1. Speed - move goods at great velocity along the chain
2. Cross-docking – best-in-class warehouses cross-dock an estimated 50 percent of incoming goods
3. Greener – green technology such as natural light and renewable energy
4. Size – smaller and narrower, making better use of allocated space
5. Additional services and functions – customer services such as customization and in some cases even light manufacturing
6. Outsourcing – highly specialized field and companies are increasingly looking at 3PLs to own and manage warehousing operations
7. Real time data – technology is improving visibility in the supply chain and allowing greater opportunity for collaboration
8. Vast data – vast amounts of data and companies are demanding increased accuracy
9. Increased complexity – increased SKUs and warehouses require advanced technology to deal with the increased complexity
10. Internet age – small parcels and increased customization is commonplace
11. Agility – solutions that can adapt to the modern supply chain
12. Productivity – increased productivity and multi skilled employees
13. Leaner operations – non-value adding activities are identified and corrective actions are taken
14. Product and information flow – better understanding  of the flow of information and products to reduce bottlenecks in the system
15. Compliance – compliance such as labeling and documentation is increasingly important

Communicate the message – It all starts at the top. Communicate the green vision and actions plans to all in the organization.  Have a clear public relations agenda and don’t shy away from your critics. Work with all stakeholders.

Look at the whole supply chain – talk to your partners and suppliers and get an understanding of their processes and systems. What are they doing better or worse than you?  What can you learn from them and how can you help?

Understand the returns – have a look at packaging, equipment, waste, and product returns. What happens to all of this?  What can your organization do to make the reverse logistics greener?

Reward ideas - focus on employees, suppliers and other partners. Develop clear plans to implement and reward new initiatives.

Take action – when things go wrong take action. Remember it is a process and don’t expect immediate results. Don’t focus too much on short term gain and keep the bigger picture in mind.

1. Culture – understand culture issues and don’t assume anything. Change your thinking when working in other markets
2. Relationships – build long term relationships with suppliers and always act with the relationship in mind
3. Contracts – don’t assume all parties will read the fine print and try to avoid legal terms. Avoid disputes and ensure contracts are clear to all parties involved
4. Qualification – implement a supplier qualification process and make use of external agencies. Obtain the right expertise for the job
5. Training – arrange joined training sessions and focus on building supplier capability. Keep in mind there is a lot to learn from local suppliers
6. Contingency plans – develop contingency plans as on time delivery can sometimes be challenging. Communicate problems to key stakeholders

1. Knowledge- they know their customers and distribution area very well and can provide you with valuable customer insights.
2. Provide credit- many distributors provide credit to smaller outlets and they have the ability to collect regular payments.
3. Stockholding- they provide warehouse space and it reduces your personal warehousing space requirements.
4. Delivery- delivering bulk to your distributors will reduce transport cost as distributors will deliver smaller quantities to their outlet base.
5. Frequency- distributors provide regular delivery services and in some cases can provide daily delivery upon request.
6. Trading hours- distributors can provide delivery services after hours and over weekends.
7. Complementary products and services- in some cases distributors provide complementary products and value added services.
8. Promotions- dealer initiated promotions can further increase your sales.
9. Competitor activities- having established a good relationship with your distributor they can also provide you with information about competitor activities.
10. Feedback- distributor sales team can discuss new ideas and product offerings with their customer base and provide you with valuable feedback.

• The supplier has a large part of its businesses in depressed industries
• It has raw material shortages or cannot meet the agreed lead times because of late purchase order placements
• It has heavily cut investments in R&D, IT, equipment or resources
• The quality of supply is deteriorating
• The supplier has entered into significant contracts with new customers
• Staff is being laid off
• Additional discounts are offered for early payment or require cash in advance
• The supplier is restating earnings and outlooks
• It has high-labour content that requires a large weekly payroll

Stability – it will increase stability in the organization with a clear start and stop in processes

Safety and Quality – the unexpected can increase the risk in the organization and create a safety hazard. Standardized processes can also increase quality standards in the organization

Analysis – it simplifies the auditing process and makes it easier to identify opportunities in the system

Visual Management – standardized processes will also make it easier to visualize processes with pictures and photos

Training – it makes it easier to train staff and get new employees up to speed. It takes the guess work out of the business and assists the organization in creating standardized operation procedures (SOPs)

Delay – increase in lead time as operations wait for material or as a result of line stoppages. Delays can also have a negative affect on customer service in the organization.

Conveyance – caused by poor layout and traditional batch production. Moving processes closer together can reduce this type of waste .

Correction – having to fix defective products and the cost associated with this type of waste.

Overprocessing – companies may sometimes lose touch with what customers require. Incremental performance improvements might not always fit in with customer requirements and add little or no value.

Inventory – there is both good and bad inventory. Unnecessary inventory not linked to demand can be classified as bad inventory.

Overproduction – producing things that you don’t sell. Overproduction is also the root cause of other types of inventory including waiting, motion and inventory.

Knowledge disconnection – poor flow of knowledge, ideas and creativity in the organization. Poor collaboration among supply chain partners can also lead to a knowledge disconnect in the organization.