EPA intends to establish a “Chemicals of Concern” list and is beginning a process that may lead to regulations requiring significant risk reduction measures to protect human health and the environment. The agency’s actions represent its determination to use its authority under the existing Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to the fullest extent possible, recognizing EPA’s strong belief that the 1976 law is both outdated and in need of reform.
Given the timing, I’m sure many people missed the news. But with the pervasive nature of these chemicals in a broad range of products, processes and industries, the potential impacts on supply chains must be considered. And then if necessary, contingency plans and alternatives must be developed … preferably sooner than later.
So, with that in mind, I asked Bob Zieger, a Senior Category Manager for Plastics and Raw Materials in our Global Services Organization, for his take on how this will impact companies.
Innovation seems to be pouring out of the Tata Group at a very rapid clip. The Tata Nano, which relied heavily on the company’s suppliers for their cost savings and creativity, raised the proverbial innovation bar by dramatically lowering the cost of an automobile thus making them available to a larger portion of the Indian population (and perhaps the rest of the world in the future). Now the company is back in the headlines with a new, revolutionary, potentially life-saving product with huge demand. The Tata Swach is a low-cost water filter aimed at the HUGE number of people in India and worldwide who lack access to clean, safe drinking water.
I’ll let this CNBC video fill you in on the details of this low-margin, high volume (in terms of sales, not water volume) water purifier Tata want to have in 3 million Indian homes within the next 5 years.
The collaboration story thus far focuses on Tata Group companies. But I wouldn’t be surprised if
In the context of last week’s surprisingly positive job numbers (so surprising in fact that President Obama had to do a last minute rewrite to his speech Friday), two news stories have shared additional good news for US manufacturing. They’re largely anecdotal evidence, but perhaps they show a return of manufacturing jobs to the US for a number of reasons, including hedging against currency fluctuations and utilization of manufacturing capacity.
First, there was news that Daimler AG is moving some production of US bound Mercedes C-class cars from Germany to Alabama. Citing currency fluctuations as the key driver, Daimler officials plan to shift 20% of the production of their most popular model in the US to this Southern US state that is gaining traction in the automotive manufacturing industry. Interesting, the NPR report also points out that Alabama is a “right to work” state that requires far less vacation and other benefits than the 1,800 Stuttgart employees who are losing their jobs enjoyed.
While Supply Risk has been a hot topic in procurement and supply chain circles for some time, it’s been difficult to find broad-based empirical information about what organizations are doing on this front. The MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics is looking to do something about that. They are currently conducting a “Global Scale Risk Survey” to determine “experiences and attitudes toward Supply Chain Risks and Risk Management”. Key targets are companies in the Manufacturing, Retail and Distribution industries.
This looks to be a compelling snapshot of the priorities and challenges associated with Supply Risk. You can find more information and a link to the survey here.
Kris Colby is a Director in Ariba’s Spend Management Services group. Kris specializes in strategic sourcing and risk reduction with retail and CPG companies.
While there may be some early signs that the global economic recovery has begun, we’re not out of the woods just yet. The “Great Recession” has fundamentally changed the way businesses organize and measure success. and recalibrated supply markets, introducing new cost and operational risks that businesses cannot overlook. It has also created new state of normal for business — one in which supply volatility, capacity constraints, and global uncertainty will be commonplace and must be carefully managed.
The concept is now beginning to enter the broader public dialog. Recently, there have been multiple references to the New Normal in both the mainstream and business media:
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