Bridget Jones first showed us her “absolutely enormous panties” 15 years ago - and since then, global sales of support pants have soared, according to joint research by WMG at the University of Warwick and the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka.

Support underwear is currently so popular that the supply chain involved in making of a typical pair covers almost 71,000 miles and 16 different manufacturing sites, across three continents.

The research shows that this massive growth in sales is a direct result of manufacturers making significant investments in the design and production of shapewear over the last few years.

Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Strategy, Jan Godsell, will be representing WMG at a special Westminster Food and Nutrition Forum in London, on Wednesday 27 April.

Professor Godsell will join other experts in the field to discuss priorities for the UK food supply chain including issues of integrity and assurance, and how best to ensure a fair price for suppliers to large supermarkets. Also up for discussion will be improving awareness, of and compliance with, the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.

WMG’s Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Strategy, Jan Godsell, will be speaking at the 2016 NFU conference, on Wednesday 24th February.

The two-day Backing the Future of British Farming conference takes place from 23-24 February at the ICC in Birmingham. Professor Godsell is joining speakers including George Eustice MP on the Wednesday, to take part in a special workshop entitled: “Working together; where next for farming businesses?”

Today’s publication of a new report by the Groceries Code Adjudicator has found that Tesco ‘seriously breached’ a legally-binding code to protect grocery producers. Tesco opted to prioritise their own finances over the equitable treatment of their suppliers.  

Tesco’s over-focus on operating margin is the potential root cause of many of the issues highlighted in the report. It demonstrates the danger of pursuing a financial metric in isolation. With UK boards (both Executive and Non-executive) dominated by leaders with financial and commercial backgrounds, it is not surprising that FTSE listed companies are biased towards financial measures and fail to understand the longer term impact on the broader supply chain. Of greater concern is the impact that such commercially biased leadership has on the culture of the whole organisation, and the broader industry. Suppliers in the broader retail sector express concern that the ‘Tesco-buyer’ phenomena is becoming increasingly prevalent and potentially undermining the supply chain.

WMG’s Professor of Operations and Supply Chain, Jan Godsell will be chairing The Manufacturing A Leader’s Conference (TMALC) from 25-26 November 2015 at the ICC in Birmingham. The prestigious two-day event will bring together leading figures from the community to discuss and debate the key issues in British manufacturing.

The conference will explore topics including circular economy, productivity and innovation. Professor Godsell will also be joined by WMG’s Dr Donato Masi who will be presenting ‘Adapting and Innovating Supply Chain.’ Other speakers include Callum Bentley, Editor at The Manufacturer, Barry Naisbitt from Santander, David Johnson from Meggitt and David Landsman from Tata.

Professor Jan Godsell, of WMG at the University of Warwick, has been appointed to advise the UK government on manufacturing policy as a member of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skill’s (BIS) Manufacturing Advisory Group (MAG).

Commenting on the appointment Professor Godsell said:

I am delighted to join the Manufacturing Advisory Group . It is great to see that BIS recognise the importance of taking a broader supply chain perspective when considering the role of manufacturing as part of the global economy. We really need to ensure that the UK is at the heart of the network of global supply chains.”

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya said:

This is wonderful news for Professor Godsell who is one of the leading experts in supply chains. WMG has been advising companies and policy makers on manufacturing for many years and this appointment shows that we continue to be a leader in this area.”

The MAG meets throughout the year and comprises members of trade and employment organisations, including the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress, as well as manufacturers, including Siemens, Mondelez and GKN.

Supermarket price war 'hitting food supply firms’: It doesn’t need to be like that

 There is an unfortunate inevitability that the difficulties faced by the supermarkets resulting in the increased intensity of the price war are being passed onto their suppliers. However, if the boards of the supermarkets were to truly understand the principles of good supply chain management they would realize that there was another, and better way. In the words of the 1980s band Erasure, It doesn’t need to be like that.

Professor Jan Godsell, Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Strategy at WMG, has contributed to a term paper produced by the All-Party Parliamentary Manufacturing Group (APMG). The paper has been launched today at an APMG event, led by the APMG’s Co-Chair, Chris White MP.

The APMG’s latest term paper, ‘New World Supply Chains: Britain at the Heart of Global Manufacturing’, seeks to address certain issues experienced by manufacturers and investigates the UK’s efforts to reshore manufacturing. The APMG has identified growing evidence that production is increasingly being ‘reshored’ back to the UK and, as the government attempts to encourage this positive trend through ‘Reshore UK’ and other mechanisms, the importance of well-functioning supply chains is becoming ever-more apparent.

Professor Godsell attended the paper’s launch today to contribution to the discussion on the topic. Her contribution to the term paper focused on ‘Putting the UK back at the heart of the Global Supply Chain Network’.

WMG at the University of Warwick has appointed two new Professors who will be taking up key roles and leading research in the fields of E-Health Innovation and Operations and Supply Chain Strategy.

Professor Jan Godsell, a specialist in supply chain management, will be Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Strategy within WMG from the 1^st October and Professor Theo Arvanitis will be joining WMG in November to lead E-Health Innovation as part of the Institute of Digital Healthcare.