@Risk

No one wants to deal with a product recall.

But, for those in the medical device and life sciences industries, the challenges are more intense than ever before. Globalization has created elongated supply chains, and that elongation has decreased visibility and complicated communication. Obviously, that’s not a desirable combination at all, considering that delays in handling a medical device recall can literally mean the difference between life and death.

Fortunately, many medical device and diagnostic manufacturers are now taking a hard look at their existing processes so that they can improve the way they manage product recalls.

Denise Odenkirk and Tom Kozenski explore these issues in detail in their recent article, How to Handle a Medical Device Recall, at Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry Online.

I was pleased to see that Odenkirk and Kozenski recognize that both automation and integration have become critical components for effective supply chain management. They write: (more…)

Pharmaceutical companies are facing increasing pressure to update their supply chains.

For some, it’s going to be an uphill battle.

A new report from PwC US concludes that many pharmaceutical supply chains have suffered from what amounts to benign neglect. Now, they are inefficient, under-utilized and ill-equipped to cope with new medicines, cost pressures and health reform expectations.

Essentially, the pharma supply chain needs to adopt a new consumer-oriented focus. As a result, PwC says we can expect the pharma supplier network to become: (more…)

Earlier this month, retailers declared the holiday season a huge success.

Now, it looks as though buying for Valentine’s Day will follow suit.

The latest eBillme Online Spending Index is out, and it shows that:

• 19 percent of consumers plan to spend more money this year on Valentine’s Day gifts, a seven percent increase over last year.

• Interestingly, nearly one-third (32 percent) of consumers plan to do their Valentine’s Day shopping online this year, a nine percent increase over last year

The eBillme Online Spending Index is a quarterly survey conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research and released by eBillme. The Index polls 1,200 consumers to measure projected online spending for the quarter and the influencing factors.

So, what are shoppers planning to purchase for their Valentines? According to the survey, (more…)

Consumer confidence in the retail industry is on the rise, increasing almost 20 percent since 2009, according to new research from Aon Risk Solutions.

Aon found that when retailers looked back on 2010, they cited their top five risks as:

• the economy,

• reputation risk,

• supply system disruption,

• liability risk and

• major business interruption.

(Not surprising, considering the global recession, recalls and natural disasters that punctuated the rocky business landscape last year.)

When retailers look forward, they’re anticipating growth. Aon’s 2010 U.S. Retail Industry Report revealed that growth is retailers’ number one priority, followed by the objectives to increase profitability, control costs, provide business continuity and stabilize operations. Risk managers are going to have to step up in order for organizations to realize these goals.  Fortunately, the vast majority (80 percent) of retailers at Aon’s Retail Symposium held last fall said that they expect the responsibility and accountability of the risk management function to grow in the coming year. (more…)

Supply chain traceability is becoming increasingly important –particularly for companies in the food and beverage sector and their customers.

In fact, more than three quarters (76 percent) of food service professionals recently polled by Voxware said that traceability is a priority for their companies.

The voice of the consumer appears to be getting louder. Nearly a third (31 percent) said their customers ask either frequently or urgently about plans on compliance, and more than half (52 percent) said their customers are asking about traceability occasionally. In addition, nearly three-fourths of respondents (72 percent) said they are either somewhat likely or very likely to adopt some traceability standards in the near future.

But for businesses, the expense of implementing traceability processes remains a significant challenge. (more…)