This Week in Supply Chain Management (21 / 2011)

I am using this section to structure the news of the preceeding week for you and myself. This was week 21 in 2011.

News

• The new volcano eruption / disruption was all over the news this week. Ever since the Eyjafjallajökull eruption last year it should be clear that Europe as well has several active volcanos and the problem should be a purely tactical / operational one… Anyway here are the links of this week: Early phase and limited impact.

• For a shorter summary of the new volcano / ash disruption you can have a look at the article at Interorganisational or husdal.com

• Hyundai will be heavily affected by a strike related disruption at a supplier’s (BBC).

• Not to forget: There has been a disruption at one of only two plants of the Apple supplier Foxconn (WSJ)

• Also Panasonic is reporting problems: Inventories are running out while shortages of raw materials and components persist (Electronics Weekly).

Blogs

• The Supply Chain Quarterly seems to have a week on supply chain risks with articles on the Lessons from Japan’s earthquake, Mexicos popularity for nearshoring and the worries of high-tech companies with their supply chains.

• Don’t forget to read about the Northern Sea Route as an alternative to the Suez canal on husdal.com

• Supply Chain Digest discusses the importance of the additional perspective of “velocity” when talking about disruptions (SCDigest).

Videos

• An interview with Michael Chagares (Executive Director of Risk Management at Accenture) with his views on supply chain risks.

Also have a look at the literature reviews I did this week:

• Monday: On the Resilience Month in the US and the Links between Supply Chain Resilience and Homeland Security
• Wednesday: How to find robust strategies for risk mitigation

Enjoy your weekend!