Distribution on the Cusp of Metamorphosis

Send us a Text Message.In this eighth episode, Howard Coleman, Principal of MCA Associates, provides an update to the insights, provided in the Episode 1, which focused on Collaborative Robotics – and re-enforces why now, over a year later, events continue to make it the most significant advance in distribution warehousing.The ongoing labor shortage has literally hit every industry. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 25 percent of the workforce is age 55 or older. Thousands of worker...

Send us a Text Message.In business, it’s always interesting to ask; “what comes next”? What’s new? What’s emerging?But, maybe, the biggest surprise of all will be – not what will come - but those who have come before.Let me explain…Now, everybody knows about what’s going on in the workforce today – it’s shrinking, right before our eyes. And companies are desperate for workers of all types, particularly, and as you might expect, those with relevant experience – possessing some business and/or ...

Send us a Text Message.Please Read Before ListeningGET READY TO DIG IN! Your own company’s distribution network is the focus of this episode and we have a content upgrade for you!In this 6th episode, Howard Coleman, Principal of MCA Associates, offers a “listen and read” approach while offering a different view of “inventory and supply chain planning, management, and optimization”. The objective? – develop insights that can drive positive action - and a way to counter demand uncertainty....

Send us a Text Message.In this fifth episode, Howard Coleman, Principal of MCA Associates, offers his perspective on the “supply chain disruption” that is being experienced by wholesale distributors and manufacturing companies (who just may be your suppliers)! There appear to be plenty of reasons to raise questions about the merits and drawbacks of global supply chains.Surely, there has been a lot of question-raising news coverage from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, Bloomber...

Send us a Text Message.SHOW NOTES“Sustainable” is not just about being “green”…or sustainable supply chains.Ask most managers, ‘What is your key challenge?’ Among the many different responses, you’ll likely hear this with regular frequency: “staying relevant…staying afloat”. The fast-moving roller coaster economy we live in today makes this task increasingly difficult. Just as we handle one crisis, another looms around the corner. How can we sustain – and even thrive?Response? We are in ...

Send us a Text Message.In this third episode, Howard Coleman, Principal of MCA Associates, unravels the plethora of terms, often conflated, that describe what distribution related companies are being asked to achieve when faced with a “need to innovate” across their entire value-stream. He provides a quite different perspective that anticipates the future, but honors the successes of the past.At the end of the podcast, there is also a helpful offer to optimize your podcast take-away. Hos...

Send us a Text Message.In this second episode, Howard Coleman, Principal of MCA Associates, capsulizes what distribution related companies should always be looking for to improve operational efficiency of the their distribution/warehouse facilities. Whether you conduct an operational assessment and process review on your own or reach-out to an outside resource, a “distribution operations facility assessment “ is step #1 – to ...“Be Nimble...Be Quick”. At the end of the podcast, there is ...

Send us a Text Message.In this first episode of ‘Distribution on the Cusp of Metamorphosis’ , a podcast series from MCA Talk, Howard Coleman, Principal of MCA Associates, provides insights into Collaborative Robotics – what may be the most significant advance in distribution warehousing today; what it’s all about, how you can re-tool and future-proof your warehouse/DC operations, how they may fit-in regardless of the size of your operations, the critical success factors, and the bottom ...