This site uses cookies to improve your experience. To help us insure we adhere to various privacy regulations, please select your country/region of residence. If you do not select a country, we will assume you are from the United States. Select your Cookie Settings or view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Used for the proper function of the website
Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Strictly Necessary: Used for the proper function of the website
Performance/Analytics: Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Smart contracts are software programs that self-execute and are stored on a blockchain. Suppliers of smart contract development tools: Ethereum Foundation, Polkadot, Hyperledger, OpenZeppelin, Chainlink How Smart Contracts Automate Supply Chains 1. Suppliers of blockchain logistics solutions: VeChain, IOTA, Helium, IBM TradeLens 3.
Advanced supply chain planning is being transformed by probabilistic forecasting , which revolutionizes demand forecasting, supply planning, and inventory optimization. Traditional supply chain planning tools rely on deterministic forecasting, generating single-point estimates that often misrepresent real-world complexities.
Probabilistic forecasting is revolutionizing demand forecasting, supply planning, and inventory optimization by significantly improving forecast accuracy and decision-making across distribution networks. However, this approach ignores real purchasing behavior, such as customers buying complete sets of four tires. The result?
Strategic sourcing and innovative solutions are often viewed as two distinct procurementtools, but they should not be seen in isolation. Think of them as apples and gearseach essential and effective on its own, yet when combined; they create a formidable mechanism for achieving procurement excellence. Click here!
Instead of broad, theoretical solutions, we need to go deeper and identify the tangible levers companies can pull to adapt. Pre-Buying Inventory is another option, allowing companies to purchase additional stock before tariff hikes take effect to minimize short-term cost increases. So, what can supply chain leaders do right now?
Traditionally, procurement has been a process weighed down by manual tasks, fragmented systems, and endless paperwork. Today, procurement is undergoing a transformation. While procurement teams have long worked to add strategic value, Artificial Intelligence (AI) amplifies their impact.
Investment in research and partnerships is crucial for scaling these solutions industry-wide. Green Logistics: Optimizing transportation routes, consolidating shipments, and employing energy-efficient vehicles to reduce emissions. Advanced route optimizationtools further support these goals.
Aptean is orchestrating the Blue Yonder/E2open/Infor playbook of buying undervalued assets and milking the maintenance and Software-as-a-Service contracts with existing customers. In contrast, Blue Yonder is investing $1 billion over three years in the platform for their solutions. The models are just too different.)
It’s no simple task providing customers access to the full range of capsules and coffee machines on all sales channels, across more than 70 boutiques in Italy, while optimizing inventory levels. Supply chain optimization allows us to guarantee product availability for our boutique shoppers. Optimized transport.
Supply chain optimization has also improved in significant ways that can address these trade-offs better than before. Technical innovations can also impact supply chains, which is why many turn to supply chain planning solutions, which are designed to be trade-off machines. The myth of the “perfect plan”.
The industry is awash with technologists and consultants focused on selling solutions. As companies consider purchasing new solutions based on better planning engines—machine learning, rules-based ontological frameworks, narrow AI, pattern recognition, large language models, and sentiment analysis— I ask for the use of caution.
But between rising costs, complex logistics, and the constant struggle to optimize space and labor, staying ahead can feel like an uphill battle. That’s where warehouse optimization comes in. Here’s what you can expect: A clear definition of warehouse optimization and its core components. Ready to get started?
In a previous post , I made a case for how the Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSCO) and Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) are smarter together. Accordingly Supply Chain and Procurement will need continuous collaboration. By aligning supply chain and procurement, spend can be considered more holistically.
Supply chain software is changing. So should the purchasing process. . RFIs tend to work well for certain industries (like government) or for purchasing equipment and industrial assets, bu t t hey often fall short in helping supply chain teams select a new software vendor. Are there limits to the number of models?” “Can
Setting the Stage The National Retail Federation’s 2025 conference has unveiled a clear vision of retail’s future, where artificial intelligence, integrated planning solutions, and customer-centric approaches are reshaping the industry landscape.
This warehouse runs at a perfect optimum with fixed capital in the form of inventory balanced perfectly with sales and purchasing, and all the items perfectly distributed to the various storage areas of the warehouse. Logistics software is your ace in the hand, before, during and after the peaks.
Procurement and Supply Chain Management are essential functions that can help companies navigate these challenges, but they are often siloed and operate in separate departments. Their metrics are often misaligned as well – supply chain focuses on service and procurement focuses on the cost of acquiring materials and services.
Three months into 2025, we have seen a barrage of on-again, off-again tariffs that have supply chain and logistics teams reeling, as they must rethink everything from next weeks shipping route to their foundational network models. The Ukraine-Russia conflict is ongoing. Tensions flare in the Middle East without warning.
This technology allows businesses to unify their procurement, expense management, invoicing, payments, contract management, and spend analysis processes and reporting. Coupa also offers a robust, market share leading, supply chain design solution. The supply chain design solution, for example, continues to grow in depth and usability.
Over the course of the last two decades, we have seen two evolutions of Supply Chain Planning (SCP) software. These first solutions were on the mainframe and with migration to client-server architectures. We now know that focused, Best-of-Breed solutions delivered greater value. New forms of software provide new opportunities.
The concept of digital twins has emerged as a powerful foundational tool to drive improvements in warehouse productivity and efficiency. But do you really need to look specifically at digital twin solutions, or might some of these already be available in the automation you already have? Physical change (i.e.,
However, advancements in technology have made it possible for any company to automate and optimize their last-mile delivery operations. The High Cost of Ignoring Delivery Optimization Failing to utilize technology for optimizing delivery processes comes with a steep price. Another crucial factor is the pace of innovation.
From harvest to hands, the food & beverage (F&B) industry leaves no room for guesswork, especially without supply chain optimizationsoftware. This reality is compelling F&B companies to rethink their strategies and approach to supply chain optimization and demand planning.
When companies implement enterprise softwaresolutions, they often label that implementation as being part of their company’s digital transformation. But implementing new software does not digitally transform anything if the people that are supposed to use that software cannot do so effectively.
The Company focused primarily on retail planning and wanted to extend its capabilities into a consumer products manufacturing solutions offering. A model outside of lead time is tactical, whereas a model within lead time is operational, and a model within the order duration is an executional signal. Models Matter.
Until there are clear answers, business leaders should avoid buying software from companies with deep investments by venture capitalists. Likewise, data scientists are long on the understanding of software approaches but short on understanding the business. Kinaxis Purchase of Rubikloud. They are just too risky. Talent Demand.
Mi9 Retail’s Demand Management business was formerly known as JustEnough Software. BOSTON (Nov 8, 2021) – ToolsGroup , a global leader in supply chain planning and optimizationsoftware, today announced its acquisition of Mi9 Retail’s Demand Management business.
Those include trust issues, the operating model, and technology. A SCCN is a collaborative solution for supply chain processes built on a public cloud – many-to-many architecture – which supports a community of trading partners and third-party data feeds. The LevaData solution, for example, speeds up sourcing significantly.
CAGR , the global supply chain management software market is expected to touch USD 50 billion by 2032. This one figure speaks volumes about how organizations worldwide want access to the best supply chain management tools to boost efficiency and value in their distribution and logistics network. Growing at an overwhelming rate of 11.1%
Knowledge Graphs are emerging as an important tool for building advanced AI capabilities. Instead of relying solely on a single, monolithic AI model (based on a massive large language model), a company can orchestrate a team of specialized agents, each leveraging the best AI or mathematical technique for its specific task.
It’s like having a magic wand that optimizes inventory levels, prevents shortages, and sharpens your demand forecasting—all from your smartphone. Mobile inventory management is a digital solution that combines a mobile inventory app with cloud-based software to track, manage, and optimize inventory in real-time.
In this blog, we will explore and compare the supply chain courses available on both platforms, diving deep into aspects such as focus and specialization, pricing, availability of practical tools, ease of use, and more. Pricing Structure Affordable pricing, with annual access to purchased courses and practical resources through Pro Plan.
” Or, “If you need an answer, implement my solution.” Let’s celebrate that over the last two years, there were four significant acquisitions by traditional supply chain planning providers to deepen analytics capabilities: 07/2018 JDA purchases Blue Yonder (Purchase price confidential.).
” As I dipped my spoon into some scrumptious chestnut soup at a great restaurant, my companion asked, “With the advancements in optimization and self-learning, aren’t we close to having self-driving supply chains?” I started with, “How can I help you?” “ Reflection. The facts are clear.
That’s where manufacturing inventory management software comes in. The right software can streamline your production, optimize stock levels, and even help you save money. We’re talking real-time tracking, automated purchasing, and a whole lot less stress.
Fortunately, with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), demand forecasting software has undergone a significant transformation. By using AI, demand forecasting models can identify patterns and connections within the data, leading to more accurate predictions. However, traditional forecasting methods often fall short in accuracy.
In this context, companies are looking for trusted solution providers that can help them design the most efficient plan and support them in the transition to ensure adoption of the new technologies. For solution providers, it offers insights into their market position, strengths, weaknesses, and growth opportunities.
His comments are the same–he feels that I identify problems but do not adequately define the solutions. He feels that based on his years of experience with a software provider, he has a whizzbang technology. The approaches add waste and increase risk when companies think that they are investing in solutions to do the opposite.
Supply chain efficiency is the cornerstone of success and involves the effective management of processes, resources, and technologies from procurement to production, transportation to warehousing. As companies across industries have discovered, a well-optimized supply chain can drive significant improvements throughout their operations.
The introduction of smoke-free products made the use of spreadsheet tools far less efficient in the capacity and sourcing planning as the new product categories had rapid growth. “We What PMI needed, considering the long planning horizons, was a digital and analytics network design and supply optimizationtool.
I know that your primary focus is procurement. The distribution models were never tested when implemented. As a result, after four years of the initial go-live, the team blindly used planning models, distorting the plan. Or planned orders to purchase orders?) I encourage all to backcast to test and improve their models.
Are ERP systems better than best-in-class supply chain solutions for managing healthcare supply chains? That’s the question we set out to answer in our recent panel discussion with Procurement and Supply Chain experts. This could be why, according to Forrester, 82% of organizations regret their software selection within 12 months.
Kathleen: What business challenges were you seeking to solve by using [the ToolsGroup] solution? Rafael: It has been a really helpful tool with which to go through this crisis. So our main task now is to consolidate all the purchase and inventory decisions in one team. And at the end you can choose a tool.
To keep customers like my dad satisfied, RGD and Quick-commerce companies need to invest in new technologies to optimize the supply chain and logistics operations. Inventory Optimization. Inventory Optimization involves decisions about the inventory level, the location, and the mix of products.
We organize all of the trending information in your field so you don't have to. Join 102,000+ users and stay up to date on the latest articles your peers are reading.
You know about us, now we want to get to know you!
Let's personalize your content
Let's get even more personalized
We recognize your account from another site in our network, please click 'Send Email' below to continue with verifying your account and setting a password.
Let's personalize your content