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To build an outside-in model, and use new forms of analytics, we must start the discussion with the question of, “what drives value?” ” Traditional planning models optimize functional processes to improve cost and customer service. You are right. The answer is not th e Gartner Top 25.
In follow-up qualitative interviews, one of the largest issues with organizational alignment was metric definition and a clear definition of supply chain excellence. In my post Mea Culpa, I reference my work with the Gartner Supply Chain Hierarchy of Metrics. Error is error, but is it the most important metric? My answer is no.
Procurement and supply chain management are often used interchangeably—but in practice, the lines between them can blur in ways that create real friction. Misaligned priorities, siloed systems, and unclear ownership can directly impact key performance indicators like cost savings percentage and procurement cycle time.
Enterprise procurement leaders are under more pressure than ever—juggling cost control, compliance, supplier risk, and internal complexity, all while trying to modernize outdated systems. AI, automation, and generative tools are redefining efficiency, allowing procurement teams to move from reactive to proactive decision-making.
These steps include sourcing and receiving inventory, storing inventory, order processing, picking and packing an order, shipping the order, and returns management. Standard sizes and categorizations play a crucial role in determining the costs associated with shipping products that meet standard criteria in fulfillment centers.
We continue our top blog posts of 2014 from our main categories today by focusing on something at Cerasis we are experts in : Logistics. We’ve already listed the top 10 manufacturing blog posts and the top 10 supply chain blog posts last week. Top 15 Logistics Blog Posts of 2014. Read the Full Post.
It is crucial for organizations to understand the importance of Purchase Order collaboration to effectively manage their direct spend, optimize operations, and mitigate risks. From natural disasters to geopolitical tensions and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, supply chains have been significantly impacted.
Returns Management and Integration With 35% of online purchases being returned, predominantly to physical stores, retailers are grappling with the ripple effects on inventory management. Early adopters of these integrated platforms report significant improvements in inventory turnover and reduction in stockouts.
Advanced supply chain planning is being transformed by probabilistic forecasting , which revolutionizes demand forecasting, supply planning, and inventory optimization. Enhancing Inventory with Probabilistic Forecasting A supply chain is a complex ecosystem influenced by dynamic variables. The result?
Probabilistic forecasting is revolutionizing demand forecasting, supply planning, and inventory optimization by significantly improving forecast accuracy and decision-making across distribution networks. Enhancing Inventory with Probabilistic Forecasting A supply chain is a complex ecosystem influenced by dynamic variables.
Picture this: You’re a warehouse manager, and with a few taps on your smartphone, you instantly know the exact location and quantity of every item in your inventory. That’s not science fiction—it’s the power of mobile inventory management. Ready to turn your inventory from a headache into a strategic asset?
Dive into our curated list of the top 12 blogs from 2024 that will elevate your supply chain knowledge and give you a competitive edge. Decoding the Procurement Department: A Comprehensive Guide to Roles and Responsibilities This supply chain article provides a comprehensive overview of the procurement department within an organization.
If you’re evaluating procurement technology or exploring ways to drive more value from existing systems, chances are you’re looking beyond tactical fixes – you want a smarter, scalable strategy. Misaligned priorities across finance, legal, and procurement create friction that delays decision-making and reduces impact.
I try to post weekly on this blog. I see a preponderance of reports and white papers that have lots of pages but say little. Optimization engines to improve functional metric performance resulted in an exploding number of planners. Rolling up a perpetual inventory signal takes eleven hours. He wants answers. Back to John.
Even more impressive, lost sales due to stockouts can decrease by up to 65%, while inventory reductions of 20% to 50% are possible. This advanced analysis allows businesses to predict promotional lift with unprecedented accuracy, ensuring optimized production schedules and inventory positioning through sophisticated supply planning.
However, the juice for my newfound nightly routine soon became difficult to find, perpetually out of stock each time I tried to purchase it at the grocery store. With tart cherry juice sales transitioning into a steady demand pattern, retailers must adapt their inventory strategies accordingly to meet this evolving consumer preference.
In May 2025, one in seven home-purchase agreements fell through resulting in the cancellation of 56,000 purchase contracts. Ask a procurement or transportation professional if they have a good demand signal and expect a laugh. A negative FVA increases cost, inventory, and risk. The ripple effects are pervasive.
What is Vendor Relationship Management (VRM) and Why It’s Essential for Your ERP and Inventory Software? Strong vendor relationships are critical for business success, especially when it comes to managing inventory and procurement. By automating this process, you reduce errors and improve financial reporting accuracy.
In a recent blog post, I was challenged by Anna. ” Anna, this blog post is for you. ” Anna, this blog post is for you. I know that your primary focus is procurement. In part, this results in increasing swings in inventory in response to shifts in consumer demand as one moves further up the supply chain.
Opportunities for Procurement Technology As we look toward 2025, European businesses are reshaping their supply chains to navigate an increasingly complex global landscape. A recent report by Maersk and Reuters Events highlights that 68% of companies are making supply chain visibility and monitoring solutions a top priority.
In the realm of efficient procurement management, understanding the various types of procurementreports becomes paramount. These reports serve as navigational tools, offering insights into different facets of the procurement process.
Understanding how your Procurement and Supply Chain KPIs are performing isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential for survival and growth. Is inventory bloating your costs? Why You Need Visibility of Supply Chain and Procurement KPIs? Struggling with the true cost of ownership or serving your customers?
There is so much data, and to make use of it, we need to use data mining and analytics to drive meaningful insights that can be put to some good use. This blog will review how category managers and supply planners can use cluster analysis to make smarter decisions and grow sales. The retail industry is rich with data.
We have been taught, as supply chain leaders, that over the last decade supply chain processes have improved costs, shortened cycle times, improved customer service and decreased inventory. Based on our recent research, we find that only 1% of process-based companies are making progress on both operating margins and inventory.
The consulting team pitches a theme–vision of supply chain best practices, big data analytics, or demand-driven value networks– to the executive team, and a new project is initiated. It was also the preference of the consulting partners because the projects were longer, more costly and better aligned with the consulting model.
Automotive distributors play a vital role in the automotive supply chain by procuring parts, warehousing them, and then supplying them to OEMs (original equipment manufacturer), retailers or end consumers. The data can be used to identify inefficiencies in the supply chain, improve inventory management, and streamline operations.
I think about this discussion with Keith often as I work on the Supply Chain Index and edit the chapters of Metrics That Matter. In Figure 1, I share a composite orbit chart of progress of Cisco Systems, Intel, Samsung and Flextronics on the Effective Frontier at the intersection of inventory turns and operating margin for 2006-2012.
Let me start this blog by asking, “Shouldn’t you be worried too?” So, I write this blog with this bias. Truck drivers report that maintenance issues are a constant nightmare. There is not a one-to-one relationship between a container and a purchase order. Get Good at Inventory Management.
In today’s dynamic market, procurement is far more than just a buying and purchasing center. Our latest e-book, “ Is Manufacturing Missing Out On Procurement’s Value Add? Our latest e-book, “ Is Manufacturing Missing Out On Procurement’s Value Add? Here are some key insights from the e-book.
In 2025, efficient spare parts inventory management is no longer a competitive advantage — it’s a business necessity. Yet for many organizations, spare parts inventory remains a critical blind spot. Obsolete stock, fragmented procurement workflows, and disconnected data only make the challenge harder.
from last year, with over two-thirds of purchases happening online. Stockouts and Overstock Hurt Retailers The inventory imbalance was glaring this year: 33% of shoppers ** reported being unable to find the items they wanted due to stockouts. Plan real-time adjustments to your inventory to meet shifting trends.
With all the buzz around digital transformation, someone peering in from outside supply chain may assume most businesses have already digitized essential tasks like inventory planning. This article will share five things you need to know about optimizing inventory in the digital age.
When you look behind the scenes of a global business operation, procurement strategy and supply chain management are usually top priorities, though theyre not always working in sync. But the truth is, when these two functions join forces, the results can be game-changing: lower costs, faster responses, and a more resilient operation overall.
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. Don’t fool yourself.
In this blog, I’ll try to shed more light on it with examples from our work with our customers. Well, we also know that many legacy systems will not be able to support all these changes quickly and cost-effectively. In this blog, I’ll focus on the Q-commerce case. Composability as an Enabler of Agility & Resilience.
I wrote my first report on Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) while sitting on the floor in the Atlanta airport in 2005 when I was an AMR Research analyst. I wrote many reports on airport floors in those days–electrical plugs were just too scarce.) Sales and Operations Maturity Model from 2005-2008. Mistake #3.
According to PLS Logistics , global companies will install procurement managers in China for entire organizations by 2025. There was a time when buying a computer was considered a once-in-a-decade purchase, if not once-in-a-lifetime. Globalization Will Become More Important in Everyday Decisions.
I am speaking this morning at the Terra Technology conference and doing a book signing of my new book, Supply Chain Metrics That Matter. In parallel, I have been hard at work on a report on multi-tier inventory optimization for the last two weeks. It will delay my report. It is morning in Orlando. The sun is rising.
My blog post is written for you to understand what needs to happen… While companies need to be good at forecasting, and redefining forecasting to be outside-in is needed: it is not sufficient. In contrast, the demand organization that I am advocating is an analytics group that crosses over sales and marketing into supply.
In today’s fast-paced industrial landscape, managing spare parts and MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operations) inventory is more than just keeping shelves stocked. It’s about strategic optimizationensuring availability while minimizing waste and costs. Improve cash flow by reducing capital tied up in inventory.
This blog is now has over 15,000 readers. There are many young analyst relations specialists asking questions one I received this morning from an Indian Systems Integrator, “Interesting read from your blogs always. How can we have your partnership to have mentioned in your blogs? Marketing hype annoys me.
In todays fast paced industrial world, inventory mismanagement poses substantial financial risks. With approximately $30 trillion of trade flowing from node to node, inventory rebalancing or mismanagement contributes to two major and often preventable issues: lost uptime, and lost sales. The Solution: ThroughPut.AI
Supply chain management typically does not fit very well with procurement, which is a challenge at the best of times, and can be a disaster in difficult times. It is now a matter of planning the procurement system and the supply management system outside-in and then look at the true demand to minimize the latency.
Depending on the nature of your business, your trading partners or your location, this could include procurement strategies, demand planning, logistics, and global trade management among others. Mastering Direct Spend Management Procurement teams generally do not report to the chief supply chain officer.
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