2015

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Seven Misconceptions on Managing Inventory in a Market-Driven World

Supply Chain Shaman

When it comes to the management of inventory in value chains, frustration abounds. Executive, after executive, lament, “They have purchased many technologies and sponsored many projects to reduce inventories, but they are not seeing results.” I have been studying the evolution of inventory technologies as an industry analyst since 2002.

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The Ultimate List of Top Logistics Startups – Blog

Freightos

Logistics is the prime example of a changing industry – colossal, ripe for disruption and utterly opaque. And it’s about to get hit by a freight train of innovation. How much do we love freight innovation? Enough to go through every single article published in the top tech blogs – Techcrunch, Verge, Mashable and Recode – since 2007 to count how often articles about logistics startups, freight or cargo were published.

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[INFOGRAPHIC] The Evolution and History of Supply Chain Management

GlobalTranz

'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.

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Defeat supply chain complexity like a Jedi

DELMIA Quintiq

Image credit: Moviepilot. Overwhelmed by the dark forces of supply chain planning? The best supply chain planners share a common trait with Jedi knights: No matter how tough things get, they never give up. So how do they overcome a supply chain’s darkest force: complexity? Here’s what they don’t do: Assign different parts of their planning challenge to different departments.

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The 2025 Annual ProcureCon CPO Report

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

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Five Types of Inventory Optimization You Should Know

ToolsGroup

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.

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5 Easy-to-Use Ways to Monitor Supply Chain Health

Talking Logistics

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.

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Technology and the Supply Chain: What Does the Future Hold?

Kinaxis

by Alexa Cheater Meet the Jetsons! Like any well-rounded child of the 80s, I grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons. Admittedly the futuristic family sitcom The Jetsons , which actually first aired in the 60s, wasn’t top of my list like He-Man or Captain Planet , but there was something fascinating about the whimsical and almost unimaginable gadgets and gizmos they featured.

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The profound impact of the Internet of Things on supply chains

Logistics Viewpoints

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the catalyst in creating more responsive supply chains by providing real-time, autonomous insight into your operational execution. DHL and Cisco recently published a report (linked here) that indicated the Internet of Things will deliver a $1.9 Trillion boost to Supply Chain & Logistics Operations. The report estimates that there […].

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Expert Reveals 7 Supply Chain Trends to Watch

Supply Chain Opz

'As pressure to improve supply chain cost performance increases for many companies, the evaluation and selection of competent suppliers becomes a key concern. In this article, Professor Burcu Keskin from University of Alabama will share 7 trends that procurement and supply chain management professionals should watch. Typically, total cost, quality, and delivery performance appear as critical factors in the supplier selection process.

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Enterprise ABM Marketing Tools: A Marketers Guide

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.

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Three Reasons Why SAP Supply Chain Planning Is a Risk to Your Business

Supply Chain Shaman

I am writing this blog post in the air, sitting in seat 4c, somewhere over the Midwest en route to Philadelphia. As I look below, I see field after field of United States farmland. The land looks like a giant puzzle. After a busy week with high-tech and electronics clients, my fingers are itching to help others solve a different type of puzzle. The goal of this blog is to help business users maximize their current SAP Investments in a time of change.

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Let’s Embrace New Ways of Working

Supply Chain Shaman

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.

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Seven Mistakes to Avoid in Sales and Operations Planning

Supply Chain Shaman

Definition of a Mistake: An action or judgment that is misguided or wrong. Synonyms: Error, fault, blunder, oversight, miscalculation or a misunderstanding. Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) is important to building value chain agility and improving enterprise performance. (Agility is the ability to have the same performance in cost, quality, and customer service given a level of demand and supply volatility.

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Five Reflections From Supply Chain Planning Benchmarking

Supply Chain Shaman

Benchmarking is a measurement of the quality of an organization’s policies, products, programs or strategies against standard measurements. Business Dictionary.com. Writing a Shaman blog post is now a Sunday night ritual. For me, it is a good time to reflect, think and share what I am learning. In my work with Supply Chain Insights , I immerse myself in learning.

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The Evolving Retailers Fulfillment Strategy: Meeting Demands with Agility

Speaker: Becky Parisotto and John Vurdelja

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

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How do we Drive Invention to Innovation in Planning?

Supply Chain Shaman

This week, I spoke at the Chicago CSCMP round table event. I love to hear the thoughts from different speakers. At the event, James Rice, MIT, spoke on innovation, and his reflections on Clayton Christensen’s 1997 classic business book, the Innovators Dilemma. I, like many of you, read this book when it was published. However, hearing the concepts again, from Jim, sparked some new thoughts.

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Agility Does Not Grow on Trees: Start Building Today

Supply Chain Shaman

'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.

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The Digital Supply Chain: Making The Leap With A Ball and Chain

Supply Chain Shaman

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.

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Lean Manufacturing: Is it Really Worth It? 16 Big Benefits Say, “Yes.”

GlobalTranz

Customer expectations of reliable quality and rapid delivery forces today’s manufacturers to either shorten cycle times or lose business. Customers simply switch suppliers when others are more capable of delivering within their preferred timeframes. Lean systems have provided a formidable operating strategy for leaders determined to achieve and maintain optimal operational systems and customer satisfaction levels.

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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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Using the Bits: Building Digital Outside-In Processes

Supply Chain Shaman

Social. Mobile. Sensors. 3D printing. The Internet of Things. The list goes on and on. The atoms and electrons of the supply chain are changing. My mind is spinning with the possibilities. Transmitted perfectly, replicated indefinitely; and with a one-time investment in network infrastructure, a digital task performs well with zero marginal cost. As a result, new data types move quicker and more accurately, with lower levels of investment.

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10 Books Logistics And Supply Chain Experts Need To Read

Freightos

There are tens of thousands of books about logistics and supply chains. Literally. Amazon has 31,817 books about supply chain and 24,934 about logistics. That’s 56,751 supply chain and logistics books. All those books would weigh 49,000 kilograms – half the cargo mass of a Boeing 747-200F. Stacked, those books would be as tall as 10.7 Empire State Buildings.

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Experts Choice Of Top Online Logistics Resources

Freightos

The Experts’ Choice of the Top Online Logistics Resources. Intro Email Newsletters News Sites Social Media Influencers Blogs Unexpected Places. If you’re like me, staying up to date on supply chain news is critical. But for every online “aha” I wade through dozens of yawns. So I went straight to the source and asked consultants, trade reporters, Wall Street Journal reporters and others, what their go-to logistics and supply chain sources were.

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Reflections on Integrated Supply Chain Planning

Supply Chain Shaman

'Yesterday, I presented to 700 global attendees on an APICS webinar. In the presentation, I shared data on the evolution of supply chain planning and the results on user satisfaction. The results confound me. They are not consistent with market perception. Let me share the story. As shown in Figure 1, users are more satisfied, the implementations are shorter and there is greater Return on Investment of solutions from Best-of-Breed solution providers—especially if the best-of-breed solution provi

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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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Nine Killer Digital Tools for Logistics Professionals

Freightos

Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them. Steve Jobs. As supply chains expands, they become harder and harder to control. As ships evolve from barges to Maersk EEEs, digital tools for logistics professionals evolve too.

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Is Inventory Waste or an Asset?

Supply Chain Shaman

I am sitt ing in seat 4E on an evening flight to San Francisco thinking about my day. It is Labor Day weekend in the United States, and the plane is full. While many have a three-day holiday this weekend, I will celebrate this Labor Day working. Next week is the annual Supply Chain Insights Global Summit , and summit preparation is on my agenda for the weekend.

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Supply Chain: The True Game of Risk

Supply Chain Shaman

When I was a small child growing up in the mountains of West Virginia in the United States, on snowy days, my family would gather around the kitchen table and play board games. One of my favorites was the board game Risk. It was a turn-based board game introduced in the 1950(s). Today, children would roll their eyes at the thought of playing a turn-based board game.

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Nine Myths of S&OP Technology Selection

Supply Chain Shaman

Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) is in a renaissance. The reason? With growth slowing and complexity rising, S&OP is more important than ever. It is not sexy, and it requires hard work; but the greatest value of S&OP is profitable growth. The technology market is rife with unsubstantiated claims and myths. Like a hammer looking for a nail, it seems like every vendor I meet now has an S&OP solution.

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The 25 Types of Innovation Dominating R&D Today

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.

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The iPhone 6s Freight Shipping Costs

Freightos

Yesterday Freightos announced a private beta version of its online instant freight quote marketplace. At the same time, Apple tried to steal the show by showcasing its new products at the Hey Siri event. So obviously, being freight rate nerds, we got to wondering: How much would the logistics of shipping the iPhone 6s from China to the U.S. cost Apple?

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S&OP: A Tough Nut to Crack

Supply Chain Shaman

Definition. A Tough Nut to Crack: A problem that is very difficult to solve. Cambridge Dictionary. Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) is over thirty years old. I have been studying it as a researcher for fifteen years. With the rise of the global multi-national, S&OP increased in importance as a way to align and drive organizational balance.

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9 Steps to Establish the Lean Supply Chain: A System of Interconnected & Interdependent Partners

GlobalTranz

Top management knows that lean can add value , but many still haven’t moved past the initial education stage into full-scale lean supply chain implementation. One reason may be that they haven’t made the paradigm shift as to how to implement lean. The Lean Supply Chain is a system of interconnected and interdependent partners that operate in unison to accomplish supply chain objectives.