Thought leadership is on the menu today at HighJump Innovation 2009. HighJump partner TranSystems delivered a session on the changing supply chain technology strategies of supply chain giants, precipitated by the end of the era of “cheap” oil. Talk about giant…I just learned that Wal-mart has 88,000 logistics associates and their annual income represents about three percent of the U.S. economy! Here are some other tidbits taken from this supply chain management best-practices session.
One of the common threads? Supply chain leaders are thinking outside the box and calling the shots with suppliers in order to help ensure their distribution operations are viable after the cheap oil era.
- Wal-mart is actually growing square-shaped watermelons in order to facilitate packing/shipping (they stack better than oval watermelons!)
- Home Depot is moving toward "self-distribution" - a logistics model favoring direct store delivery from suppliers to a model that moves most products first through Home Depot distribution centers
- Kimberly-Clark is consolidating distribution operations into regional mega-distribution / mixing centers positioned close to key customer markets
One of the common threads? Supply chain leaders are thinking outside the box and calling the shots with suppliers in order to help ensure their distribution operations are viable after the cheap oil era.
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