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In my writing, I try to get clear on definitions. Traditionally, the definition of end-to-end supply chain planning meant: Forecasting based on order or shipment patterns. Translation of the demand forecast into planned orders to minimize manufacturing constraints. Let’s take an example. This is a post from LinkedIn today.
For example, if I improve the cost structure in transportation, procurement, manufacturing and sales independently, what decision support framework decides the right trade-offs? I observe that organizations are unclear on outcomes and the definition of supply chain excellence. Never start with the process definition.
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. Muda comes from many sources. The difference is opportunity.
In May 2025, one in seven home-purchase agreements fell through resulting in the cancellation of 56,000 purchase contracts. Supply chain was defined in 1982 as interoperability between source, make and deliver. Using design theory, the current definitions of planning have regressed despite the advance of promising technologies.
Over the past decades the definition of the supply chain has become narrower with a focus on supply and improving enterprise efficiency which decreases resiliency. I think that the answer has five parts: The Belief that the Industry Has Best Practices. Investment in Legacy Technologies. The Lovefest with Shiny Objects.
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.
As an analyst, I am always searching for answers and clear definitions. Companies became less clear on the definition of supply chain excellence and how to implement decision support technologies. This increasing gaps in alignment and clarity of the definition of supply chain excellence was an unspoken risk entering the pandemic.
“ Definition Cambridge Press I firmly believe that unlearning must precede change management. Here I share the definitions given by the students in their final homework submitted at the end of class: “Outside-in planning is a proactive, market-driven approach that uses external signals (e.g., What Is Outside-in Planning?
The definition of the IoT sums it up; it is “a network of dedicated physical objects that contain embedded technology to sense or interact with their internal state or external environment.”. Furthermore, the IoT is directly linked to better risk management programs in manufacturing too, explains Industry Week. Where Do We Stand Today?
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. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) does not meet this definition.
We have not designed the planning systems to serve managers, directors, and vice presidents, aiming to improve decision-making and collaboration across the source, make, and deliver processes. This could all change if we discard our current definitions of supply chain planning and start anew. In short, don’t AI stupid.
GEP and the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Supply Chain Resource Cooperative surveyed supply chain, procurement and IT professionals across a range of industries to gain insight into their priorities and strategies regarding supply chain resilience and optimization. Procurement solutions are often updated with purchased information.
Too few companies have a holistic approach to embrace the plan, make, source, and deliver together. The problem with supplier visibility is bookended into procurement processes that have gone back, not forward over the last decade. Current State of Visibility. What To Do? Your wallet has a social security or a passport number.
Slowly the words take definition in everyday speech. Many supply chain consultants will quickly rattle off case studies and proof points, but the smart supply chain leader will ground the discussion with clear definitions. Let’s start with these: Demand Sensing: The reduction of time to sense purchase and channel takeaway.
Globally ten percent of jobs are in manufacturing, while 37% are associated with supply chain management. The discipline, first defined in 1982, includes source, make, deliver, and planning functions. This is true even though we are not clear on the definition of next-generation processes. Kinaxis Purchase of Rubikloud.
Challenges Traditional definitions of supply chain excellence focus myopically on cost but are too slow in making decisions in inflationary periods. In the face of variability, this is two-to-six weeks too long to make allocation or procurement decisions. Build in-market sourcing. Shift in cycles.
How should a global manufacturer make a decision? In short, the research tells me that the manufacturing industries are stuck. In contrast, for a global manufacturer, the answer is more complex. What is the role of make, source, and deliver? And how can supply chain planning help? What defines a feasible plan?
When deploying enterprise decision support applications, there are many implementations and lots of hype but few clear and consistent definitions. PWC’s Digital Trends in Supply Chain Survey reports that 83% of manufacturers say that supply chain technologies have not delivered the expected results. What do they have in common?
The three steps in realizing the vision are 1) flexible, reconfigurable plant; 2) global manufacturing networks of flexible, configurable plants; 3) the integration of the previous step with digital, certified, encrypted product definitions. flexible manufacturing in fast-moving products. The report is available on demand.
I like many other gray-haired supply chain professionals reported through a functional organization like manufacturing or transportation. For me, it was manufacturing. The reporting of manufacturing and procurement organizations through the supply chain leader has the probability of the flip of a coin. This all changed.
Each box has an optimizer that drives output from a model based on a functional definition using enterprise data. The current taxonomy (or frame/models) for the engines does not address the issues of the global multinational manufacturing company. MRP Alone Is Not Sufficient for Procurement. Here are a few of the gaps.
Supplier Collaboration: Fundamental to Elevating Manufacturing Performance Supplier relationships are at the heart of manufacturing performance. That’s why supplier collaboration—that consistent, trusted, and responsive interaction between supplier and manufacturer—is pivotal to manufacturing success.
A Closer Look at Digital For a decade, I have struggled to get a clear definition on the digital supply chain. similarly, over 95% of manufacturers invested and implemented supply chain planning, but their primary tool today is Excel. I do not see the testing and definition of engines for this type of decision support.
We are not clear on definition. … So, if you use [my] definition, you might ask, how are we doing commercially against this goal? . … So, if you use [my] definition, you might ask, how are we doing commercially against this goal? ” • Implement digital and automated manufacturing. The reason?
Definitions Before we move to the discussion of the actions to take, let’s get clear on some definitions. Contract Manufacturing Signal Latency. In my last blog post, I shared insights on data synchronization between brand owners and contract manufacturing. days to receive a purchase order confirmation.
Definition: Category management is a systematic way to organize and supervise groups of products or services within a company. Businesses often use it in retail and purchasing. Category management isn’t just another procurement trend. Category management isn’t just another procurement trend.
Definition of Confirmation Bias. So, I smile, catch my dinner partner’s eye and ask, “In our prior conversations, you mentioned the lack of clarity on the definition of supply chain excellence in your current deployments and how this is a barrier to implementing supply chain planning properly. “ Reflection.
Manufacturing capacity is severely diminished. Now more than ever, the conventional silos of planning, sourcing, and procurement teams must be connected into one cohesive network. However, as Gartner noted, the definitions of the activities that should be included are unclear in most cases. Let’s face it ?
In earlier articles in this series on GenAI we have discussed its benefits and how it differs from other forms of artificial intelligence, as well as how in future these will converge to create highly sophisticated solutions, not least in procurement. Procurement, too, is vulnerable. Not the least of these are the cybersecurity risks.
Despite its success, KION faced significant challenges in managing its extensive supplier network and procurement processes. For the mitigation of supply chain and business risks , we need closer integration and easy collaboration with our suppliers, said Jens Brethauer, VP of e-Procurement & Digitalization at KION.
Companies often push aside procurement compliance to focus on more pressing issues. No wonder—procurement often gets tedious and burdened with time-consuming processes. However, ignoring procurement compliance is like ignoring a ticking time bomb. Scroll down to find out: What is procurement compliance?
Primed for transactional efficiency, these legacy architectures based on relational databases drive order-to-cash and procure-to-pay efficiencies. Or a unified data model across source, make, and deliver for planning? Let’s start with a basic definition. I term this our data jail. Why are semantics important? Stay tuned.
With the global market expansion and deepening supply chain complexity, the roles of procurement leaders have evolved from tactical to strategic. Nowadays, procurement departments not only focus on the day-to-day buying operations but also search for the most efficient ways to go about them. How often do purchases happen?
Procurement is one core process area being focused to better manage today’s fluctuating change, with key performance metrics leading the way to assessing and managing procurement performance. The Basics of Procurement KPIs. Download Silvon’s Definitive Guide to KPIs : Concepts, Best Practices & More. Supplier KPIs.
The confusion starts when a supply chain leader states the need for improved visibility without a clear definition. In 2004-2006, Greg Aimi (now a Gartner analyst) and I worked on a common definition of visibility for over a year. Control tower , by definition, is similar. These sources while functional are difficult to connect.
Many different terms, such as less-than-truckload (LTL), procurement and transportation management, describe supply chain management processes. For example, transportation management often focuses on the journey of products after manufacturing. The Definition of Procurement Logistics. Purchased parts and similar items.
How AI is Transforming Manufacturing: Strategies, Benefits, and Use Cases Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a huge topic and one that is constantly changing as research and development efforts push out the boundaries of whats possibleand whats already happening! Manufacturers now generate and own vast volumes of it.
The team was organized around the functional silos of source, make and deliver. Their career paths, their identities, and their comfort zones were steeped in the traditional definitions. Most companies think that they know what this means; but, to be actionable they need definition. It had been this way for over two decades.
This creates a continuous flow of information between design tools, simulation environments, and manufacturing systems allowing all stakeholders to access a single source of truth. This will result in minimal changes to the design and BOM while still allowing purchasing and manufacturing to continue with minimal delays.
For clarity, the definitions are: -Strategic Planning: The frequency is either monthly or quarterly and the focus is on long-term planning. It combines decisions across sell, deliver, make and source processes to drive value based outcomes. Many are not. This includes optimization and discrete event simulation. Metrics Alignment.
Instead of high-level frameworks, attendees heard directly from global manufacturers including RHI Magnesita, Teleflex, and Marelli. We underestimated the difficulty of harmonizing data definitions,” David acknowledged. The agenda prioritized outcomes over abstraction.
During the 1980s, I was on a management team for a large manufacturer. The Company was attempting to gain economies of scale by grouping manufacturing technologies within a common infrastructure to reap the benefits of a co-generation facility, a centralized warehouse, and a talented administrative team. Clarity on mission.
While teams wave their hands and talk digital, I find digital projects ideas lack definition, clarity of process, and success. Let’s start with a clear definition. The fear is the readiness of adoption of a laggard industry where only 3% of manufacturers are early adopters. Can we supercharge this? I think maybe.
We consistently see that companies focused on functional excellence–a focus within a functional silo like manufacturing, transportation or distribution– or singular metrics– like inventory or costs– underperform against their peer groups. What did we find? This is the goal of this post. Maturity in Analytics.
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