The global economy can do a lot of things to a man…but if you threaten to mess with his job AND his beer, that may just be the last straw. By many of the reactions - from TV and barstool talking heads to the 31,000 member Facebook Group protesting the deal - the InBev purchase [more]

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After covering #5 Direct Materials, #4 Travel & Expenses and #3 Transportation, we’re down to the silver medalist in our countdown: Temporary Labor. Like the other categories, Temp Labor has been impacted by the fluctuations in the US and global economies. But unlike the others, the impact of rising fuel and commodity prices is not [more]

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Just weeks after the Big Three shocked the industry by announcing plans to move some assembly back inhouse, a labor strike at a major auto supplier is making the automakers appear clairvoyant. Adding to pricing pressures, volume cuts, and rising material costs, the United Autoworkers (UAW) strike at American Axle is shuttering production across the [more]

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Henry Ford must be smiling. After decades of outsourcing manufacturing, engineering, and other responsibilities to suppliers stateside and in low-cost regions, The Big Three automakers are beginning to bring sub-assembly back in-house.
Beginning this spring, Ford Motor Company — the birthplace of Henry Ford’s vertical integration manufacturing model — will be the first to take back [more]

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Over the past year, Supply Excellence has been tracking a growing trend for companies to rethink their sourcing strategies. For example, General Motors has made re-sourcing a cornerstone of its (ongoing) turnaround plan. And just last week a major food and beverage company told me it was rethinking supply lines for core ingredients.
Mattel’s Chairman and [more]

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