aspires to be as innovative as these startups.

Company 15

Company Budgeting Supply Chain Innovation 15

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 9, 2012

So when CEO Craig Carson learned that Jeco Plastics could win a multi-year, multi-million-dollar contract producing plastic pallets for a major European automobile manufacturer if it could successfully innovate the design, the company knew it had to try. remains at the forefront of international manufacturing and innovation.

Supply Chain 10

Supply Chain Competitive Advantage Tools Innovation 10

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 21, 2011

And they need process owners (who may variously be called VP of Customer Experience, SVP of Supply Chain, Chief Engineer, or Value Stream Leader, for instance) to lead these initiatives. For instance, Air Products has a Senior Vice President of Supply Chain to whom the process owners report; he in turn reports to the CEO.

Process 15

Process Supply Chain Balanced Scorecard Engineering 15

Harvard Business Review

MAY 28, 2014

In this case, organization leaders should demand a conversation about talent sourcing as sophisticated as one about their supply chain. It’s an old-school idea common to technology companies as far back as the 1980’s, akin to “we know more about the engineers that work for our competitors than they do.”.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Policies Sample Human Resources 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 21, 2014

Car dealers and more generally intermediaries represent an extra layer of companies in the supply chain that clearly increases costs to customers. But in many cases they also serve important functions in a supply chain and can create more value than the inefficiencies they cause. Auto industry Innovation Strategy'

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Disintermediation Disaggregation Business Model 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 8, 2017

Private-sector project owners, public-sector project owners at the federal, state, and local levels, and the engineering and construction industry will all need to act to drive change. Therefore, any action to boost sector productivity needs to apply to the entire supply chain and to both parts of the market.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Construction How To Engineering 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

A vast ideological gap on macro-economic policy divides Washington and much of the nation, but there is almost universal agreement on one solution: innovation. Innovation is now perceived as a panacea for job creation, income generation, economic growth, dollar strength, and the revival of the U.S. as global hegemon.

Innovation 12

Innovation Supply Chain Offshoring Policies 12

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 30, 2016

Surely this cheap, customer-centric, and data-driven innovation would impress the client. To make customers measurably happier, optimization mattered less than innovation. Their optimization strengths had become innovation weakness. Platforms, not processes, make innovations faster and easier to implement.

Process 12

Process Competitive Advantage Outsourcing Supply Chain 12

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 20, 2014

In the case of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the most impressive fact few reporters choose to explore in any depth is that the Boeing 777’s engine was capable of communicating long after the pilots went silent. Evidently these engines, because they were older, had add-on sensors, not the built-in ones, but the point is the same.).

Airlines 8

Airlines Supply Chain Management Engineering 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 21, 2011

However, the firm's core offering in most other markets was supply chain advice. When that partner abruptly left the firm, it quickly grew share of wallet of many existing clients in South America by offering a mash-up service — IT-enabled supply chain. Rehabilitate a misfit.

Supply Chain 13

Supply Chain Sample Hedge Engineering 13

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

Welch was convinced that the speed of globalization and technological innovation in the 21 st century would require companies to work very differently – with shorter decision cycles, more employee engagement, and stronger collaboration than had previously been required to compete. This was delaying product production.

Welch 8

Welch Supply Chain Consensus Engineering 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

He said that the EU had set aside €650 million to fund innovative ways to change consumers’ usage of raw materials, reduce electronic and food waste, develop new recycling techniques, come up with new construction materials and new ways of using old ones, and create new energy sources out of waste.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Chemicals Engineering Energy 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 16, 2017

McManus’s reframing of leadership — the leader as the sidekick, the intern as the superhero — embodies three powerful principles that enable innovation and discovery. To recognize how innovative this approach is, just imagine telling your intern or most junior employee that come Monday, you are their intern.

Supply Chain 14

Supply Chain NGO CTO Learning-by-Doing 14

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 30, 2011

It's true that Apple's success in the last decade has been built on a remarkable string of innovations, which seems harder to "codify." Wozniak brought exceptional engineering chops. Instead the firm develops process specialists — for graphic arts, supply chain, coding, retailing, and of course, industrial design.

P&L 14

P&L Supply Chain Retail COO 14

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 20, 2021

Ford mastered mass production of cars with internal combustion engines a century ago. Can the industrial titan reinvent itself in a climate-conscious world?

Engineering 11

Engineering Industry Productivity Products 11

Harvard Business Review

MAY 31, 2017

Smoother supply chains. Machine learning enables contextual analysis of logistics data to predict and mitigate supply chain risks. If a person with an engineering degree wishes to run the division someday, what additional education and work experience should they obtain, and in what order?

Process 12

Process Company Supply Chain Software 12

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 20, 2016

It wasn’t that Microsoft didn’t have smart engineers working on search, media, mobile, and cloud. One of the strengths of visionary CEOs is that they build an executive staff of world-class operating executives (and that they unconsciously force out the world-class innovators among their direct reports).

CEO 8

CEO Supply Chain Long-term Short-term 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 24, 2016

How are these thriving firms reinventing themselves, their supply chains, and their marketplaces? For an upcoming MIT symposium on the topic, we’re focusing on four main themes: customer expectations, product enhancements, collaborative innovations, and organizational forms. Collaborative innovations. What to do?

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Health Care Globalization Technology 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 4, 2013

Network effects are the not-so-secret sauce profitably flavoring Amazon’s recommendation engines and Apple’s App Store. But managing network effects as technology byproducts is a bit like treating cars as extensions of internal combustion engines; technically accurate, yes, but missing the larger purposes and points.

Management 8

Management Supply Chain CIO Core Competence 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 29, 2013

Accountability is often the unhappy byproduct rather than desirable outcome of innovative analytics. For example, an Asia-based supply chain manager can discover that the remarkably inexpensive subassembly he's successfully procured typically leads to the most complex, time-consuming and expensive in-field repairs.

Resistance 8

Resistance Organization Supply Chain CRM 8