In Crisis – America’s Industrial Leadership

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Tips | Volume 4 | Number 9 | September 2021

Too many executives in corporate leadership misread the substantial risk they were putting their customers and businesses in by moving overseas. We’re also seeing Gen X and Millennials leaving employers in record numbers. … read more

Wuhan’s Butterfly Effect on Supply Chains

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Tips | Volume 4 | Number 8 | August 2021

It’s rapidly approaching two years now (November 2019), when COVID-19 was circulating in the area of Wuhan, China infecting the first cluster of humans. Since the first reported outbreak of COVID-19, it’s been an incredibly crazy experience all over the world. However, that first cough or sneeze was likely the cause of the current global supply chain disruptions. … read more

The Delta Variant’s Impact on Global Economic Recovery

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Market Report | Volume 1 | Number 2 | August 2021

By the spring of this year, Americans were optimistic about returning to everyday life after more than a year of shutdowns from the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, the Covid-19 virus threw us a curve mutating into a more virulent but less deadly Delta variant. … read more

Avoiding Supply Chain Disruptions

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Tips | Volume 4 | Number 7 | August 2021

A colleague recently joined a new company as their CEO. During the first few weeks on the job and working through the due diligence of the current situation, there was a quick realization of the current state of disruptions engulfing their worldwide supply chains and the potential impact on current profits. … read more

Inflation: Is it Transitory or a Longer-Term Challenge?

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Market Report | Volume 1 | Number 1 | July 2021

I’m excited to announce a welcome addition to my monthly newsletter family. The MR will be presented in a monthly format in conjunction with Deborah Brown, CEO of DDB Advisory Services. I’ve known Deborah for over fifteen years and trust that her insights will inspire you. Our goal is to highlight the relevant KPIs in the financial markets within the past 30 days, demonstrate how these factors impact supply chains and recommend measures to diminish those impacts. … read more


 

Avoiding Disaster

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 4 | Number 6 | June 2021

Let us begin our discussion with the fact that disasters are not a surprise and, therefore, can be avoided.

As most of you are aware, I live in South Florida, or more specifically, Miami. It’s a beautiful area with sun-soaked beaches and bodies and a plethora of luxurious cars and boats to keep your lottery dreams alive. … read more

Winning The Parts Allocation War

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 4 | Number 5 | May 2021

Shortages – we’re living them every day: stock-outs of our favorite food, the new gadget for the home office, or deficiencies that are impacting our manufacturing processes. Even if they are not directly affecting us, we certainly have heard about them on the news. STOCK-OUTS!!. … read more

 

Are you Addicted to Inventory?

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 4 | Number 4 | April 2021

Many businesses are addicted to inventory, and it’s become their drug of choice! Rather than solving the root cause of problems, the answer is, “let’s increase safety stocks.” Leaders don’t understand their addiction and how a massive dependency on inventory creates a monster that needs to be tamed. What do you see when walking through the doors of your operations? Do you see stacks of your organization’s addiction?. … read more

 

Positioning Supply Chains for the Raging 2020s

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 4 | Number 3 | March 2021

Former US President Trump’s administration initiated Operation Warp Speed in March of 2020. The goal was to get multiple COVID-19 vaccines FDA approved within nine months. To put things in perspective, the typical time to bring a vaccine from development, clinical trials, production, and finally to administered doses is ten years! Not only was the goal achieved, but they were also able to ramp up vaccine production to 100 million doses at a rate of one million per day within 30 days of approval. … read more

 

My Business Got COVID

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 4 | Number 2 | February 2021

I’m not telling you that any of our team members or I got COVID. My argument here is that the business got COVID. More and more, I’m discussing the current situation with my client’s leadership and witnessing the long-term effects of having their team members working remotely. … read more

 

2021 = Optimism

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 4 | Number 1 | January 2021

As we exited 2020, I stepped back and reflected on the past year, looking forward with optimism for 2021. Even though 2020 was a troubled year, I’m not going to rehash the details. I believe there are multiple bright spots of hope ahead and an excellent reason to have confidence in humanity. … read more

 

COVID – The Perfect Disrupter for Small and Medium Enterprises to Leverage Growth

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 3 | Number 12 | December 2020

With any significant event, crisis, or seismic economic shift, there will always be the opportunity for agile enterprises to fill the void the disruption creates. The COVID pandemic drastically hastened the retreat from globalization, and depending on the survey, 67% to 84% of North American executives say they are increasing reshoring initiatives. The withdrawal from globalization creates opportunities for enterprises to work quickly and have a depth of expertise to seize the moment. … read more

 

The Three Fs of Supply Chain Management

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 3 | Number 11 | November 2020

During my supply chain management career, I’ve learned how our roles support the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors are charged with two key elements that supply chain professionals can impact: risk mitigation and shareholder value. We reduce risk by building sustainable processes, inclusive teams, and developing supplier partners. We improve corporate valuation by lowering the total cost of ownership (TCO) and increasing inventory velocity. read more

 

Finding Genius and The Castaways

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 3 | Number 10 | October 2020

If I were to tell you that you have an untapped resource within your organization and that it’s free if you know how to slow down to find it? It is how leaders discover, cultivate, and sustain the hidden talent in their organization. … read more

 

The Entropy Less Organization

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 3 | Number 9 | September 2020

What is entropy? It’s the old farmhouse falling into disrepair. Have you started the day with a game plan, and before you get in the door of your office, “Poof,” the plans have vanished into thin air? It feels as though the day is managing you, rather than you managing the day. It is Entropy at work.: … read more

 

Meet America’s New Homecoming Queen; Manufacturing

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 3 | Number 8 | August 2020

Before the pandemic, in 2017-2018, we had witnessed the peak of globalization. Results of several recent polls taken of industrial leaders indicate that between 65% to 85% plan to re-shore, nearshore, or insource products manufactured in remote parts of the world to reduce their supply chain risk: … read more

 

COVID-19: The Reindustrialization of America

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 3 | Number 7 | July 2020

We have learned important lessons from the ongoing COVID-19 black swan event. Here is a quick recap of the most significant lessons learned: … read more

 

Printing Gold with 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 3 | Number 6 | June 2020

It was just last year when Apple Inc. (AAPL) announced that the company had exceeded a market value of $1 Trillion. How did they become the first company with a trillion-dollar valuation? It is my opinion that it was Steve Jobs’, and now Tim Cook’s, relentless focus on simplicity. Both understood that it would not be easy and that it would take unwavering tenacity to achieve their vision. … read more

 

To CEO’s: You’ve Been Misguided by Antiquated Cost Accounting & Incorrect Performance Indicators

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 3 | Number 5 | May 2020

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): TCO includes all of the direct and indirect costs associated with an asset or acquisition over the entire life cycle of the product or service. TCO includes not just the purchase price, but also the cost of transportation, handling and storage, damage and shrinkage, taxes and insurance, and redistribution costs … read more

 

The Economic Colonization of American Health Care Supply Chain

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 3 | Number 4 | April 2020

Can you imagine the United States outsourcing 80-85% of our defense contracts to the lowest bidder? And if we were to do this, would we be putting our national security and sovereignty in great jeopardy? Absolutely! This is exactly what the health care industry has done to the US! … read more

 

The Call of a Generation – Navigating the Covid-19 Crisis

Entropy Busters® Series | Volume 3 | Number 3 | March 2020

As our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents before us, each generation was called on to make sacrifices for their country: whether it was during World Wars, The Great Depression, or similar pandemics such as the Spanish Flu. Today, WE are the generation who must make the sacrifices. … read more

 

How that’s Plan “B” for your China Supply Chain?

Entropy Busters® Series | Volume 3 | Number 2 | February 2020

I started with, “Let’s start with the realization that plan “A” to relocate operations to China had a major flaw. If you moved manufacturing to China, India or any other low-cost producing country with the intention of importing goods back to North America or Europe (half a world away), then your plan was unsound!” The primary focus was on inventory velocity, total cost of ownership and the ethics of investing . … read more

 

Lap Around The Big Shiny Thingie

Entropy Busters® Series | Volume 3 | Number 1 | January 2020

Scrapping the Notion of New Year’s Resolutions … We are now into the third full week of the New Year. If you made resolutions, how many are still in-place? Statistics show 90% are dropped within the first 30 days. What can you do differently to improve your personal brand? . … read more

 

The Important gets Sacrificed for the Urgent

Entropy Busters® Series | Volume 2 | Number 12 | December 2019

Do you or anyone within your organization ever sacrifice the important for the urgent? This is one of the key challenges of many organizations. When you look at the team member’s challenges: e-mails, mobile phones and open work spaces, it’s nearly impossible to find the quiet time and space to complete meaningful work.. … read more

 

Knocking Off the Training Wheels

Entropy Busters® Series | Volume 2 | Number 11 | November 2019

Recently, I attended two industry functions and spent several days with other consultants, advisers and strategists. It’s always great to be around other smart people. It makes you elevate your own game.. … read more

 

Plan “B” for your China Supply Chain

Entropy Busters® Series | Volume 2 | Number 10 | October 2019

Let’s start with the realization that plan “A” to relocate operations to China had a major flaw. If you moved manufacturing to China, India or any other low-cost producing country with the intention of importing goods. … read more

 

Entropy Busters® has competed the full trademark registration steps

Entropy Busters® Series | Volume 2 | Number 9 | September 2019

For those who have known me for years, you know that Entropy Busters® is a phrase I routinely use to explain business processes that have broken down while simultaneously revealing what is needed to sustain best practices. … read more

 

Three Summer Vacation Lessons that help you succeed in life and in business

Entropy Busters® Series | Volume 2 | Number 8 | August 2019

As many of you know, I’m an avid scuba diver and underwater photographer. When I need to recharge or re-energize my mind and soul, diving is my therapy of choice. We just recently returned from 2 weeks in French Polynesia. It was an absolutely magnificent trip, however; it did not start that way … read more

 

Why Waste a Perfectly Good Recession?

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 2 | Number 7 | July 2019

Lately, much has been written about the impending economic downturn and the need to recession-proof your business.. … read more

 

Supply Chain Management is alive and well!

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 2 | Number 6 | June 2019

I liken this article to the mid 1980’s and the push for “Lights Out” manufacturing. Are they shouting from the same roof top? Have not educators and professionals alike learned that lights out manufacturing has an extremely limited application. And here they are sounding the same horn. … read more

 

Notre-Dame | Boeing 737 MAX | Leadership

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series | Volume 2 | Number 5 | May 2019

The dust has settled on two defining disasters of 2019 (and possibly the decade): the Notre-Dame fire and Boeing 737 MAX crashes. What should we learn from these tragedies, and why are we always destined to repeat the mistakes of history?” … read more

 

Art Koch’s Profit Chain® Series

Volume 2 | Number 4 | April 2019

I organize plant tours for a client’s leadership team. The purpose of the tour is to help the team recognize different areas of operation and supply chain management and how those areas affect the operating agenda and financials.” … read more

 

Inventory Carrying Cost: A Total Cost

Volume 2 | Number 3 | March 2019

We have been talking about improvements to inventory velocity. So far everything has sounded very straightforward. Then why are we not all achieving world class results? What are some of the barriers? … read more

 

MRP as Push Processes

Volume 2 | Number 2 | February 2019

This month let’s talk about increasing inventory velocity. Have you ever wondered why you can’t achieve the reduction anticipated? As leaders we need to develop the ability to see decoupled processes within the supply chain. One such area is the relationship of MRP and pull systems … read more

 

Inventory Is Evil?

Volume 2 | Number 1 | January 2019

Today let’s think about why inventory is evil!. One of my top priorities is helping clients understand why inventory is evil, getting their organization to reframe views on inventory and its cost to organization and customer service. … read more

 

Entropy Busters®

Volume 1 | Number 5 | December 2018

My passion is helping clients – Reshape and Transform their Supply Chain Management Strategy, Design, and shifting their paradigms on process sustainability. I utilize my Entropy Busters®, Inventory Is Evil!, and Unlock the Art of Change methodologies to achieve sustainable results. Improving Customer Service, while Increasing Inventory Velocity and profitability. Let’s discuss my Entropy Busters™ methodology. One of your top priorities needs to be the elimination of Entropy within your Supply Chain … read more

 

The Zero Unemployment Effect

Volume 1 | Number 4 | November 2018

What is zero unemployment? Is your organization prepared for the potential long-term effects of zero unemployment? Let’s start with the definition: the condition in which virtually all who are able and willing to work are employed. … read more

 

Rationalizing the Enterprise

Volume 1 | Number 3 | October 2018

Article after article has been written about the advantages of complexity reduction and what should be done. However, too often there is little focus on the root cause of entropy creeping into the enterprise. A recent Forbes article outlines the seven steps to reduce complexity. Each step mentioned addresses the symptoms of the illness and not the disease … read more

 

The Elegance of Simplicity

Volume 1 Number 2 | September 2018

It was just last month when Apple Computers passed the market value of $1 Trillion. How did they become the 1st company with a trillion-dollar valuation? For me, it has been Steve Jobs and now Tim Cook’s, relentless focus on simplicity, the understanding it will not be easy and the tenacity to achieve their vision … read more

 

Your Supply Chain Organization

Volume 1 | Number 1 | August 2018

Whether as a Senior Leader or Team Member, do you ever wonder why the team is not meeting targets or performing at desired expectations? The key is envisioning where the organization needs to be at in 3, 5 or 7 years and building the team around the necessary skills and core competencies. … read more