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Tomorrow, I am off to Europe. On Thursday, I am speak on the future of supply chain technologies at an Eyeon conference in Rotterdam. It is the end of the fall speaking conference circuit and I am looking forward to spending time at home over the holidays. While I love talking to supply chain professionals at conferences and challenging them to think more holistically about supply chain excellence, as the leaves fall, I yearn for my home.
Inventory configuration is usually the predominant issue in most manufacturing environments. Inventory policy is usually the predominant issue in most distribution environments. Here are five types of inventory optimization that you should be aware of if you are considering an optimization solution. Knowing which types are important to your business is an important step to determining which solution best fits your needs.
Today's post continues our ongoing series on staying a strategic shipper. We first did an overview of the 10 areas of strategy a shipper must know in order to stay competitive. We then are taking each of those 10 strategic areas and going a bit deeper. Our first post focused on distressed shipments. Today we will talk about the flow of strategy as pertains to inventory flow and driving warehouse efficiency.
Do you remember the old days when the hottest topic in supply chain software evaluations was whether it was smarter to go with the “good enough” applications from the major enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors or to go with the superior functionality of the best-of-breed vendors even though integration was a concern? IT argued that having a fully integrated approach and “one throat to choke” was more important than covering 100 percent of users’ needs. […].
Procurement leaders are at a pivotal moment. With CPOs playing an increasingly strategic role, it’s time to leverage innovation and technology to drive resilience and efficiency. Download The 2025 Annual ProcureCon CPO Report to uncover key insights to thrive in a dynamic procurement landscape. What’s Inside: How CPOs are driving strategic decision-making and technology adoption The top priorities and challenges for procurement in 2025 Why AI, sustainability, and data analytics are essential for
Confusion about what exactly big data, analytics and optimization mean, is not uncommon. Many companies do not fully grasp what these things are and sometimes it feels as if new terminology is being used for old concepts. But even if you understand these concepts, that’s only half the battle. The key to success is knowing how to apply these assets usefully to your business, or at least know whether you should use them in your business at all.
Is the current performance of your supply chain network optimal? How do you gauge network performance, which numbers are important to you and what do they mean? You don’t have to be a data scientist to answer questions like these. And you do not need to know high-level math or the intricacies of building complex models to get a sense of when a consultant’s expertise is needed.
Is the current performance of your supply chain network optimal? How do you gauge network performance, which numbers are important to you and what do they mean? You don’t have to be a data scientist to answer questions like these. And you do not need to know high-level math or the intricacies of building complex models to get a sense of when a consultant’s expertise is needed.
Last week, I spoke on the evolution of the digital supply chains and my vision for Supply Chain 2020 at the World Trade Group Event in Miami. I was the last speaker at the event, there were many cancellations in the program; and as a result, I questioned why I had come. However, it turned out OK. The audience stayed for the presentation and following the event, there were many spirited debates at the restaurant bar on the content.
I learned about “lean manufacturing” (or simply “lean”) back in the 1990s when I met James Womack and read his book “ The Machine that Changed the World ”. Based on MIT's five-year, fourteen-country study – one of the largest and most thorough ever undertaken -- the book describes the entire managerial system of lean production. It described not only a fundamentally different system of business, but a very different way of thinking about how humans work together to create value.
If you are a regular reader of the Cerasis blog, you know our goal is to educate and inform those in the manufacturing, supply chain, distribution, logistics, and transportation space with best practices, trends, and industry news so that we can create a community of people. This community would not exist if it were not for manufacturing being the core of the other industries. .
I’m kind of happy to say that the blog I wrote in 2009 outlining when and why companies should choose to deploy private and dedicated fleets remains largely accurate today. An additional six years of economic, supply chain, and logistical changes have effected how all companies and us at Chainalytics evaluate fleet deployment practices. However, I still see some companies missing the mark in choosing a sub-set of lanes and activities when deciding how their […].
Savvy B2B marketers know that a great account-based marketing (ABM) strategy leads to higher ROI and sustainable growth. In this guide, we’ll cover: What makes for a successful ABM strategy? What are the key elements and capabilities of ABM that can make a real difference? How is AI changing workflows and driving functionality? This Martech Intelligence Report on Enterprise Account-Based Marketing examines the state of ABM in 2024 and what to consider when implementing ABM software.
In the last three to five years, something has changed in conversations about supply chains and logistics. Suddenly, discussions seem to treat big data as a driver for incredible innovation. Assuming that big data was superior to “just any data” came from evidence in the B2C market, but this did not stop bold predictions about how it could also transform supply chain operation.
by Joe Cannata I recently took a trip to my local big box electronics store, and saw a 3D printer on display. I asked what they were printing, and the response was “plastic components”, which were being sold in the store. The salesperson was busy, so I did not have the chance to find out exactly what those plastic components were, but I thought, wow, they can make parts for sale right there in the store.
Today LLamasoft announced the acquisition of the Barloworld CAST and Optimiza assets for an undisclosed sum of money. This announcement closely follows the September 29th press release about $50 million Series B financing with affiliates of Goldman Sachs & Co. This is LLamasoft’s second acquisition within a year. (LLamasoft acquired the LogicTools assets from IBM in the spring of 2015.
For those finishing up their 2016 strategic goals, or perhaps looking for a Christmas wish or a New Year’s resolution, here is one to consider: a 99+% customer service level for your supply chain. If you think this gold standard sounds unrealistically high, stick with me for a minute. We'll talk about how to get to near-perfect fill rates, but first let me first reaffirm that companies are achieving it.
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
We continue our ongoing strategic shipping series by covering how to use technology to provide better logistics visibility. Interestingly enough, many shippers are still using manual methods, like excel, email, and phone calls to keep track of their transportation budget. However, simply applying a little bit of technology in transportation, such as a transportation management system rich with the ability to automate and have visibility into shipments and shipping activity, can aid in creating a
One of the best quotes I heard this year came from a young professional commenting on why she chose a career in supply chain management: “I wanted to work in a field where I knew I wouldn’t live the same day twice.”. Every day in supply chain management brings new challenges and opportunities. Or to echo Quintiq’s tagline, every day brings new puzzles to solve.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Norm Jerome, a longtime AIMMS customer. It was great to learn about how AIMMS is used in the BP Petrochemical businesses and how it has been adopted by more and more end-users across the business. Here is a summary of that interview. Hi Norm, Tell me a little about your background. My formal training was in Chemical Engineering with emphasis on Process Control, and for the first 10 years of my career I worked as a Process Control Engineer, initially a
by Alexa Cheater Today is Remembrance Day (also known as Veterans Day in the US). It is a day to honor and remember the sacrifices of so many who gave their lives, and continue to give them, to provide a world where peace is a possibility. It is not a day to write about frivolous things like chocolate, or turkey, or houseplants, like I’ve done in the past.
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.
‘Chin Music’ Definition: Idle Chatter, Idle Talk or Vague Explanations. Urban Dictionary. In my work as a supply chain analyst, and Founder of Supply Chain Insights, I attend many supply chain conferences. On a day like today, when I am struggling with jet lag and recovering from sleep deprivation, I tell my friends that I attend more conferences than I would like to attend.
Everyone in the beer world is talking about it. Have you too been speculating over the impact of the upcoming merger of the world’s two biggest brewers, Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller? According to WSJ , this fourth-largest takeover in history would result in “the world’s largest brewer, with nearly 30 percent market share after divestitures.” This leaves the rest of industry in a tight spot.
While logistics had remained the same for decades, the rise of modern civilization has transformed the industry. Small shipping companies have grown into larger third-party logistics providers , and warehouse management has become more focused on efficiency and accuracy instead of quantity of shipments. Transportation costs make up 60 percent of overall logistics expenses for all shippers and 3PLs.
The answers to “What is a third-party logistics provider?” and “What is a transportation management system?” don’t fit so neatly in a box any more. The boxes and labels of yesterday are giving way to a single amorphous category: “Providers of Supply Chain Software and Services.”. I shared that perspective more than a year ago in Putting 3PLs and Software Vendors in a Box.
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
Wouldn’t it be amazing if someone could cut through the hype and summarize the key freight and logistics trends every month? Thought you’d never ask. That’s exactly what Freightos has been doing. We’ve split the trends into the sections on the right. If you prefer to find the news yourself, head over to our free roundup of nearly 100 digital logistics and supply chain news sources.
Here is a sample question for prospective supply chain, business, or financial analysts, “how many piano tuners are there in Chicago?” This question comes from the business best seller Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction. Before I give you the “answer” to the question, let me tell you a bit about this book’s genesis. While one of the authors, Philip Tetlock, has been doing research on forecasting for decades, the more recent origin of this book […].
The elephants are coming! They will soon change your supply chain. In time, you will come to love them. I think that they will be a game changer. What do I mean? Let’s start with a story. Designed in the 1960s when a Megabyte (MB) of disk storage cost the same as a Terabyte (TB) does today, relational databases form the basis of today’s supply chain systems and IT architectures.
by Alexa Cheater This guest post comes to us from Argentus Supply Chain Recruiting , a boutique recruitment firm specializing in Supply Chain Management. Following on the success of our recent post about the Rise of the Supply Chain C.E.O , we wanted to cover the topic of the emergence of Supply Chain into a C-suite function from another angle. That post discussed the trend of companies looking to the Supply Chain function when hiring for the most coveted role at any company: CEO.
Innovation varies widely across sectors and organizations, creating value in diverse forms. Understanding different types is crucial for R&D teams to foster creativity and uncover missed opportunities. This guide explores 25 key types of innovation in management frameworks.
We continue our series on strategic shipping by going into detail of the 10 main areas that shippers can turn to in order to have a strategic logistics and transportation management mindset. Today we will go into detail on using the available data created in the processing of shipments within transportation management and other related logistics management for continuous improvement. . 6 Benefits of Using the Right Data in Logistics & Transportation Management for Continuous Improvement.
Earlier this year at the JDA FOCUS 2015 conference , I led a panel discussion on the third-party logistics (3PL) industry that featured Rick Jordon , SVP Regional Head of Logistics – Americas at Panalpina , and other 3PL executives. I caught up with Rick again on a recent episode of Talking Logistics , where we discussed a variety of topics related to the 3PL industry.
How the right production schedule enables fast, profitable decision making at Nampak. Precise means being exact, accurate and careful about details. The difference between good and great. As we discussed in our recent Supply Chain webinar, this is not an easy task if you have a lot of fluctuating demand and uncertainty in your production process. During the webinar, Paul Coombe (Supply Chain Director at Nampak Glass) shared his insights on making the best possible use of your production faciliti
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