In The Friday Round Up, we take a curated look back at the biggest insights and buzz about supply chain from the last week that are dominating the conversation in both national current events and global news coverage. Enjoy!

2014: A Year to Forget for McDonald’s Japan

From food rationing and shipment delays to contaminated meat scandals and cultural insensitivities, it was one supply chain faux gaffe after another for McDonald’s in Japan last year. How procurement’s “butterfly effect” can damage brand & bottom line.

How the Industrial Internet of Things will Support Future Supply Chains

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) offers industrial organizations the potential to improve performance and enhance competitive advantage—not only for individual facilities, but across a company’s supply chain and value network.

Supply Chain Insights Podcast Archive

A supply chain digital treasure chest for the podcast fan… check out Supply Chain Insights’ podcast archive for an outstanding collection of discussions about the field with industry leaders. 

$26 Billion Shock: Canada’s Largest Defence Procurement Contract Goes to Irving

Big news about defence procurement for Canada in the public sector: a multibillion dollar contract goes to Irving Shipbuilding without competitive tender, raising questions of cost, value, government process. 

A Supply Chain Lesson From the Oil Fields

On fracking, change management, and the environment: “Practically overnight, the energy industry has had to develop a supply chain capable of extracting, processing, delivering—and later removing—billions of tons of a hard-to-handle commodity in some pretty remote areas.”