Sourcing

General Motors Parts Agreement Addresses Supply Chain Challenges

General Motors (GM) agreed to a financing arrangement with Procura Auto Parts LLC, a supply-chain management firm, to secure critical parts for continuous production amid supply chain disruptions.

Under the arrangement, Procura will prepay suppliers and store inventory on behalf of GM. Once the inventory is consumed in production, GM will repay Procura with irrevocable payment undertakings backed by a bank syndicate.

Video Spotlight:

GM reaches up to $4.5 billion parts deal designed to […]

By Anita Lee-Post, Ph.D.|2026-09-01T17:25:14+00:00September 16, 2026|Tags: AI activity, inventory, MRP, procurement, sourcing, supplier relationships, supply chain disruption, supply chain management|

Hershey Shifting Chocolate Production Back to Original Recipe

Hershey’s recently announced a shift back to its original chocolate recipes.

Years of escalating cocoa prices and other input costs led to smaller bars, extra wafers and cocoa alternatives. Now, a slump in cocoa bean prices has driven down the cost of chocolate production, and Hershey’s is bringing back the cocoa.

With cocoa futures down nearly 70% since late 2024, the shift is expected to lead to lower shelf prices for consumers, a demand recovery for cocoa farmers, and a partial reversal […]

By James Kirby Easterling|2026-07-16T04:16:04+00:00July 15, 2026|Tags: bill of materials, pricing, product design, production, sustainability|

Fuel Surcharges Push Florists to Optimize Deliveries

Fuel price increases affected delivery businesses in general, and florists in particular ahead of Mother’s Day.

Orders for flower deliveries peak in the days ahead of Mother’s Day. Florists also saw increases from flower suppliers, and fuel and other surcharges from other suppliers, which cut into their profit margin.

To adjust for the cost impacts of rising fuel prices, many florists raised their delivery charges and worked to plan delivery routes more efficiently.

Video Spotlight:

Rising gas prices […]

By Anita Lee-Post, Ph.D.|2026-07-13T03:01:18+00:00July 12, 2026|Tags: delivery, job design, perishable inventory management, sourcing strategy, transportation, work design|

Multiple Factors Create Auto Industry Aluminum Shortage

A shortage of aluminum is impacting the entire auto industry. Especially impacted are trucks, where aluminum is the key material used in making truck bodies.

The aluminum shortage is attributed to the Iran war, a 50% US tariff, and supplier production outage. Ford, being the auto industry’s biggest aluminum buyer, has the largest exposure in the aluminum shortage, limiting the company’s ability to replenish inventories for downstream retail dealers.

Video Spotlight:

Ford Sees $1.3B Tariff Refund, But […]

By Anita Lee-Post, Ph.D.|2026-06-29T04:02:51+00:00June 28, 2026|Tags: downstream suppliers, global supply chain management, shortage, supply chain disruption, upstream suppliers|