I interviewed Robert Thiemann, the Founder of BPM-Lux and Advisor of BPM, Logistics &amp; Transport. He discussed the recent changes in regulations regarding cross-border Geoblocking in Europe and the implications for consumers and sellers. &nbsp;&nbsp; Can you define cross-border-Geoblocking in Europe? All of us have probably suffered Geoblocking restrictions while buying airline tickets, booking hotels, car rental, buying software and ordering products online. When buying from cross-border sellers we were restricted in choice of brands, selections, and there were big gaps in prices. Online sellers apply barriers and impose restrictions to consumers on the basis of their nationality or place of residence, segmenting markets along national borders, in detriment of end consumers and their own growth. The EU considers this as unjustified Geoblocking. Despite having a single European market, with around 500 Million consumers, online retail is still divided by 28 member countries, and different laws. As a consequence, today &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 36 % of European web shops do not sell cross-border. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 27 % of them do this to avoid cross-border deliveries. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 22 % do not allow payment transactions from foreign payment providers. The European Regulation 2018/302 is banning Geo-blocking, thereby helping end consumers and retail. This will have an impact not only in Europe, but also in other regional markets, as it has happened with the European General Data Protection Regulation. Why is this important? The goal of the European Commission is the free movement of European citizens and goods within the European Borders. This regulation wants to: I) Stop discrimination by the place / country of residence within the EU. II) Make Cross-border retail easier. &nbsp;End consumers and business shall be able to place orders online in other countries, same as if they were tourists strolling along the shopping mall in a different country as their country of residence. Example: Imagine a Belgian citizen going into a Shop in Paris, and as soon as the Shop manager recognizes his nationality, the Belgian tourist would be asked to leave the shop. That would be discrimination, and that is what is still happening in online retail. &nbsp;Who should be concerned with this topic? All end consumers, businesses and retail. All will profit from this regulation.  I)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; End consumers will get a wider selection of products, brands and increase their buying power.  II)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Online Retailers can and must sell to all Europe, increasing their sales.  III)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Businesses may order from suppliers all around Europe. &nbsp; How should they change the way they do business? &nbsp;Retailers selling from a European based shop should:  Stop blocking Website Access to customers with foreign European IP`s. Stop forwarding to other European domains. It is not allowed, except when you have national regulations which provide so, e.g. when you are selling tobacco, alcohol, etc. Stop publishing different prices and conditions by nationality, country of residence or location of the customer. Stop denying foreign European credit cards. If you accept a French MasterCard in France, then you have to accept also an Italian MasterCard. Stop denying sales to foreign online shoppers. If you deliver within France, then a German Customer may provide an alternative delivery address in France for his order, and the shop has to deliver. Delivery, and this is important: Deliver within your own country, also for foreign shoppers. Shops are not obliged to deliver cross border. They shall sell, and deliver as they usually do within their own borders.   Do you have any examples you can share? Well, you will find small, medium and large shops which do not deliver cross border for one reason or another, especially if you have to consider 28 different...

Cross-border Geoblocking ban in Europe will push online retailers to find new last-mile delivery solutions

I recently had the opportunity to talk with William Cure, a Certified SCM Change Leader with over 40 years of hands-on experience. We discussed how to define ERP systems in supply chain planning, the reasons why we need ERP systems, problems faced with implementation and how to successfully implement a new ERP system in a corporation. In the interview that follows, William will introduce some key concepts and share insights gained from his extensive experience with ERP systems and supply chain planning. Two noteworthy lessons include the importance of getting people involved in the change process and following the “80% rule”.

ERP Systems in Supply Chain Planning and Implementation

This is part 2 of my interview series with&nbsp;Farhan Mirza, President of BAFF Consultants Inc., where we discussed how vehicle customization will drive the supply chain of the future. This time we went a little deeper into the issue by focusing on designing the supply chain network for customization in the automotive industry. Essentially, it means you build a new local supply base which can handle customized orders. Farhan takes us step-by-step on the journey and includes some practical examples. He believes customization will be the biggest thing in the automotive world within the next 10 years.

Designing the Supply Chain Network for Customization

I recently enjoyed a conversation with Stathis Genitsaridis, who is part of the Supply Chain &amp; Logistics - Solutions Design team at DHL. He shared with me the findings and insights from his thesis dissertation on the topic of Industry 4.0 and Supply Chain 4.0. Stathis explained the concepts and why they are important. He concludes our talk with many examples of how the concepts can be applied in the supply chain.

Industry 4.0 and Supply Chain 4.0

It was a pleasure talking with James Miller from Maritime Standard . We discussed the digitalization of the freight forwarding industry. James discusses the gains in terms of efficiency, transparency, resistance to change and collaborative partnership relationships in the industry. He concludes insights regarding implications for the supply chain.

Digitalization of Freight Forwarding

This week I spoke with Paul Chang, Quality Compliance Director at PCH International. We discussed supplier integration, what it is, why it is important and how it is done effectively. Paul stresses the importance of supplier collaboration and good supply chain project management. A company that does not excel in these 2 areas will not be profitable for very long.&nbsp;

Supplier Integration and Supply Chain Risk

I had an enlightening talk with Karl Weaver, OEM Business Development Director - Asia-Pacific/Greater China at Rivetz Corp. Karl discussed global trade and global supply chain change pertaining to the global semiconductor and mobile technology industries. The mobile smartphone manufacturing supply chain is moving from China to India, Vietnam, Indonesia and it’s a race to the bottom. Karl explains the key component suppliers are still the Chinese, and assembly can be done elsewhere with eventually the African continent will be the final destination. This he calls the Globalization of the Mobile industry, being driven by China’s protectionism at home and expansionism abroad &nbsp; Outsourcing to “lower cost” countries is not cheaper. While there is a benefit to be realized by selling to the expanding markets in lesser developed countries, in terms of cost savings, Karl believes it is not in any way cheaper to manufacture in Asia.

Globalization of Mobile Technology and Complexity of Supply Chain Ecosystems

In a call I had with Steve Johnson, Managing Principal at Johnson Stephens Consulting, Steve shared the latest developments taking place with automated picking for distribution and e-commerce fulfillment centers. Amazon’s raising of the minimum wage to $15 has led to a heightened interest in evaluating robotics assisted picking in order to reduce costs. At the same time, in order to compete with Amazon, e-commerce companies are looking use the technology. 3PLs are also using automation to increase productivity of the picking process. &nbsp; Steve shares the newest technical advances which will soon contribute to the realization of the holy grail in supply chain, namely a robot being able to pick two very different items that sit next to each other in a flow rack. &nbsp; Productivity has been shown to improve, which in one case led to a 100% improvement in picking rates. Another example showed results of picking merchandise in a fulfillment center using 500 people as opposed to 800 people. &nbsp; There will be an upgrade in jobs available for technicians who work in fulfillment centers and DCs.

Developments in Automated Picking for Distribution and Fulfillment Centers

Steve Hopper, Founder &amp; Principal of Inviscid Consulting shared his insights regarding the development of a logistics network strategy. Steve discussed with me the importance of starting the process with good data. He goes into the nuts and bolts of the types of data needed, problems faced when developing logistics network strategy and the steps to implementation. Steve clearly demonstrated he truly is a ‘trusted supply chain advisor’ who can walk you through the processing of picking the right logistics network to support to your business needs.

Developing a Logistics Network Strategy

Digital, it seems this word needs to be added to whatever we are working on or discussing to make it appear interesting and relevant to our audience. My 20 years of work experience has revolved around supply chain planning. While I have not implemented a supply chain planning system in a number of years, I recently got the opportunity to implement a supply chain planning and scheduling solution for a large Oil and Gas company. This provided an excellent opportunity to review and evaluate the benefits today’s digital environment provides to deliver supply chain planning solutions compared to just a few years ago. I thought it would be interesting to discuss if the benefits of supply chain planning solutions can be realized faster and be further augmented through the digital tools and capabilities available today. &nbsp; The benefits of a supply chain planning solution are well proven and typically include improved visibility to demand, inventory, and supply. Improved order, inventory, and production metrics and the ability to tie supply chain processes and capabilities to company strategy. The speed of the value realized is dependent on the implementation and how the customer as well as the service team create, clean and manage the required data, define and integrate the supply chain planning tool into current and new business processes, effectively manage the change, as well as understand the capabilities of the supply chain planning tool and how to deliver it.

Digital Supply Chain Planning Delivery

Supply Chain, e-commerce, international marketing teacher, podcaster

Dustin's Supply Chain Podcast