Just-In-Time: The Buffer Was Hiding Something
Cutting inventory frees a lot of cash. The original reason for cutting it was different — stock conceals late suppliers and broken machines, and removing it forces them into view.
Concept
The Bullwhip Effect
Supply Chain and Logistics: The Ocean Is Cheap, the Doorstep Is Not
Crossing an ocean can cost less per item than the final eight kilometres. Once you see logistics as handling events rather than distance covered, most of the field makes sense.
Semiconductors: Everything Depends on a Handful of Buildings
Chip design is spread across hundreds of firms. Making the advanced ones happens in very few places — and that single asymmetry explains the shortages, the politics, and the fragility.
The Bullwhip Effect: A Small Change at the Till, a Crisis at the Factory
Car plants stopped worldwide for want of cheap chips, and consumer demand had barely moved. Each tier adds a little caution to what it received, and the additions compound.