Home About Articles Resources Tools & Templates Career Journey Contact
Resources

Frameworks, checklists, and learning for operations & supply chain

A growing, curated collection — organized for quick reference. Everything here is shared for educational and knowledge-sharing purposes only.

Articles

Read the latest thinking

Articles and perspectives on supply chain management, manufacturing excellence, operations management, and leadership — organized by topic.

Browse all articles
Frameworks

Ways of thinking about the problem

Established frameworks that provide a shared language for discussing supply chain and operations problems.

01

S&OP Maturity Framework

A simple way to assess how integrated your Sales & Operations Planning process is — from siloed, function-by-function planning to a single, agreed plan across demand, supply, and finance.

02

Inventory Segmentation (ABC/XYZ)

Combine value (ABC) and demand variability (XYZ) to decide where to focus inventory policy attention — and where simpler rules are good enough.

03

SCOR Model Overview

The Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model's core processes — Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, Return — as a common language for mapping an end-to-end supply chain.

Checklists & Templates

Practical starting points

Each of these is covered in full detail on the Tools & Templates page.

01

Inventory Review Checklist

A structured walkthrough for assessing inventory health across SKUs and locations.

Open checklist
02

Monthly Operations Review Template

An agenda structure that keeps a monthly operations review focused on facts, trends, and actions.

Open template
03

Supply Chain KPI Dashboard Framework

A balanced starting set of KPIs across service, inventory, cost, supplier, planning, and safety.

Open framework
04

Vendor Assessment Template

A framework for assessing supplier performance and risk across quality, delivery, cost, and capacity.

Open template
05

Manufacturing Excellence Checklist

A high-level checklist for assessing how close an operation is to "excellence" across the fundamentals.

Open checklist
Further Reading & Learning

Books and bodies of knowledge worth your time

Recommended Books

  • The Goal — Eliyahu M. Goldratt. The Theory of Constraints, told as a novel about a struggling plant manager.
  • Lean Thinking — James P. Womack & Daniel T. Jones. The principles behind eliminating waste and creating value flow.
  • The Toyota Way — Jeffrey K. Liker. The 14 management principles behind the Toyota Production System.
  • Thinking in Systems — Donella H. Meadows. A primer on systems thinking — essential for anyone managing a supply chain.
  • Sales and Operations Planning: The How-To Handbook — Thomas F. Wallace. A practical guide to building an effective S&OP process.
  • The Effective Executive — Peter F. Drucker. Timeless principles on prioritisation and decision-making for leaders.

Learning Resources

  • APICS / ASCM Body of Knowledge — the foundation for the CPIM and CSCP certifications in production, inventory, and supply chain management.
  • SCOR Model — a widely used process reference framework for mapping and benchmarking end-to-end supply chains.
  • Toyota Production System / Lean — the foundational methodology behind much of modern continuous improvement.
  • Theory of Constraints (TOC) — focusing improvement effort on the true system bottleneck rather than spreading it thin.
  • Six Sigma / DMAIC — a structured approach to problem-solving and variation reduction (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control).
Purpose: The resources on this page are provided for educational and knowledge-sharing purposes only. They do not constitute consulting, advisory, or professional services, and inclusion of any book or framework does not imply endorsement by, or affiliation with, its authors or publishers.