Proud Moment for ISCM-April 2012

Supply chain hitch puts brakes on Nissan production

Supply chain hitch puts brakes on Nissan production
By NewsDesk




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A supply chain hitch has forced Nissan to put the brakes on manufacturing at several factories, at least some of which are in North America.

Japan’s second-biggest car producer has admitted that it will cease manufacturing of vehicles at some plants until the end of this week due to a shortage of engine controller devices.



The devices in question are supplied by a unit of Hitachi. However, Nissan stressed that the impact on its global production would be minimal as it predicts that it will only reduce output by around 15,000 cars due to the supply problem.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Hitachi said it is “hamstrung” by an electronics maker unable to fill an order for bespoke semiconductors designed for Nissan’s engine management device. According to the newspaper, neither Hitachi nor Nissan identified the chip maker, but a “person familiar with the matter” said the company is Swiss-based STMicroelectronics.

“A STMicroelectronics spokesman declined to comment specifically on Hitachi and Nissan. But he noted that the car industry is recovering faster than expected and electronics-parts suppliers are under pressure to keep up, adding that the company remains ’strongly engaged’ in keeping its commitments to customers,” the WSJ reported.

“Analysts say Nissan became a victim of an overstretched supply chain while ramping up to meet recovering demand after the plunge in car sales during the financial crisis forced part makers to slash production capacity.”

The problems come after Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn streamlined the company’s supply chain around five years ago and moved to a “lean” manufacturing model.

The WSJ reported that Nissan’s chief operating officer, Toshiyuki Shiga, said that the parts procurement issue could also spread to North America and disrupt production there because the company uses Hitachi’s engine control unit for cars made in the US.

Article From
http://logisticsweek.com/road/2010/07/supply-chain-hitch-puts-brakes-on-nissan-production/?goback=.gmp_2060573.gde_2060573_member_25247795

Spain's Inditex opens first Zara store in India

MADRID: Spain's Inditex, Europe's largest clothing retailer, said that it had opened the first store of its flagship Zara brand in India as part of its push into the fast-growing Asian market.

The inauguration of the 1,800-square-metre (19,375 square feet) outlet in a shopping mall in the capital Delhi on Saturday will be followed by the opening of another Zara outlet in Mumbai and another in Delhi within weeks, it said.

"The country has a dozen cities whose populations each exceed three million people and the Indian market promises substantial growth potential for Zara's fashion offering," Inditex said in a statement.

The company plans to open a total of five Zara branches in India, the world's second most populous country with 1.1 billion people, this year as part of a joint venture with Indian conglomerate Tata Group.

Investment bank Goldman Sachs predicts India will expand annually by some 6.2 per cent from 2011 to 2050.

The country will overtake Germany as the world's fifth-biggest consumer market by 2025 as the size of its middle class expands to 583 million people, or about 41 per cent of the population, from about 50 million, or roughly five per cent currently, according to global consultancy firm McKinsey.

Many members of India's rising middle class are already familiar with Zara's stylish designs which resemble those of the big-name Italian fashion houses and are sold at moderate prices.

The company will target the upper middle class in India and its prices will be about 10 per cent higher than in Europe.

The foray into India is part of the company's aggressive expansion into Asia and its efforts to reduce its dependence on Western Europe which has suffered from weak economic growth in recent years.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/retailing/Spains-Inditex-opens-first-Zara-store-in-India/articleshow/5996948.cms

Habits are at first cobwebs, then cables - Spanish Proverb

There were methods like Kaizen and others, implemented in organizations at a huge cost and with the single motive of enhancing productivity. But it is very difficult to change human nature.

Bad habits, no wonder, are still common on both the professional and personal front. It is a different matter that while some habits are more obvious than others, they may not be too detrimental. However, employees caught in the act may suffer the consequence of getting a bad reputation, which may also not be good for one’s career.

Given below are some work habits which reduce and hamper productivity, and which one should always try to break:

1) Improper planning:
When it comes to work, most people don’t have their agenda in place for the day, week or month. There are no set goals on what they want to achieve. They simply reach their workplace and then decide on the work to be executed.“Lack of planning of the day at work or at the job is one of the most ‘non-productive’ habits at the workplace. This can, however, be rectified by a simple basic discipline of starting the day with some basic agenda in place.

2) Carrying a chip on the shoulder:
When you feel that you are more superior to others and as a result of this, don’t give an ear to others’ thoughts, ideas and work and don’t feel the importance of including others in your work because of the feeling of greatness, you are doing more harm to yourself than to anyone else.

3) Not making notes/ filing information:
A large amount of time is wasted at the work place as well as in normal life as we don’t maintain notes or records. Most of the young people in the corporate world do not make notes of conversations they had with clients or peers.Then it becomes Most of the time like a Chinese whisper game.And hence a large amount of time goes waste in trying to retrieve information.

4) Mail game:
A large chunk of people seem to be using mails to determine the work they need to do and is also following ‘if the inbox is empty, the work is done’ kind of philosophy. Experts point out that mails are to be treated as facilitators to the work we do, not the work we need to do.

5) Not being a team player:
Just being intelligent and good at your tasks is hardly good enough to make a difference or grow in an organization. One need to be be a good teal player...one cannot be uncooperative.

6) Not adapting to the office culture:
Sometimes some employees find themselves unable to adjust to the working environment and start working the way they wish and without any proper order or mechanism. However, not being able to adapt to the culture of the workplace in turn brings dissatisfaction to everyone – including the employer, employees and others.

7) Lack of punctuality:
Tardiness is widely regarded as an HR problem.In a professional work environment, reaching late to office and even in interdepartmental meetings can cause enough damage to one’s career. A big irritant to many, this also impacts productivity.

8) Improper time management
A poor time management skill is a habit that needs to be worked upon if one is looking up to rise up the ladder.

9) Loose talk:
The only way to grow up the ranks is performance and good honest talk. Gossip mongering and loose talk doesn’t help.

10) No sense of responsibility/ownership:
When a person shuns away from his work and doesn’t feel responsible for his/her activities or refuses to take ownership of his acts and failures, this may hamper one’s growth in the long run.

Few tips for saving time

=>If you're always searching for a pen, stock one in every pocketbook, and put one in your checkbook.

=>Keep scissors in every room — that way, you won't waste time trying to find them if you have to open a package, cut a tag, or quickly wrap a gift.

=>When you find a useful number in the phone book, highlight it so it'll pop out the next time.

=>Reserve books online instead of driving over to the library to do it in person. (You can renew books online too.)

=>Keep note cards, envelopes, and stamps in a zip-top plastic bag in your purse so you can dash off a thank-you note while you're standing in line or waiting in the parking lot.

=>Before you leave home for a scheduled flight, print out your boarding passes from your airline's Website.

=>Avoid movie lines. Buy tickets ahead of time online.

=>Do all your banking online. (But only if u know how to use it safely.)

=>Wear a cordless headset when you're on the phone so you can multitask.

As Nestle Finds, Sustainability Cuts Many Ways

Bottled Water, Long a Source of Growth, Now Environmental Pinata; Replacing a Spring with Municipal Water Under Lock and Key

http://www.thegreensupplychain.com/NEWS/10-05-26-1.PHP?CID=3487

Corner Bata store a passe

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/retailing/Corner-Bata-store-a-passe/articleshow/5983057.cms