Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 12, 2025

Don’t waste your time at conferences playing buzz word bingo or immerse yourself in yesterday’s tech. Form and socialize your own hierarchy of metrics. Here is the metrics framework that I am using at present in my outside-in classes. You may not agree with me. I give these three scenarios as examples.

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Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 29, 2021

Using balance sheet data from 2011 to 2019, we chart companies’ progress by peer group on rate of improvement and performance in the metrics of growth, operating margin, inventory turns, and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC). A focus on functional metrics throws the supply chain out of balance.) We Give to You.

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Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 24, 2022

At conferences, I hear many discussions about risk management and control towers. One of my stark realizations this year is that smaller companies are beating larger and often more established companies on growth metrics, inventory turns, operating margin, and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC). (In Commodity scarcity. The reason?

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Kinaxis

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

by Melissa Clow September is a busy time of year for us at Kinaxis – Many folks here are flying the skies to attend various conferences. Here’s the supply chain conferences we love and will be attending. Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference. Automotive Logistics Global Conference. September 10-11. London, UK.

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Conference Gartner Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software 150

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 14, 2025

They dance in the bright light of these shiny objects at conferences with cell phones in hand depositing smiling selfies all over LinkedIn. They are artifacts of the schema-on-write world that we have inherited. Supply chain leaders love shiny objects. I have lived through four hype cycles of outside-in processes.

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Modeling Material Savings Vendor Strategies Supply and Demand 195

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 22, 2013

This week, Gartner is hosting their annual supply chain conference. The AMR Top 25 was the first methodology that tried to connect financial metrics with supply chain excellence. It elevated the discussion on supply chain excellence and drove more discipline and rigor in the use of financial metrics. The intent was good.

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Gartner Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Chemicals 304

Supply Chain Shaman

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

I smiled on the week following the conference as the accolades piled up in my inbox. Attending the conference was Alexia Howard, Senior Research Analyst – US Foods for Sanford C. Following the conference, Alexia asked for me to share the methodology with over 150 financial analysts. Aligned Metrics.

Optimal Sourcing 365

Optimal Sourcing Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Manufacturing Procurement 365

Supply Chain Shaman

APRIL 25, 2013

The relationship between corporate financial performance and supply chain metrics was complex; and in my first attempts, I was unable to derive a correlation. I wanted to better understand which metrics truly mattered. The Metrics That Matter Are Different by Industry Sector. However, as many of you know, I am stubborn.

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Talking Logistics

JULY 2, 2014

I’ve been using the word convergence to describe many of the trends occurring in the supply chain and logistics field today, and convergence was certainly evident at Roadnet’s perform 2014 User Conference a few weeks ago. The post Takeaways from Roadnet perform 2014 User Conference appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

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Conference Optimization Software Supply Chain Design Software Analytics Software 159

Supply Chain Shaman

JANUARY 8, 2014

Interview for Metrics That Matter. My kitchen table is piled high with interviews for the upcoming book, Metrics That Matter. I need it for my conference on September 10th-11th, 2014. I recently interviewed him for my upcoming book, Metrics that Matter, that publishes in August 2014. ” Supply Chain Leader.

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Procurement Analytics Manufacturing Procurement Metrics Procurement Solutions 279

Logistics Viewpoints

MAY 27, 2024

At the recent Coupa Inspire user conference, Nico De Golia, the director of cloud logistics sustainability for Microsoft’s cloud supply chain, spoke about how the Coupa supply chain design solution, powered by Llamasoft, is helping them achieve reduced emissions. A clear goal needs to be combined with good data and metrics.

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Supply Chain Design Software Cost Reduction Strategies Inventory Reduction Supply Chain Design 310

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 29, 2014

This week, I spoke at the Llamasoft Summercon Conference. The conference was low-key. We laughed, and felt a bit silly, leaving the conference room holding our new furry tchotchkes. So, as I cleared my throat to present at the Summercon conference, I looked into the eyes of over 500 supply chain professionals.

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Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 19, 2018

It is now our fifth year of analyzing balance sheets to understand which companies are outperforming their peer groups on the metrics of growth, operating margin, inventory turns and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) while driving improvement. It is a conference to have you think differently and drive new outcomes. What Can We Learn?

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Gartner Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Design Supply Chain Strategy 277

Talking Logistics

OCTOBER 26, 2017

A notable exception is MercuryGate (a Talking Logistics sponsor), which was founded 17 years ago and recently held its annual user conference in Las Vegas. The theme of this year’s conference was ‘The Future of Delivery,” which I love because it raises a lot of questions and possibilities (see my recent post on the topic).

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Supply Chain Design Software Conference Logistics Network Optimization Software Analytics Software 0

Logistics Viewpoints

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Results from The Conference Board’s C-SUITE OUTLOOK survey showed supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and rising inflation to be 3 of the 5 high impact external factors on the minds of CEOs. Negative Impact from External Factors The Conference Board survey results indicated labor shortages and inflation to be top concerns for CEOs.

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Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 1, 2014

It is because the conversations at the conference were yesterday’s discussions. I heard Stryker share the story of adoption over a period of five years at the GHX conference last year. At the Logimed conference, no one in the audience was aggressively adopting the standards. Why do I call this Throwback Thursday?

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Supply Chain Planning Software San Diego Supply and Demand Pharmaceutical 333

Supply Chain Shaman

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

Yes, we will do this study yearly in the preparation for our annual conference. This conference is designed to challenge supply chain leaders to think differently. I am surprised at how many companies are raising improvement in one of the three metrics, but not driving performance improvements in the total portfolio.

Pharmaceutical 307

Pharmaceutical Gartner Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Design 307

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 29, 2014

As a result, the metrics have to be viewed together as a pattern over time. In the journey, the supply chain leader needs to improve the potential of a portfolio of metrics. The metrics of growth, Return on Invested Capital, Inventory Turns and Operating Margin have the highest correlation to market capitalization.

Gartner 366

Gartner Inventory Reduction Supply Chain Planning Software Pharmaceutical 366

Supply Chain Shaman

JULY 22, 2019

We selected these metrics based on correlation work with Arizona State University in 2012. The winners drove long-term value (measured by market capitalization) while outperforming on the portfolio of metrics shown in Figure 1 and driving improvement faster than their peer groups. Celebrating Success. Target Setting.

Supply Chain Design Software 304

Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Gartner Supply Chain Software 304

Talking Logistics

OCTOBER 10, 2017

This year’s CSCMP conference reinforced that we’re in the early days of a massive transformation. And at the conference it was clear that the data problem is still huge and everyone needs a better way to solve it. The Data Problem. Cleaning it takes days. The Secret to Actionable AI Insights.

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Conference Analytics Software Supply Chain Planning Software Data 127

Logistics Viewpoints

AUGUST 23, 2024

The vehicle deployments are expected to lower emissions by 7,052 metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually, equivalent to 1,533 passenger cars removed from the road. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents nearly 10,000 rail workers at the two companies, has been without contracts since the end of last year.

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Talking Logistics

JUNE 27, 2018

That was the key message Doug Braun, CEO of BluJay Solutions (a Talking Logistics sponsor), delivered in his keynote presentation at the SOAR 2018 Customer Conference last month. The post Competing on Customer Experience (Takeaways from BluJay Solutions’ SOAR 2018 Conference) appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

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Conference Logistics Network Optimization Software Supply Chain Network Software Supply Chain Software 12

Supply Chain Shaman

OCTOBER 20, 2012

Seemingly, most supply chain leaders that are reading the press, or going to industry conferences, would believe that all four statements are true. Over the course of the last decade, I have carefully recorded and reported presentation after presentation from conference after conference and interview after interview with supply chain leaders.

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Inventory Reduction Cost Reduction Strategies Resource Reduction Material Savings 281

Kinaxis

MAY 24, 2018

Supply chain skills in high demand, digital twins, disruptive technologies, and other takeaways from the 2018 Gartner supply chain conference. I just returned from the highly engaging and inspiring Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. Decoupling of economic recovery and job creation.

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Gartner Supply Chain Execution Conference Supply Chain Planning Software 111

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 14, 2013

This week, at Supply Chain Insights LLC, we published our 11th report in the series titled Supply Chain Metrics That Matter. When companies look at singular metrics (labor costs or inventory), they have moved backwards. Aligning metrics matters. Functional metrics in isolation degrade value.

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Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Optimal Sourcing Supply Chain Design 256

Supply Chain Shaman

MARCH 19, 2014

I am hearing it again in my interviews for the book Metrics That Matter. More encompassing of metrics beyond the growth, inventory and Return on Assets (ROA) metrics used in the Gartner Top 25. In the words of Marty Kisluik of FMC, “It takes at least three years to see results and five years to make it stable.”

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Gartner Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Strategy Supply Chain Software 382

Supply Chain Shaman

OCTOBER 11, 2012

I have attended conference after conference where I have seen the obligatory slide of “ We reduced X days of inventory, improved costs and driven XX% improvement in customer service.” You see it conference after conference. Ownership of Inventory as a Metric. It is in presentation after presentation.

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Inventory Reduction Vendor Strategies Resource Reduction Cost Reduction Strategies 247

Logistics Viewpoints

APRIL 19, 2021

On Monday, March 8th, a vice president of supply chain for a large retail chain – a chain with over 5,000 stores – spoke at Körber’s supply chain conference Elevate. Safety is a key metric at the company. Körber is a leading provider of logistics software, material handling, voice, and consulting solutions.

Modeling Software 312

Modeling Software Warehousing Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Network Software 312

Supply Chain Insights

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

I really did not want to do a conference, but I have been talked into doing this by popular request. The network of supply chain professionals are telling me that there are just too many conferences in the market that lack content and are too commercial. There will be no exhibit halls or paid speaking slots. The work has been hard.

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Supply Chain Shaman

MARCH 9, 2021

Remember the need for goal clarity, rules, and clear metrics in my opening paragraph? The goal of the conference is to Imagine the supply chain of the future. The conference is in Franklin, TN on September 7th-10th, 2021. In the design thinking workshops for multiple manufacturers, these were conspicuously absent.

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Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Design Supply Chain Software Innovation 300

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 19, 2013

Today, I spoke at the Chief Supply Chain Officer conference in Chicago at the Eye for Transport event on the results of the research. It will be nice to be home and to have time to write on this second book, Metrics that Matter. Cycle Management is Stalled. I asked for questions. How would you have answered the question?

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Forecasting Supply Chain Planning Software Agile and Lean Supply Chain Forecasting Software 320

Supply Chain Shaman

JULY 3, 2017

It is hard work to maintain the status quo in metrics performance. A balanced portfolio of metrics delivers the greatest value. Companies balance supply chain metrics better in good times than bad. Reader’s note, the way to reach this chart is to first identify the average value for the metric for the period of 2010-2016.

Inventory Reduction 199

Inventory Reduction Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Cost Reduction Strategies 199

Talking Logistics

DECEMBER 4, 2017

Last month, I attended and spoke at the Command Alkon ELEVATE 2017 conference , where I learned many things about the Heavy Building Materials (HBM) industry. The elevation journey actually began the day before the conference officially started. To wrap up, this was my first time attending the Command Alkon conference.

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Material Savings Conference Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Software 0

GlobalTranz

MAY 20, 2015

The next posts in the series will break down metrics and issues to consider in SQM by industry and conclude with a case study on the application of SQM. 5 Key Metrics to Use for Scoring Supplier Quality Management (From LNS Research ). The definition of this metric is similar to the way it sounds. Cost of quality.

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Procurement Analytics Metrics Quality Supply Chain Planning Software 120

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 8, 2014

I now have a working manuscript for the entire book of Metrics That Matter. There was no line in the bathroom at the Kansas City CLM conference in 2001, but there will be at the CSCMP conference in San Antonio in 2013. It appears SO barren from my window in seat 4D. It has been a good week. Pull Up the Chair at the Table.

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Logistics Viewpoints

OCTOBER 25, 2021

Longbow Advantage had their first user conference in Nashville, Tennessee last week. But this conference was focused on a near real-time analytics solution they developed called Rebus. Here “near real-time” is defined as a refresh of key metrics every five minutes. Overcoming the Objections of IT.

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Supply Chain Insights

SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

While most companies have been able to make progress in one of these two critical metrics in the period of 2006-2013, they have not been able to make progress on both together. Here are five examples that will be discussed at the conference. With slowing growth, and the need to become more competitive, the pressure is on.

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