November, 2013

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EDI: Workhorse of the Extended Supply Chain

Supply Chain Shaman

'work·horse. noun ?w?rk-?ho?rs. : a dependable person who does a lot of work. : a dependable machine or vehicle that is used to do a lot of work. EDI is the workhorse of B2B connectivity. It is not new. It is not sexy. Four decades after its creation, supply chain executives see it as slow and expensive. They are frustrated. They question the value.

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Tweet chat: Improving supply chain for 2014

DELMIA Quintiq

'Supply chain complexity is increasing and it’s time we rethink our strategies. What are your plans for managing supply chain complexity in 2014? Is it time to invest in new tools? How do you plan on addressing forecasting and demand sensing next year? What upcoming trends will you be leveraging? Discuss your answers to these questions at our upcoming Twitter chat happening on November 28, 2013 at 12pm CET.

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5 Greatest Books for Supply Chain Executives

Supply Chain Opz

'Previously I''ve covered about the classic and new supply chain management books that SCM professionals should check out. In this article, I will show you top 5 books that every supply chain executive should have on their bookshelf. Data Collection Since most top executives need to manage their time effectively, the format of the book is very important.

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Santa Claus: Master of Supply Chain Management

Supply Chains Rock

'You may be facing stiff competition in your industry, but on your most stressful days take a moment to feel grateful that you aren’t competing against the ultimate all-time master of supply chain management. No question, the Santa Claus operation would easily crush the efforts of any small or large company — with nary more than twinkling wink and a cheerful swipe with a white-gloved fist.

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4 Ways To Drive Supply Chain Excellence in the Food Industry

The Supplier Relationship Management Playbook is your guide to building effective supplier partnerships that drive supply chain excellence. This playbook equips supply chain professionals with strategies for managing compliance, tracking performance, and fostering collaboration to reduce supply chain risks. Inside, you’ll find: Strategies for Compliance: Best practices to help meet regulatory standards.

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SCM Best Paper Award Winners 2013 (2/2)

SCM Research

'Three more leading journals of our field have announced the winners of their best paper awards. First, the Decision Sciences Journal has selected the article Managing Differentiation-Integration Duality in Supply Chain Integration by Terjesen, Patel and Sanders for its Best Paper Award for 2012. Second, the article The Competitive Determinants of a Firm’s Environmental Management Activities: Evidence from US Manufacturing Industries by Hofer, Cantor and Dai has won the Journal of Operatio

SCM 165

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Straight Talk: OpenText to Acquire GXS

Supply Chain Shaman

'gob·ble·dy·gook. ?gäb?ld??go?ok,-?go?ok/. noun: gobbledygook – language that is meaningless or is made unintelligible by excessive use of abstruse technical terms; nonsense. Gobbledygook. As I listened to the investor relations call on OpenText’s intent to buy GXS , I heard gobbledygook. At least, this was my take. The OpenText script focused on how ECM+EIM=EIM Cloud-based Services.

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How good is your production scheduling?

DELMIA Quintiq

'It’s one of those questions that seem simple enough – but aren’t. When I ask supply chain managers how good their production scheduling is, I’m often met with incomprehension. “Well we have good planners who know the business well. What exactly are you talking about?”. Those managers are right to throw my question back at me. ‘Good’ is a vague term.

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Straight Talk. Lots of It.

Supply Chain Insights

'February marks two years. Supply Chain Insights, as a company, is maturing. In 2013 we have almost doubled revenue and tripled reach. Today we will publish our 17 th newsletter to over 7000 supply chain professionals. We love content. This year we have published 25 reports, completed more than 55 podcasts, archived more than 20 webcasts, conducted our fifth public training session and hosted our first, and what will become, our annual event.

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Expert Tips to Develop Your Logistics Strategy

The Logistics of Logistics

'Developing a Better Logistics Strategy. As featured in Inbound Logistics , this article shares some experts’ tips about developing a winning logistics strategy. Here’s a preview of some of the valuable advice they share. Tips From Logistics Experts. Rick D. Blasgen, the president and CEO of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals in Illinois, USA, shares that his top tip is to acquire an experienced individual in the logistics industry, someone who has well-developed in

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15 Modern Use Cases for Enterprise Business Intelligence

Large enterprises face unique challenges in optimizing their Business Intelligence (BI) output due to the sheer scale and complexity of their operations. Unlike smaller organizations, where basic BI features and simple dashboards might suffice, enterprises must manage vast amounts of data from diverse sources. What are the top modern BI use cases for enterprise businesses to help you get a leg up on the competition?

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Angora Wool

SCM Research

'Last week, a shocking video, created by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), was published. The images cast a dark shadow over global garment supply chains. In response, brands like H&M and C&A halted manufacturing of items containing Angora wool. This case, again, demonstrates the importance of ethical aspects in supply chain management.

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The Rising Power and Influence of Enterprise Software Users

Talking Logistics

'I can’t tell you how many times, over the course of my career, I’ve come across the following situation: The logistics team spends several months evaluating software vendors, including the incumbent ERP vendor, and they ultimately select a best-of-breed solution, but when they present their decision to the CIO (who was disconnected from the process), he responds by asking why the ERP vendor wasn’t selected.

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Things Have Changed: What Do We Do NOW?

Supply Chain Shaman

'This week I interviewed Robert Byrne, Founder of Terra Technology , on the results of their fourth benchmarking study on forecasting excellence. For those that do not follow this work, let me give a preamble. The work done by Terra Technology, in my opinion, is one of two accurate sources of benchmark data on forecasting in the industry. The other is Chainalytics demand benchmarking.

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Standardizing scheduling systems: How far do you go?

DELMIA Quintiq

'It’s a tough question. Just the other day, I was chatting with a customer who was preparing to roll out a new scheduling system across plants in several countries. Their IT department was all for implementing a standard system. Their plant managers weren’t so sure. What, he asked, was my view? There’s always been a certain tension between standardizing scheduling systems and supporting the unique business processes of individual plants or facilities.

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Freight Procurement Simplified: Bids from Hours to Minutes

Speaker: Eric Berdinis, Ran Sun, & Chris Chmielewski

Procuring freight can be cumbersome, time-consuming, and error-prone. If you’re frustrated with the complex and manual processes for obtaining bids for your contract and spot freight, you’re not alone. In today’s fast-moving supply chain environment, optimizing these processes is critical to staying competitive and cutting costs. Join this exclusive webinar with experts from Uber Freight to learn how the latest digital tools and automation can transform your freight procurement strategy by strea

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Finding the Supply Chain Sweet Spot

Supply Chains Rock

'Figure 1 - Finding the Sweet Spot In any supply chain, manufacturing operation, or field deployment of equipment, ‘time is money’ when it comes to detecting quality problems. Even small delays in detecting these issues can result in large costs, such as rework, scrap, product recall, product defect and associated brand damage, legal liability, and the list goes on.

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The Two Best Supply Chain Metrics - The 21st Century Supply Chain

Kinaxis

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Metrics 250
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Introducing the Journal of Operations Management (Guest Post by the Editors-in-Chief)

SCM Research

'In today’s guest post, Thomas Y. Choi and Daniel Guide, Editors-in-Chief of the Journal of Operations Management , provide an introduction to their journal, which is a leading journal of our field. The Journal of Operations Management (JOM) is an empirical journal whose mission is to advance the theories of operations management (OM) and supply chain management (SCM).

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A New Perspective on Dedicated Transportation

Talking Logistics

'Dedicated transportation is getting a lot of attention these days from both shippers and 3PLs. Historically, companies have used dedicated fleets in very specific lanes, where shipment volumes are very predictable and consistent, and where service is very important. And companies have traditionally viewed dedicated as “an exception” or a “special case” – that is, separate from the rest of their transportation operations.

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How to Master Product Portfolio Management

Pursuing product portfolio management excellence empowers organizations to unlock the full potential of their offerings. This comprehensive guide unveils 10 essential keys that serve as the building blocks for success.

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Breaking Up Is Hard to Do….

Supply Chain Shaman

'I feel it in my heart. The decision is divorce. I came to this relationship three years ago. It started casually. It was off and on. I tried to give it a go and make it stick. I thought that we could make this work, but I was wrong. The What? Airline experiences, in my blog, give me many “ teaching moments” for supply chain leaders. Customer service and the delivery of the brand promise is job number one for a supply chain leader.

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The impact of 3D printing on supply chain planning

DELMIA Quintiq

'By: Creative Tools. No, that’s not a Star Trek Replicator. It’s a 3D printer. But sadly, no, you can’t synthesize your own cup of hot Earl Grey Tea just yet. The technology of creating objects by layering material in precise ways has been around for a couple of decades. What has changed now is the availability of sturdier material to create higher quality objects and the reduced cost in hardware.

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Change Supply Chain KPI’s to Drive Competitive Advantage

Logility

Big Data, Sales and Operations Planning, and Supply Chain Maturity are topics I see trade publications writing about often. This led me down a path and to a question: how does this impact what you measure? Every company I walk into has a white board hanging prominently on the wall with the current departmental Key Performance Indicators. Usually these are department-specific and encompass the traditional time series measures of fill rate or capacity utilization versus their goal.

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Shaking Things Up in Supply Chain Management

Demand Solutions

Are you tired of seeing “business as usual” in supply chain management? Have you ever felt as if implementing your changes was like trying to steer an air craft carrier — in the Arctic? I know the feeling. And my message is this: Don’t give up. The industry needs your decisive leadership. Early in my career, I was head of inventory control for a large retail operation that ran as a co-op.

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The Ultimate Guide to Transportation and Load Building Optimization

Enhance your transportation and load building efficiency with our comprehensive guide. Learn to tackle today's supply chain challenges and optimize your approach with advanced planning strategies. This guide covers: Supply Chain Challenges: Discover how transportation planning can address critical issues and improve efficiency. Load Building Benefits: Understand how effective load building can enhance your transportation processes.

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Mind Map for Global Trade Management

Supply Chain Movement

'Global trade and the supply chains associated with it are subject to evertighter international regulations and legislation. Global trade management reduces the risk of liability, fines and delays at international borders, and conducting a sourcing and distribution analysis presents possibilities for companies to minimise import duties, taxes and surcharges.

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Why Excel Remains the Champ of Supply Chain Apps

Talking Logistics

'Forget cloud, social, and mobile. Forget WMS and TMS. Forget BI and analytics. As was confirmed for Adrian yet again last week at a conference, the most utilized supply chain and logistics application, the reigning champ of them all, is the Excel spreadsheet. The question is, Why? In this episode, Adrian provides his perspective, and what it means for supply chain professionals and software vendors.

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Supplier Collaboration at Kinexions - The 21st Century Supply Chain

Kinaxis

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Passenger Service Product of the Year 2013

DELMIA Quintiq

'Overcoming complexity in passenger rail planning is not easy. Leading passenger rail companies recognize that yesterday’s scheduling methods no longer meet the demands of a rapidly changing industry. That’s why Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (NTV) selected Quintiq software to create optimal plans, taking into account constraints, business rules and employee preferences.

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What Makes a Warehouse Worker Happy?

The 2024 Newcastle Systems Worker Satisfaction Survey provides insights into the life of a warehouse worker and what matters to them.

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Changing the Production Performance Metric

Logility

Inside-out to outside-in is starting to turn. Anyone who has worked with asset intensive process manufacturers knows how hard it is to change the thinking about machine capacity utilization. For years asset utilization has been the de facto measurement where running smaller lot sizes was not an option. My have things changed. I see many companies shifting to a more balanced approach as companies strive to become more demand driven.

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S&OP: Should the Budgeting Process Ever End?

Demand Solutions

A personal survey of 200 randomly-selected companies confirmed that 161 of those companies operate on fiscal calendars that begin in January. It’s a safe assumption then that the majority of U.S. businesses can finally hear "Auld Lang Syne" playing faintly in the background as the seemingly endless process of constructing the annual budget nears its end.

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Mind Map Strategic Transport Optimization

Supply Chain Movement

'Companies are increasingly realising that transport can have a major influence, not only on customer satisfaction but also on cost patterns, flexibility and sustainability. And transport optimisation offers unique opportunities for innovation in these areas. Together with Ortec, international provider of advanced planning software, Supply Chain Movement has created a mindmap to outline the route, including road signs indicating potential hazards along the way. >>Please click on the red