It is a sincere pleasure to announce to Supply Chain Matters readers that the supply chain management (SCM)  practice of Infosys Technologies will be a continuing sponsor of this blog during 2010.  In fact, Infosys has elevated its level of sponsorship, recognizing the increasing reach and influence of Supply Chain Matters, as well as our joint efforts to provide added thought leadership in the area of global supply chain management business process and information technology needs.

The supply chain practice of Infosys continues to be on a roll, providing supply chain clients with the ability to unlock added value from their supply chain business processes and information technology systems.  Key practice areas umbrella a wide swath and include areas of supply chain planning, strategic sourcing/procurement, elements of supply chain execution and enterprise asset management. Industry coverage is broad and includes manufacturing, retail, energy, media and financial services industries.

I first became aware of this practice in late 2005, have monitored their engagement growth since that time, and was delighted to include Infosys as a Supply Chain Matters sponsor in 2009.  During the year, I was invited to contribute guest postings regarding key supply chain and information technology strategic topics on the Infosys Supply Chain Management blog, and was pleased to exchange commentary with Gopikrishnan G.R. (Gopi), delivery manager and head of enterprise solutions and supply chain management consulting, as well as other participants(This cross-blog exchange activity will expand during the coming year and readers can anticipate guest postings and added commentary from Gopi and other Infosys senior consultants on Supply Chain Matters.  I will be attending key Infosys partner conferences in 2010, speaking and interacting with participants and providing live blog commentary, and will continue to be a guest blogger with Infosys.

Today this Infosys practice includes a healthy track record of over 400 supply chain  engagements with a 100% on-time delivery record.  This practice provides clients with unsurpassed project ramp-up capability with over 900  dedicated consultants.who can be called on to provide either functional as well as supply chain information technology expertise.  Delivery centers support a global presence, and currently include India, China, pan- Europe and North America.  Their supply chain technology skills span a variety of ERP and best-of-breed applications, with strategic partnerships that include Oracle, SAP, Sterling Commerce,ATG Commerce, Maximo and other technology alliances.  In 2010, look for Infosys to expand its presence in multi-channel selling, end-to-end order fulfillment and enterprise asset management process capability dimensions.

I am very pleased to have the supply chain management practice at Infosys as a sponsor of Supply Chain Matters and look forward to a continued joint collaboration of thought leadership and industry commentary. 

If you need additional information, you can view the Infosys SCM services profile in our About Our Sponsors page on the right-hand panel. Insure that you have Infosys on your short-list of large-scale supply chain information technology consulting needs.

 Bob Ferrari

Starting in 2009, I initiated the Supply Chain Matters Quarterly Newsletter as a supplement to this blog.  The newsletter is designed to provide a broader analysis of our daily and weekly blog commentaries, with a more reflective perspective on this past quarter’s events and their implications across global supply chains. The Q4 2009 Newsletter was distributed this morning, so please check your email inbox to access your copy.

Four prominent themes dominated the events from October through December of 2009:

• The performance of supply chains leading up to the 2009 holiday buying season.
• Significant blockbuster acquisition events directly involving supply chain transportation and industry analyst advisory services
• Preparing for 2010 supply chain business and process challenges
• More significant incidents of supply chain risk

If you did not receive your copy, or would like to be added to our newsletter distribution list, please send an email with Newsletter Request on the Subject line, and include the following information:

 Your Name

 Company

 Position

 Email Address

You can send your request to the following mail address:

info@ (at sign) blog1 dot com.

Also as a reminder, our free research report outlining 2010 Predictions for Global Supply Chains is also available by sending a request to the above mentioned email address.

 Thanks

Bob Ferrari- Executive Editor

It seems that I am far too often penning Supply Chain Matters postings related to product contamination and supply chain risk.  I sometimes get asked why so many postings relate to this topic.  The short answer is that the occurrences of incidents are just growing and growing, and implications to food related and other regulated supply chain are rather troubling. They also point to a continuing trend that outbreaks of food contamination are not being traced in a timely manner.

The latest highly visible incident involves the voluntary recall of over one million pounds of ready-to-eat varieties of Italian sausage products involving Daniele International Inc. of Pascoag and Mapelville Rhode Island.  The brands involved are rather noteworthy for their image of quality, and include Boar’s Head, Black Bear and Dietz & Watson brands. The recalled products may be contaminated with Salmonella. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and The Center for Disease Control are jointly conducting an investigation regarding the source of the outbreak. To date, 189 persons across 40 U.S. states have been identified as being infected with illness, with incidents being tracked thus far back to July of 2009  A dedicated web site has been established by the CDC to provide public information regarding this recall.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the FDA has become involved because of an ongoing investigation of a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Montevideo illnesses, which have thus far been traced to Daniele.  The Montevideo strain is noted as a somewhat common strain of salmonella infection, and is the same strain found in the 2009 incident involved in the pistachio nut recall.  It is however different from the Typhimuriam strain involved in the peanut butter paste recall that occurred roughly one year ago.

According to a public statement  provided by Danielle International, the potential culprit may be the cracked pepper utilized to coat the meat products.  The manufacturer notes that it has switched suppliers and will now use irradiated pepper, which is pepper that is treated with high doses of radiation to kill deadly bacteria.  While government officials have not completely pointed to that conclusion, this development should be of concern to all other food manufactures who utilize cracked pepper in their products.

This ongoing incident could have the same implications as found in the past peanut paste and pistachio nut recall incidents, the fact that the incidents of contamination impact the supply chains of other manufacturers or food providers who are utilizing cracked pepper product.  

Supply Chain Matters issues similar caution, if you have not already, immediately start checking the sources of your cracked pepper supplies, along with their use. Traceability of products is a rather important need at this juncture.

Unlike the ongoing product recall incident concerning Toyota vehicles, Danielle is demonstrating a rather positive outreach with public communication.  An open letter from the President of Sales  of this family operated business notes the concern to resolve this issue in the quickest and safest manner.  We applaud Danielle for this proactive outreach.

Food-related supply chain professionals need to remain focused on insuring that all aspects of the supply chain are constantly audited for ingredient safety and traceability.

 Bob Ferrari