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They noted the fact that companies whose leaders had supply chain experience took a more proactive approach to addressing potential supply-chain challenges, and in leveraging the supply-chain function to generate new business opportunities. They are no longer just vendors of goods and services.
Companies leaning heavily on global sourcing? Theyre feeling the heat most, as sudden trade policy curveballs throw procurement plans into chaos. manufacturer I know saw their import costs jump overnight, forcing a rethink of a decade-old sourcing strategy. What Is Agile Procurement?
The manufacturing sector is facing unprecedented volatility in global trade, with tariffs becoming the latest in a series of uncertainty drivers that are impacting virtually all industries. Manufacturing plants are deeply entrenched; tied to infrastructure, suppliers, skilled labor, and regulatory requirements.
A data gateway is essentially a connective tissue across your supply chain, providing unified access to supply chain data from various sources, including enterprise systems, data feeds, data warehouses, data lakes, data marts, and business entities. Achieving these goals requires visibility into the entire supply chain.
This is the largest area of investment for the company outside of ERP. SAP is embedding its generative Joule across the SAP Ariba source-to-pay solution portfolio to make it easier for their customers to manage routine inquiries, such as status updates, summarization, and frequently asked questions. It is a brilliant tool.”
When you talk to companies that have implemented enterprise or supply chain applications, executives will usually admit that they have under-invested in training and preparing users to use the new technology. The most common form of trading partner collaboration is purchase order collaboration. People issues are always challenging.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping supply chain operations by enabling predictive planning, allowing companies to anticipate disruptions before they occur and adjust operations accordingly. Companies must react after the fact, often incurring higher costs and reduced service levels.
Here I define value as improving market capitalization/employee for a public company. For example, if I improve the cost structure in transportation, procurement, manufacturing and sales independently, what decision support framework decides the right trade-offs? You are right. The answer is not th e Gartner Top 25.
A data gateway is essentially a connective tissue across your supply chain, providing unified access to supply chain data from various sources, including enterprise systems, data feeds, data warehouses, data lakes, data marts, and business entities. Achieving these goals requires visibility into the entire supply chain.
Once upon a time, the world of manufacturing was a relatively stable place. Suddenly, managing inventory is the name of the game for companies trying to manage working capital and maximize profit while keeping customers happy. So how does a manufacturer navigate this rollercoaster?
NEW YORK & OTTAWA, ON March 24, 2025 Infor, the industry cloud complete company, and Kinaxis Inc. TSX: KXS) an end-to-end supply chain orchestration, today announced a new partnership that will deliver improved alignment of supply chain plans with business objectives and strategies for midmarket discrete manufacturingcompanies.
From raw material sourcing to logistics and regulatory compliance, stakeholders across the value chain will need to prepare for structural adjustments. Sourcing and Ingredient Availability A central impact of this policy is the need to replace synthetic colorants with natural alternatives. Production scheduling may also be affected.
Reducing cost was the primary objective, and most operational decisionsfrom sourcing to fulfillmentreflected that mindset. Resilience is the ability to respond to disruption while maintaining core operations, and more companies are shifting their strategies accordingly. For years, supply chains were engineered to be lean.
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.
The resulting strategic question for companies is: How do we build resilient supply chains when even the rule-makers are unstable? Automotive: Can JIT manufacturing survive legal disruptions to tariff policy? Companies relocating to Mexico may face rapid reversal in cost advantage if emergency tariffs are struck down.
Companies that fail to modernize face supply shortages, revenue loss, and regulatory risks. Just-in-time (JIT) inventory models, lean supplier networks, and offshore manufacturing reduced expenses but left companies exposed to disruptions. Walmart is also implementing AI-driven logistics and procurement.
The 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and 20% tariffs on Chinese goods are expected to increase production costs, disrupt logistics networks, and force companies to rethink supply chains. auto parts are sourced from Mexico, making the tariff impact immediate and severe. Approximately 40% of U.S. More than 50% of U.S.
In the competitive industrial landscape, efficient spare parts inventory management is crucial to maintaining seamless operations and driving profitability. In this sector, the ability to provide timely and reliable spare parts can make or break a company’s reputation.
This is amplified across the supply chain into an exponential impact on inventory and planned orders for manufacturing. When we measure the bullwhip impact (in my class on outside-in process thinking), the bullwhip between manufacturing and procurement is 2-3X. Inventory Health. Measure inventory health.
Companies today making a fundamental mistake: they are attempting to automate current processes with AI versus challenging and redefining work. In May 2025, one in seven home-purchase agreements fell through resulting in the cancellation of 56,000 purchase contracts. Most companies forecast a single stream with a focus on error.
During my current supply chain planning market research, I have received briefings from several SCP companies. This metric measures the percentage of time the planners accept replenishment, transportation, or inventory plans as they are without any change in the timing of the delivery or the quantity to be delivered. You route a truck.
Transportation, warehousing, and manufacturing collectively contribute significantly to carbon emissions, making these areas critical for meaningful change. Companies are increasingly adopting electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles to transition away from fossil fuels. Ethical sourcing is a fundamental aspect of social sustainability.
Digital Twin Screen Shot and Architecture The most comprehensive form of planning that companies engage in is integrated business planning. Executives came to understand that IBP should not constrain a companys ability to react to what was happening in the market. IBP balances what can be produced against projected demand.
Running a manufacturing business isn’t easy. You’re juggling production schedules, managing inventory, keeping an eye on finances, and making sure everything runs smoothly on the shop floor. That’s where a manufacturing ERP comes in. It’s a lot to handle. Let’s get started.
However, recent disruptions have highlighted the vulnerabilities of these complex networks, resulting in significant financial losses for companies. It is crucial for organizations to understand the importance of Purchase Order collaboration to effectively manage their direct spend, optimize operations, and mitigate risks.
Despite the evolution of technology, none of the 28 industry segments I follow can drive improvement at the intersection of operating margin and inventory turns. The issue is that most companies are using new forms of technology to make bad decisions faster. In our research, small regional companies outperform large multinationals.
Surviving the ride: How leading industries are turning tariff challenges into opportunities fbaker Thu, 05/29/2025 - 08:01 Navigating today’s unpredictable trade landscape can feel a bit like a white-knuckle ride, with companies constantly bracing for the next twist. Read more about how automotive leaders are adapting to tariff challenges.
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.
What food and beverage companies need to know about tariffs: Lessons from Canada sharkins Fri, 05/16/2025 - 09:53 Tariffs have been a constant threat since the beginning of 2025, but one sector has felt the impact more immediately than most: consumer packaged goods. Enter a Canadian supermarket today, and you will witness the transformation.
Optimizing fulfillment requires a series of steps to get a shipment from its source to the end customer. These steps include sourcing and receiving inventory, storing inventory, order processing, picking and packing an order, shipping the order, and returns management.
Excess inventory weighs down supply chains. Companies often overproduce to hedge against demand swings, yet end up with shelves of unused goods. Manufacturers are shifting to on-demand production to align output with real-time demand. It ties up capital, wastes storage space, and risks product obsolescence.
Scaling manufacturing operations is crucial for business growth but presents unique challenges. Balancing increased demand with consistent quality and controlled costs is difficult but essential for manufacturers looking to expand. Successfully scaling manufacturing requires more than just adding resources.
By maximizing space utilization, improving inventory control , and boosting workflow efficiency, you can unlock significant cost savings and elevate your customer service game. Essential technology solutions, including Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), Inventory Management Systems (IMS), and the transformative power of IoT and automation.
My definition of a network is the bi-directional information exchange of manufacturing, procurement, quality, and transportation signals across multiple tiers of trading partners in a many-to-many trading partner information exchange with minimal latency. Today, this network operates with less capacity and ballooning inventories.
(If you would like to participate in a current research study, we would love your help and participation in the contract manufacturing study. We are trying to assess the value of a network in managing contract manufacturing.) One of the alignment gaps that is growing and is unfortunate is the gap between procurement and manufacturing.
Richard Lebovitz and Joe Lynch discuss leading inventory attack teams. Richard is the CEO of LeanDNA , a purpose-built analytics platform for factory inventory optimization. About Richard Lebovitz Richard Lebovitz is the CEO of LeanDNA , a purpose-built analytics platform for factory inventory optimization. acquired by SAP).
How should a global manufacturer make a decision? In short, the research tells me that the manufacturing industries are stuck. I see a few companies making progress, but most are going through the endless cycles of trying to implement a technology project. In contrast, for a global manufacturer, the answer is more complex.
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.
They emphasized being an Industry Cloud Complete Company with industry-specific solutions for over 2000 micro verticals across Process Manufacturing, Distribution, Service Industries, and Discrete Manufacturing. Industry-specific content is available for processes like Source to Settle, Procure to Pay, Order to Cash, and more.
In Orlando, thought leaders, procurement professionals, and supply chain executives came together under the theme of building resilient, responsive supply networks. Both scenarios carry hidden dependencies, but overreliance on single or sole sourcing is increasingly a hidden challenge. Rising concerns over cash conversion : U.S.
Manufacturers have started implementing features of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) to be more flexible and responsive and make more intelligent, data-driven decisions. Manufacturing can not only use IoT for manufacturing, but also to give inventory management greater flexibility and improve decision-making.
That’s the power of manufacturing data collection. Manufacturing data collection is your secret weapon for boosting efficiency, cutting waste, and staying ahead of the competition. Manufacturing data collection is your secret weapon for boosting efficiency, cutting waste, and staying ahead of the competition.
Commerce is global and regional at the same time, the world is getting smaller and more interconnected, and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) manufacturers operate in this build-anywhere and sell-anywhere market. Here we have compiled a list of the top six challenges that CPG companies face in the post-pandemic market.
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