Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 21, 2024

When I started this research project, I was busy. One of my lessons learned in completing survey-based research over the past twelve years, is that projects are full of surprises. To manage continuous improvement, companies need a clear definition of excellence and organizational alignment to that goal. What Drives Value?

Procurement Analytics 347

Procurement Analytics Metrics Optimal Sourcing Supply Chain Planning Software 347

Supply Chain Shaman

DECEMBER 7, 2023

Here I share some insights from my research. I am currently doing research on inventory management. In the research, I ask inventory planners to define resilience. Of the twenty companies interviewed, only one can answer the question, “Do you have a good inventory plan?” Yes, I think so.

Supply Chain Design Software 316

Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Supply Chain Software 316

Logistics Viewpoints

DECEMBER 2, 2021

import volumes still climbing (see Figure 1), limited processing capacity at key West Coast ports and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) contract expiring next summer, importers will be scrambling to maintain the inventory they need to support the demand increase.

Predictive Analytics Software 337

Predictive Analytics Software Predictive Analytics Waste Reduction Cost Reduction Strategies 337

Supply Chain Shaman

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

While consultants know the answers (or believe they do), I believe my goal as a research analyst is to unearth new questions that should be asked (and answered together openly in the supply chain community) to improve value. Rolling up a perpetual inventory signal takes eleven hours. days to get a perpetual inventory signal and 2.2

Supply Chain Planning Software 342

Supply Chain Planning Software Optimal Sourcing Manufacturing Procurement Waste Reduction 342

Supply Chain Shaman

OCTOBER 23, 2024

Background I am an independent research gal. Unlike the bevy of pay-for-play podcasters and social influencers pelting us with opinions, my focus is on data and research processes. However, SAP supply chain planning is an excellent system of record. What Can We Learn About the Redefinition of Work from the Research?

Supply Chain Planning Software 261

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Planning Scenario Planning Agile and Lean Supply Chain 261

Supply Chain Shaman

JULY 6, 2020

Tom, the colorful warehouse manager, constantly heckled Frank for the increasing inventory levels while Ed, the quiet material/logistics manager, constantly questioned if there was a better way. He felt that inventory was no problem, he would just cut it at the end of each quarter to make the balance sheet goals. Strength in S&OP.

Agile and Lean Supply Chain 297

Agile and Lean Supply Chain Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Strategy 297

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 3, 2024

” My response, “Sorry Ryan, the research does not support that increased digitalization brought unprecedented levels of connectivity. similarly, over 95% of manufacturers invested and implemented supply chain planning, but their primary tool today is Excel. I am researcher. ” Does the Dog Hunt? Makes sense.

Supply Chain Planning Software 343

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Modeling Software Forecasting Software 343

Supply Chain Shaman

DECEMBER 27, 2022

In a recent research project, we found that 2/3 of companies had a digital supply chain transformation strategy; however, those that were evolving their strategy performed better during the early months of the pandemic than those that were “clear” on the project plan for a digital transformation. I know, a head-scratcher.

Supply Chain Software 405

Supply Chain Software Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Inventory Reduction 405

Supply Chain Shaman

JULY 25, 2021

Orbit Chart of Four Industry Sectors at the Intersection of Operating Margin and Inventory Turns (Year-over-Year Averages for the Sector). Over the decade, based on the research, the gap between operations and commercial teams grew. Lack of Focus on Form & Function of Inventory and Designing Network Flows. Winners Over Time.

Procurement Analytics 370

Procurement Analytics Supply Chain Design Software Agile and Lean Supply Chain Supply Chain Planning Software 370

Supply Chain Shaman

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

Consumers want to shop anywhere, and buy in the way that they want to buy. In my research, I do not see that any retailer has really redefined value chains through collaboration. Current State of Perpetual Inventory. Replenishment is fueled by an effective perpetual inventory signal. Get Good at Data Sharing.

Forecasting 297

Forecasting Optimal Sourcing Forecasting Software Supply Chain Network Software 297

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 16, 2014

Despite two decades of advancement in supply chain technologies, companies are struggling to gain balance at the intersection of operating margin, inventory turns and case fulfillment. The research that I have conducted has enabled me to look at this holistically. They are slow to adapt. It is easier said than done.

Supply Chain Design Software 287

Supply Chain Design Software Network Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Network Software 287

Supply Chain Shaman

AUGUST 12, 2020

On a cold Boston winter day, I slipped into my seat on a back row in a packed conference room at AMR Research. The topic of the meeting was the logistics to launch of the AMR Research Top 25. When Gartner purchased AMR Research in December 2009, the methodology became the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25.

Gartner 243

Gartner Supply Chain Software Procurement Analytics Manufacturing Procurement 243

Supply Chain Shaman

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021

Linkedin Comment Donald Cavin Data Warehousing Consultant at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-James Cancer Hospital & Solove Research Institute. In 2004, I joined AMR Research, a Boston Analyst firm. We remain committed to open content research and firmly believe that content should never be behind a paywall.

Supply Chain Planning Software 333

Supply Chain Planning Software Sourcing Strategies Manufacturing Procurement Supply Chain Design Software 333

Supply Chain Shaman

JANUARY 14, 2013

It was a story where people believed that functional excellence leads to supply chain superiority. I strongly feel that a blind focus on functional excellence will cause the supply chain to become out of balance. As a researcher, due to merger and acquisition activity, it is getting harder and harder to compare companies.

Supply Chain Planning Software 260

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Optimal Sourcing Modeling 260

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 3, 2015

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.” Inventory is the culmination of many business decisions.

Inventory Reduction 150

Inventory Reduction Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Inventory Management Software 150

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 23, 2020

I share insights, based on research, for the supply chain leader. I write for this blog, craft reports from research for our newsletters, create blogs for Linkedin, and build articles for Forbes. I define supply chain excellence as year-over-year performance better than the peer group on this balanced scorecard. Stay tuned.

Supply Chain Design Software 293

Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Analytics Software Optimization Software 293

Logistics Viewpoints

MAY 11, 2023

In the warehouse context, a digital twin can be created to represent the physical layout, inventory, equipment, and workflows of a warehouse. Inventory management Another area where digital twins can be beneficial is inventory management. Simulation is the most widely used benefit of a digital twin.

Modeling 275

Modeling Analytics Software Supply Chain Design Software Optimization Software 275

Supply Chain Shaman

SEPTEMBER 3, 2015

We were discussing the results of the planning benchmarking work that we have just finished, and I was sharing some insights on inventory management when one of the panelists emphatically stated, “Inventory is a waste to manage. We feel so strongly about this that we do not have an inventory planning role.”

Waste Reduction 150

Waste Reduction Inventory Reduction Inventory Optimal Sourcing 150

Supply Chain Shaman

MARCH 3, 2013

They were born from well-intentioned, bright professors from great schools – Boston College, Carnegie Mellon, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT )– in operations research. It was called multi-enterprise inventory optimization. SmartOps was purchased by SAP. They knew little about the software market.

Supply Chain Planning Software 218

Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Optimization Software SAP 218

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 21, 2013

Over the course of the last week, I have been working on healthcare research. As I worked with healthcare leaders, and shared the research available on slideshare , I better understood the individuals’ pain. They are primarily focused on cost management on new purchase decisions. The problem is us.

Modeling 240

Modeling Modeling Software Pharmaceutical Procurement Analytics 240

Kinaxis

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

As an ex-AMR Research analyst, this was my favorite venue. Great memories here, as so much has changed in the supply chain research world these past 5+ years. While other “lists” use ROA, Inventory Turns and Revenue Growth, I find Lora’s science very objective. Most of this middleware was Excel and Meetings.

Supply Chain Planning Software 279

Supply Chain Planning Software Gartner Supply Chain Design Software Agile and Lean Supply Chain 279

Supply Chain Shaman

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

This data will be combined with the financial ratio data and published in an Open Content Research report in April on the Supply Chain Insights Community. Here is a link to the healthcare research study in the field. Pharmaceutical companies are struggling with falling margins and rising inventories. What Can We Do?

Pharmaceutical 170

Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Network Software Eliminating Excel in Purchasing Procurement Analytics 170

Supply Chain Shaman

SEPTEMBER 20, 2015

How do they buy from you? How do they buy from you?” In my research, I find that the companies with the most progressive procurement processes also have the most advanced customer supply chain process evolution.)Without The discussion of customer-segmented supply chains happens often. Why does it matter to you?

Inventory Reduction 150

Inventory Reduction Cost Reduction Strategies Sourcing Strategies Supply Chain Strategy 150

Supply Chain Shaman

OCTOBER 29, 2014

By purchasing planning and transactional systems for a common vendor, they had one throat to choke and they were familiar with the architectural elements. The results in table 1 come from a nine months research project of 120 respondents representing 183 instances of demand and supply planning. How do I know this?

Supply Chain Planning Software 312

Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Demand Planning Software Optimization Software 312

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 1, 2023

The research focuses on lessons to be learned from the past thirty-seven months of disruption. We find that companies with an analytics center of excellence drove progress faster than those with a supply chain center of excellence. When you ask, “What defines supply chain excellence?” The other issue?

Inventory Reduction 246

Inventory Reduction Cost Reduction Strategies Waste Reduction Resource Reduction 246

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 29, 2014

They also brought me and my colleagues at AMR Research stuffed Llamas. With the purchase of i2 by JDA, and Logictools by IBM, manufacturing companies serious about network design started looking for a company, with a well-established community, that was more serious about network design. “What a crazy name! The gap is tough.

Supply Chain Design Software 268

Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Design Network Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software 268

Supply Chain Shaman

JANUARY 25, 2024

With slim margins and ever-increasing inventories, companies invested less in capital assets. Today, this network operates with less capacity and ballooning inventories. Many of these outsourced products have demand latency of weeks and months (shelf purchase through the replenishment cycle for a manufacturer to receive an order).

Supply Chain Network Software 273

Supply Chain Network Software Manufacturing Procurement Inventory Reduction Purchasing Skills 273

Supply Chain Shaman

SEPTEMBER 10, 2023

I worked for AMR Research (now Gartner). His position was that the research that I was writing was not being aggressive enough in the definition of global supply chain planning requirements. I was working on a report on the Multi-Enterprise Inventory Management (often termed MEIO) and I challenged Pete. Old habits die hard.)

Supply Chain Planning Software 259

Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Forecasting Software Supply and Demand 259

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 1, 2014

As hospitals adopted consignment planning programs, inventory progress slowed. The turns are the lowest of any industry, and despite investments in technologies and processes, inventory turns have only improved 3%, and Cash-T0-Cash (C2C) cycles have declined 4%. This precipitous drop in margin hurts. Companies are feeling pain.

Supply Chain Planning Software 290

Supply Chain Planning Software San Diego Supply and Demand Pharmaceutical 290

Supply Chain Shaman

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

<Bear with me… > Here I share a nine-step process in an attempt to help companies unravel the process for buying supply chain planning software. They center on how to make a good decision in the purchase of supply chain planning solutions. Most have purchased software, but are dependent on Excel spreadsheets.

Supply Chain Planning Software 233

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Supply Chain Software 233

Supply Chain Shaman

AUGUST 18, 2022

At the end of a long day of a strategy session on supply chain excellence with a client, I needed to fill up some time in an agenda. The strategy day owner was a global process center of excellence leader. If you enjoy our research, please help us by filling out our current survey. The result? Background.

Supply and Demand 259

Supply and Demand Demand Planning Software Supply Chain Planning Software Optimal Sourcing 259

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 7, 2021

Lately, as I reflected on my conversations with John (fictitious name) when I was at AMR Research, I yearn to go back in time. AMR Research was an industry analyst firm in Boston. Gartner purchased the firm in 2010.) Driving Improvements in Supply Chain Excellence. John and I held differing beliefs. I disagreed.

Gartner 197

Gartner Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Eliminating Excel in Purchasing 197

Supply Chain Shaman

JANUARY 2, 2023

The Center of Excellence at the company wanted to improve base-level capabilities but struggled to move forward due to the traditional views of the planning team, which they felt were self-serving. (The The team was not calibrated on the role of forecasting and the basics around process excellence. Models Matter. Let me explain.

Supply and Demand 373

Supply and Demand Modeling Demand Planning Supply Chain Planning Software 373

Supply Chain Shaman

MARCH 8, 2016

As an analyst in the supply chain market for 15 years, I have written many articles on best-of-breed technology companies purchased by a larger company. In 2007-2014 Terra added inventory management, multi-tier demand sensing, transportation forecasting, and long-term forecasting. However, there are no sure bets.

Supply Chain Planning Software 150

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Network Software Forecasting Software Demand Planning Software 150

ToolsGroup

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

Excess inventory – it’s taking up your warehouse space, tying up working capital, and limiting your planning team’s range of motion. It’s time to Marie Kondo your supply chain by eliminating excess inventory and learning how to avoid it in the first place. Let’s talk about: What Excess Inventory Is. What Causes Excess Inventory.

Inventory Reduction 156

Inventory Reduction Material Savings Cost Reduction Strategies Inventory 156

Supply Chain Shaman

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Get Good at Having a Real-time Perpetual Inventory Signal. Foundational for ecommerce is a real-time perpetual inventory (PI) signal. If you are going to be excellent at ecommerce fulfillment, you need to have great perpetual inventory capabilities. No matter where inventory is, put it to work. 3) Test and Learn.

Packaging 290

Packaging Inventory Reduction Supply Chain Design Software San Francisco 290

Supply Chain Shaman

DECEMBER 12, 2024

In parallel, PE/venture capitalists purchased/consolidated network solutions, slashing R&D and delaying investment, reducing industry capabilities. If you, like most, are running your supply chain based on ERP and Excel spreadsheet data, you are not prepared. Inventory Management. No one knows. What to do? Ensure Compliance.

Supply Chain Design Software 195

Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Manufacturing Procurement Supply Chain Design 195