Supply Chain | BEP Dev (9to5English)

BEP 373 – English for Supply Chain Management (2)

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English for supply chain management. Today we’re going to look at the retail side of the supply chain.

In today’s world, distance isn’t always a barrier to doing business. It doesn’t matter if your company is located in France, Thailand, or the U.S. You can sell to customers anywhere in the world.

Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Getting your products onto shelves in other continents, or even other parts of your country, is complex. It relies on a web of people, warehouses, and information. And it might involve multiple forms of transportation, including trucks, ships, cargo planes, and trains.

We call this web of activity the supply chain. And in today’s lesson, we’ll rejoin a meeting at an American clothing company, where managers are discussing the retail side of their supply chain. During their conversation, they use lots of language specific to supply chain management. This language includes what we call “collocations,” or natural combinations of words.

When English speakers learn collocations, they don’t learn them one word at a time. Rather, they learn the words together, as a single expression. You can sound more fluent and natural in English if you learn these collocations, especially the ones related to your industry. As you listen to today’s dialog, try to pick out some of these collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.

In the dialog, we’ll hear Cam and Tanya, who work for a clothing company called Boston Vintage. Tanya is a supply chain manager located in Malaysia. Cam is based in the U.S. and works as a production planner. They’re talking about expanding their retail operations in southeast Asia, and they use many collocations specific to supply chain management in their conversation.

Listening Questions

1. What does Tanya say is very ambitious?
2. What does Tanya say has fortunately not been impacted by being so busy?
3. According to Tanya, what will having a 4PL enable them to do?

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BEP 372 – English for Supply Chain Management (1)

Business English, English Collocations, Supply Chain / March 28, 2021

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English for logistics and supply chain management. Today we’re going to look at the manufacturing side of the supply chain.

When you pick a product off a shelf at a local store, it’s easy to forget what a long hard road that product has travelled. It may have parts and materials from all over the world. It may be shipped to multiple locations for processing. And once it’s ready and packaged, it may travel long distances to make it to your neighborhood.

This enormous network of information, people, materials, and processes is called a supply chain. And the people who coordinate everything are involved in supply chain management. Good supply chain management can make the difference between a happy customer and an angry customer, and between profit and loss.

In this lesson, we’ll listen to a meeting at a clothing company with a complex supply chain connecting the U.S. and Asia. During the meeting, the colleagues use many English expressions we call “collocations.” Collocations are simply natural frequently occurring combinations of words. A good example of a collocation is “supply chain management.”

Native English speakers use collocations like this automatically. And specific groups of people or fields of work have certain collocations they commonly use. By studying these collocations, you’ll improve your vocabulary and sound more fluent. As you listen to the conversation, try to pick out some of these collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.

In the dialog, we’ll hear Cam and Tanya. Cam is a production planner for Boston Vintage in the U.S. Tanya is a supply chain manager helping to develop the company’s supply chain in southeast Asia. Cam and Tanya use many collocations specific to supply chain management in their conversation about the manufacturing side of the supply chain.

Listening Questions

1. What is Tanya’s first big concern on the manufacturing side of things?
2. What does Cam say that people on the ground have expectations about?
3. What does Tanya say will increase costs but help manage risk?

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VV 48 – English Vocabulary for Manufacturing 2

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Video, Supply Chain / March 14, 2016

In this lesson we’ll look at Business English vocabulary related to the manufacturing process. This includes research and development, or R&D, as well as making prototypes. Next we’ll look at different approaches to manufacturing, including lean manufacturing, total quality management, or TQM, and Six Sigma. And most manufacturers follow a set of standards called ISO, especially ISO 9001 and ISO14001. Finally, we’ll look at a variety of manufacturing processes, such as machining, molding and extruding.

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VV 47 – English Vocabulary for Manufacturing 1

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Video, Supply Chain / March 8, 2016

In this English Video lesson, we’ll look at business English vocabulary related to manufacturing. Companies manufacture goods in plants, or factories, where they put together raw materials or various parts and components into a final product. We’ll cover ideas such as fabrication, as well as the assembly line, where goods are assembled. Manufacturers rely on quality control, or QC, to ensure the quality of their finished goods.

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VV 32 – Business English Vocabulary: International Trade

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Video, Supply Chain / December 5, 2012

In this English Video vocabulary lesson, we’ll look at business English vocabulary for international trade. International trade is a cornerstone of our global economy, as goods are constantly flowing by air and ship around the world. In this lesson, we’ll look at how it all works. Along the way, we’ll learn key vocabulary related to the process of international trade.

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