The Good Old Days? (29.06.2020)

In the good old days, trade was simple and local, albeit limited. Imported goods were sold at a premium, and local producers could easily compete with those imported products. Then, when the wall dividing East and West Germany fell, globalization created opportunities for trade like the world had never seen before, bringing new products to new parts of the world.

Why Transparency Matters? (23.06.2020)

The advent of the printing press in the 15th century sparked an information revolution that transformed humanity. For thousands of years since the advent of writing, texts were laboriously written by hand.

Evolving from Meerkats to Snapper Fish (08.06.2020)

“Jeez, it's a lion! Run, Pumbaa! Move it!”— Timon the Meerkat, The Lion King It’s a hot day in the Karoo Desert in South Africa. A lone meerkat is standing guard while the rest of the group forages for insects and lizards on the ground.

How to deflate a bowling ball? (01.06.2020)

In the world of animal feed additives, we are used to the seesaw of prices. Prices go up, and what goes up must eventually come down. Time and again we have come to expect this. Much like market bubbles, these extreme fluctuations seem inevitable.

Finding the Harmony in Animal Nutrition Volatility (25.05.2020)

As some commodity markets remain oversupplied while others experience vast shortages, nutritionists across the globe are being challenged to capture the full economic value of feed ingredients. The magic here depends on continuously managing the delicate harmony between the three most expensive nutritional feed components - energy, amino acids and phosphorus - while taking into account the purchase price of each ingredient based on minimum guarantees for crude protein and crude fat.

Just-In-Time or Just-In-Case? (17.05.2020)

The Big Question in the Art and Science of Logistics: Can we afford to move from Just-In-Time to Just-In-Case? In the Art of Logistics, logisticians are the artists themselves - the orchestral conductors making music from the cacophony of sounds along the supply chain.

If you are at peace you are living in the present (11.05.2020)

“If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.” ― Lao Tzu Around the world, people are staying home and out of work.

Part 2 - Could we see negative prices for Vitamin E50? (04.05.2020)

After fielding several questions from Glowlit users regarding last week’s newsletter, we decided to scrap the planned topic for this week and return for Part 2. Last week (https://glowlit.com/blog/could-we-see), we wrote about the marked moment when US crude futures turned negative for the first time in history.

Part 1 - Could we see negative prices for Vitamin E50? (27.04.2020)

When we imagine the things one might pay to get rid of, grey hair and weight come to mind. Many of us have accumulated a bit of both over these past few tumultuous months. This week, crude oil was added to the list when the oil contract price fell to minus $40.

Camels and Tigers and Unicorns, Oh My! (21.04.2020)

For many of us, a camel brings to mind a creature that patiently crosses the desert from one oasis to another, equipped with adaptations to cope with the harsh environment. Similarly, a ‘camel’ firm is one that can adopt an organized and patient approach to business.

How strong is your weakest link? (14.04.2020)

There is an entirely new lexicon to describe our common experience with COVID-19. Governments around the world have asked citizens to shelter-in-place or issued stay-at-home orders. On the rare occasion that we do gather, we’re asked to keep social distance with the hopes of flattening the curve.

The LIVING Supply Chain (05.04.2020)

We are in the midst of an unprecedented moment. Coronavirus has sent shockwaves rippling through the industrial world in a Supply-Chain Armageddon. In The LIVING Supply Chain by Robert Handfield and Tom Linton, the authors describe the need for resilient supply chains.

An Ounce of Prevention in the Supply Chain (02.04.2020)

The immune system exists within a delicate balance with itself. Too little function and the body becomes prone to attack from the outside, at risk of an otherwise minor pathogen becoming a life-threatening infection.

3 Supply Chain Rules for Overcoming Adversity (30.03.2020)

Ancient wisdom has a way of maintaining its relevance over time. Even without bamboo, European children learned a similar lesson in the allegorical tale of The Oak and the Reed. Strength is a matter of unwavering adaptability and agility.

Collecting Vs. Hoarding (23.03.2020)

We’re witnessing two seemingly contradictory events within the industrial world: global decline in demand as industry comes to a halt, and a surge in the prices of raw materials. In a perfect storm, the world is experiencing supply chain bottlenecks, a price war in crude oil, panic-buying, a billion people in lockdown, a spike in the US dollar, and millions unemployed with millions more to follow.

The Serenity Prayer (17.03.2020)

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference." The Serenity Prayer by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr