In business everything is about the bottom line, how can you come out on top at the end of the day?? In order to do that you need to have a great customer experience, a great employee experience and you need to achieve great results. In order to achieve those results you need to keep your customers happy and delivery what they need when they need it. Norwell Dairy is the largest dairy supply company in all of North America selling and servicing approx. 1700 dairy customers in Ontario. They have four locations across Ontario with the head office being in Drayton. Each location has their own warehouse but all shipments are sent to the head office and distributed from there. Over the years Norwell has worked to implement a plan that works best for all their warehouses, trucks, service and sales team to ensure everyone is on the same page regarding inventory. NAV and Mobile NAV were put in place as an ERP system to help keep track of all the parts and improve the overall supply chain and inventory which meant getting to proper parts to customers faster.

Every organization must deal with the management of a supply chain to some extent. Often, the production/distribution of commodities does not operate at the hands of one person or group, but multiple people working together, across different locations and with expertise to produce and deliver a product to the consumer. In turn, with so many people across the supply chain to manage and coordinate with one another, social media has become a powerful tool to successfully organize logistics for any given organization.

Supply chain is where 80% or more of any company’s costs and risks lie. It also presents a window of opportunity that can produce great results when right sort of interventions are geared towards it. This can help the companies to stay competitive and focused. British supermarket retailer ASDA is one of the examples that revolutionized its supply chain management and saved £11 Million along with reduction of CO2 by 35,000 tons so far. About ASDA ASDA Stores Ltd is a British supermarket retailer with its headquarter located in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The company was found in 1965 and since then have become a subsidiary of the American retail giant Walmart. It was estimated to be the second largest supermarket chain in Britain between 2003 and 2014 by market share and is currently third behind Tesco and Sainsbury’s. The vision ASDA was not naive to the fact that as one of the largest retailers in Britain, whatever they do will have an impact on the sector. They take this responsibility very seriously therefore they devised three aspirational goals that guides all their work, To be supplied by 100% renewable energy To create zero waste To sell products that sustain people and the environment. Julian Walker-Palin, head of corporate sustainability at Asda, said: “At Asda, our approach to sustainability is based on the belief that protecting the environment and saving people money go hand in hand. After all, wasting resources means wasting money – and we hate waste of any kind.” Challenge: Since 2005, ASDA has worked towards minimizing environmental impact of their operations. This saved them £80m that was invested into delivering lower prices to their customers. They saw great benefits from adopting sustainable measures with cost savings of 101-126Million Euros and a sizable resource efficiency.  Being aware of the influence they had across their supply chain and with the knowledge that 90% of their environmental impact lies within their supply base, ASDA thought of devising a mechanism that would help their over 300 suppliers find efficiencies in resource management and build resilience.

The Goofie Newfie Pub and Grill in Fergus Ontario, is an amazing small town pub bringing the distinct feel of Newfoundland to the heart of Ontario. From the Fisherman (wood carved statue) greeting you when you first walk in, to the boats hanging from the ceiling, the warm feel of “Newfie” hospitality is engrained in this one of a kind pub. Don’t let the “small town pub” fool you, the feel and homeliness is not the only thing they bring “to the table“ from Newfoundland.

IKEA has a reputation of creating functional, modern, quality and affordable products. Products offered are available for any part of a home from bathroom, living room, bed room to kitchen and more. They not only offer furniture but they also offer accessories to compliment any room in any home. IKEA is a Swedish-founded Dutch-based company that has 355 in 29 countries. The popular furniture store has a vision “to create a better everyday like for the many people”. Some of the key factors that contribute to IKEA’s successful supply management is their affordability, quality and availability.

Supply chain planning is like a game: As the pieces move, the plan changes – Marc Bombet, Director Business Systems Architecture, Western Digital.  Through the immediate feedback provided by customers on Social Media, companies can quickly respond and react to their customer supply needs as they change. Parle Argo is India’s largest food and Beverage Company.  In 2009 it launched HIPPO Baked Munchies offering a range of chips in various flavors.  It’s campaign “Hunger is the root of all evil. Don’t be hungry” can be viewed in the media below.

Each year we print four billion flyers that are read by 81% of our readers, making them the most used source of local shopping information.  For Metroland Media, their competitors and readers, these numbers are astonishing. Supply chain management is now more relevant than ever in terms of any organization succeeding. Products need to be properly designed, developed and distributed, while still being cost effective, easily adaptable to changes in the product or market and remain at a high-quality level for customer satisfaction. Metroland makes it apparent that the products they produce find there way into the customer’s hands with the same quality it left their organization. They know that improving their network of organizations and people involved in these processes enhance a variety of factors within their supply chain. Metroland Media is an excellent example of how an organization should run their supply chain and how it can be managed and improved.

Grey Rock Clothing Co is a one-stop shop for sweatshop-free and organic clothing located in Guelph, Ontario. Founded in August 2012, they have seen wild success in the local community and have created a lot of buzz for their industry and for responsible, fair-trade shopping in general. Since August of 2015 they have been a B Corp Certified Company. This assures customers that they meet the very rigorous standards set out by the B Corp Community. How does a company become a B Corp Certified business? By adhering to some pretty strict guidelines and by doing a lot of research on their suppliers. Grey Rock Clothing Co has to scrutinize their entire supply chain to ensure they are practicing what they preach when it comes to being good for workers, the community, the environment, and for the long term.

LUSH Cosmetic Retail Ltd. is a cosmetics retailer headquartered in Poole, United Kingdom, founded by Herbal trichologist, Mark Constantine and his wife, Liz Weir in 1995. This UK-based handmade cosmetics firm is one company that now has over 800 stores worldwide and uses factories in more than 40 countries. Lush as a cosmetic retailer has always been a company that uses unconventional methods which have led them to success. Since its establishment, Lush has been inventing and designing its products to reduce usage of packaging, water, energy and also to reduce carbon emission and waste. 100% of Lush’s products are vegetarian, 65% of them are preservative free, and 58% of them are free from unnecessary packaging. Lush also created solid shampoo bars, massage bars and Bath Bombs that do not even need packaging. Lush says liquid soaps and shampoos need to be bottled and that one can prevent over 30 plastic bottles from entering the landfills by switching to solid bars from Lush. From making shampoo bars in solid form, rather than bottled, over 450,000 litres (118,800 gallons) of water is saved every year. The products in the retail store are displayed similar to how fruits and vegetables are displayed in a grocery store without extra packaging. It’s no surprise that Lush’s ethical supply chains and financial success aren’t mutually exclusive.

Damco is one of the world’s leading providers of supply chain management and freight forwarding services. For more than 100 years, They have been providing customers with logistics solutions that support the way they want to do business, wherever they are in the world. Their strategic approach and hands-on services are extensive and tailored; whether it’s a competitive rate for an urgent shipment or a strategic solution to create short-term efficiencies and build up long-term competitiveness.  Damco  is part of the Maersk Group. More information on Damco and Damco services can be found on http://www.damco.com.