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'Companies want to be agile. As demand and supply volatility increases, the goal is to build a flexible supply chain system. The definition is one that can deliver the same cost, quality and level of customer service with the increase in demand and supply volatility. The gap is large. Today, based on recent research, less than 30% of supply chain leaders have a supply chain that they consider to be agile.
'History of Supply Chain Management. Over the last 100 plus years of the history of supply chain management has evolved from an initial focus on improving relatively simple, but very labor-intensive processes to the present day engineering and managing of extraordinarily complex global networks. We will take you through the last 60 plus years below and end the post with an amazing infographic.
'Finding logistics people to follow on Twitter is easy. Simply key in “logistics” and voila: You’re given a long list of individuals whose profiles contain these words. Finding the right logistics people worth following however is a daunting exercise, especially if you don’t know who to look for. We’ve put together a list of logistics influencers worth following, most of whom we’ve had the pleasure of engaging with.
'North America is facing a huge shortage of truck drivers, and the problem is expected to get worse. In order to continue moving product, trucking companies are pushing more and more freight onto the rail system, but that solution is not sustainable as it is also showing signs of being at capacity. Service in both […].
The supply chain is the world’s most complex logistics challenge, where efficiency and accuracy are critically important to ensure goods are accessible to consumers when needed. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems play a key role for wholesale distribution companies in this process, serving (among other things) as the inventory management software that attempts to ensure that the right products are available in the right quantities at the right time and place.
'Lenovo has been consistently ranked on the list of supply chain top 25 by research and advisory firm Gartner Inc for more than 4 years in a row. However, the majority of Lenovo''s supply chain case studies focus on the use of information system and the benefits of the acquisition of IBM’s PC business in 2005. In this article, we will show you 7 elements of Lenovo''s supply chain operations from the book " The Lenovo Way: Managing a Diverse Global Company for Optimal Performance ". (1) Empty You
'by Melissa Clow Our partner Celestica recently published the following article, ‘How to Turn Your Supply Chain into an Innovation Engine’. The author, Erwin Hermans, vice president of supply chain services, describes the areas to consider when turning your supply chain into an innovation engine: An Enabler for New Business Models. Finding the Real Cost of the Supply Chain and Optimizing.
'by Melissa Clow Our partner Celestica recently published the following article, ‘How to Turn Your Supply Chain into an Innovation Engine’. The author, Erwin Hermans, vice president of supply chain services, describes the areas to consider when turning your supply chain into an innovation engine: An Enabler for New Business Models. Finding the Real Cost of the Supply Chain and Optimizing.
'Last week, I held my new book in my hand. It is exciting to have two years of research, nine months of writing, and four months of editing to become crisp, fresh pages. The smell of ink is intoxicating. I am now an author of my third book. I also love getting feedback. Over the course of the last week, I had a Linkedin comment from Dubai, questions from a team from the Philippines, and an inquiry from Switzerland.
'This first post is part one of a two-part series on the future of logistics. In today’s post, we will cover the four emerging technologies which 3PLs must consider as a part of their service offerings. In the least, 3PLs must understand these emerging technologies so that one day they may integrate into logistics service providers ‘ company practices to better serve customers.
'My smartphone now allows me to order and receive almost anything within an hour or two — from a bottle of wine a dinner guest mentioned during appetizers to more coat hangers for the shorts I received as a gift a few hours ago. And I hardly pay for the convenience! It’s like the good ‘ol Dot-com Bubble days all over again thanks to companies like Saucey , WunWun , Google Shopping Express , and Door Dash.
'Very often any predictions you can make for a one year period are not about a brand new thing that will occur, the prediction is really part of a larger megatrend that has not only been going on for some time but will also continue for many years to come. Some of the megatrends affecting […].
Incorporating generative AI (gen AI) into your sales process can speed up your wins through improved efficiency, personalized customer interactions, and better informed decision- making. Gen AI is a game changer for busy salespeople and can reduce time-consuming tasks, such as customer research, note-taking, and writing emails, and provide insightful data analysis and recommendations.
'In this guest commentary, John McKeller , senior lecturer for the Wisconsin School of Business Grainger Center for Supply Chain Managemen t at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explains four key considerations for successfully integrating a firm’s strategy with supply chain management. Before entering academia, McKeller held various supply chain managerial positions with subsidiaries of Ralston Purina, Eli Lilly and Company, and General Dynamics Corporation.
'by CJ Wehlage 2015 will be my 25 th year in the supply chain industry, mostly as a practitioner. I’ve had the benefit of stepping away from the grind for 2 years, spending time at AMR Research, where I visited with many companies and learned about their supply chain practices. As well, these past 2 years at Kinaxis have brought great insight on the operational challenges of supply chain leaders.
'Many companies talk about Supply Chain Excellence, but most leaders struggle to define it. As a goal, it is easier to say than to define. One supply chain leader, in a discussion last week, likened supply chain excellence to fitness. His reasoning? He saw fitness as a goal to work for, and he acknowledged that you can get fitter; but he believed that the state of fitness is elusive.
'This is the first post in a two part series on the “Changing Face of Manufacturing.” We have many manufacturing shipper customers, and we love to create content of value for them on such subjects as best practices in logistics or trends around the supply chain. However, we don’t only talk about what we do well, we also like to talk about things that may affect manufacturing companies so we can be the maven to resources which are of value to our customers and the industry at la
For years, you and your team have fought an uphill battle. Supply disruptions. Cost pressures. ESG compliance. You name it, and you’ve had to navigate it. In 2025, many challenges will persist, but procurement and supply chain teams have a powerful tool with rapidly advancing capabilities to tackle them — artificial intelligence (AI). The GEP Outlook 2025 report examines the disruptive transformation AI is driving in procurement and supply chains, alongside other key trends and the macroeconomic
'I have to admit, I’ve paid very little attention to all the buzz surrounding bitcoin these past few years. I’m fairly conservative when it comes to banking (for example, I’m still not comfortable “depositing” checks using my smartphone ), so using a new digital currency, or “fake money” as my wife calls it, to buy stuff isn’t something that appeals to me, especially since bitcoin’s developer remains a mystery.
'What resolutions should you make in the New Year to improve your supply chain? Here are mine: To remember that supply chains should be built backward from the customer. One way to do this is to use a Perfect Order metric as a key way of measuring the supply chain organization. But the question remains […].
'Mike Behnken/Flickr. Note, this is part two in a series on demand sensing. Part one is here. . At some point most forecasting methods will hit the law of diminishing returns where the forecast accuracy will tend to flatten out, regardless of the formulae or analytics that are applied. Mathematicians have traditionally approached forecasting based on various time series and curve fitting techniques which create a forecast based on data such as prior sales history, drawing on several years of dat
'by CJ Wehlage For those that follow the National Football League (NFL), these next few weekends are going to be engaging. We are down to the final four teams: Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts and the Green Bay Packers. With full disclosure, I have to say that I do not have a rooting interest. I grew up in Pittsburgh, and it is Steelers all day.
Fulfillment is no longer just about getting products from point A to point B – it's about crafting seamless, scalable, customer first experiences. Flexible fulfillment strategies are more important than ever for those aiming to stay ahead and build resilience as retail enters a new era in 2025. Learn how to optimize fulfillment processes, tackle complex, multi-vendor orders, and create seamless customer experiences – from white-glove delivery for high-value items to quick-ship solutions for ever
'Last week, I interviewed Robert Byrne, founder of Terra Technology on his demand planning benchmarking study. I enjoy creating the podcast series, and Rob’s findings in his benchmark study are always thought-provoking. This is his fifth year of studying demand processes. In this blog, I share the findings and why I think that they should matter to supply chain professionals in consumer-facing industries.
'What is Lean Inventory Management? What techniques are applied to make it successful? More firms are implementing lean inventory management techniques to reduce costs, improve flexibility and have more time to focus on their customers. Lean supply chain and inventory management enable Small Medium Businesses (SMB) to improve efficiency and increase profits.
'Last January, I shared 5 New Year’s Resolutions for supply chain and logistics executives to improve as leaders. Of the five resolutions, the one you should always recommit yourself to every year is “Make the time for learning — and teaching.” As I wrote last year: According to leadership expert Ken Blanchard, “when you stop learning, you stop leading,” and this is especially true in supply chain management.
'Happy New Year! There are many supply chain conferences scheduled in 2015. If you are like me, you only have so much time to spend at conferences and must choose the ones that best suit your needs. I believe that the best conferences are large enough to support networking and diverse topics, but personal enough […].
In this webinar, supply chain industry experts share insights and best practices for enhancing supply chain efficiency, resilience and adaptability. Watch the webinar to learn strategies to develop supply chain maturity and save on costs. Delve into the stages of supply chain maturity, from foundational management to advanced optimization and innovation.
'Big data can be a huge contributor to great supply chain planning, but it doesn’t translate to actual value unless you know what to do with it. To bridge the gap between big data and optimized planning decisions, companies are now turning to big calculations. Big calculations unlock the value of big data, resulting in real-time optimization aimed at achieving fast and efficient business results.
'by Christopher Hatcher Years ago when I was in the army, one of the most memorable days of my mostly forgettable BASIC training experience was flipping the switch to automatic. Yes, we’re talking about the M16 rifle standard issue weapon for soldiers. We were trained on this weapon out at the firing range where we learned to hold the weapon steady, breath calmly, and ignore the clamor of dozens of shots ringing out through the earplugs nestled in our ears.
'Sogol/Flickr. Note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts where I discuss the current landscape for logistics service providers (LSPs). In the first post, I discussed some of the top challenges that they face. In the next two, I discussed a broad set of opportunities that I am calling “ Coordination Services and Harmonization services “ .
'There’s more involved in successfully reshoring a foreign manufacturing operation back to the U.S. than simple cost comparisons. These initiatives have many moving parts and require careful planning. So where should a company begin? Reshoring is a hot topic in manufacturing. Many companies are already doing it, and according to a recent BCG study, 54 percent of companies with over billion in revenues are now considering it.
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.
'Two major shifts are changing the face of global transportation management as we know it: Supply chains are becoming increasingly complex, relying on partners and data beyond the four walls of the enterprise; The very definition of global transportation management is broadening and expanding well beyond the traditional TMS scope. As a result, several areas of focus will move to the forefront of logistics strategy.
'Let us look at a few critical projects many supply chain leaders would like to initiate to save money and improve service, but can’t, because they can’t muster the necessary corporate support. SKU Reduction – Stock keeping unit (SKU) proliferation generates costs in terms of manufacturing changeovers, warehouse capacity issues, procurement, product design and even […].
'This year’s Super Bowl looks pretty evenly matched. Both teams (the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks) sport a 14-4 … Continued The post What the Super Bowl Can Teach Us about Supply Chain Risk Management appeared first on Enterra Solutions.
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