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I laugh when business leaders tell me that they are going to replace their current supply chain planning technologies with “AI.” Each supply chain planning technology at the end of 2024, went through disruption–change in CEO, business model shift, layoffs, re-platforming and acquisitions. You are right.
Machine learning (ML)a specialized field within artificial intelligence (AI)is revolutionizing demand planning and supply chain management. According to McKinsey , organizations implementing AI-driven demand forecasting solutions can reduce forecast errors by 30% to 50%.
In 2012, when I started Supply Chain Insights , I believed that I could revolutionize the purchase of supply chain planning solutions by initiating a rating and review process across trading partners. Business leaders see the open sharing of feedback on software as too risky. How can I improve the process of software selection?
Manufacturing ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software integrates all your core business processes into one powerful platform. Think of it as the central nervous system of your operation, connecting everything from production planning and inventory control to supply chain management and financial reporting.
She wrote, “I have been working in the supply chain for 35 years, and we are still trying to solve the “demand” issue. Given your expertise, I’d love to hear what alternatives you recommend for better demand forecasting and real-time visibility beyond what’s commonly adopted today.” The reason?
Nick Lynch is the Global Excellence Manager at Shell Lubricants, a division of Shell Global. Located in the United Kingdom (UK), he has more than twelve years of experience in progressive roles driving demand-drive projects for their global supply chain. Components of a Demand-Driven Journey. Incrementalism Is Not Enough.
They need visibility across multiple internal systemslike ERP, CRM, and financial platformsand even external sources shared with suppliers, partners, and customers. Thats why modern BI systems are quickly becoming the go-to solution for data-driven enterprises. But lets be clear: not all BI platforms are created equal.
Consumers are ever more conscious of value, sensitive to health and environmental issues – especially after the COVID pandemic, each demanding more options for their money. End-to-end supply chain visibility, planning, and execution support software are critical in agile supply chain performance.
The key to this lies with sourcing. Before diving further, let us define what sourcing is. Sourcing is the practice of finding and selecting suppliers for a range of services (e.g., Traditional sourcing practices tend to be highly manual and are fraught with latencies and inefficiencies. Digitalizing sourcing (i.e.,
Technology can change or even improve work. 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. What’s missing? The ripple effects are pervasive.
We need planning platforms to keep up with all the changes. This means we need more agile, flexible, and scalable planning platforms to process and consolidate new data sources, drive insights using advanced analytics such as AI/ML to drive autonomous decisions, and expand collaboration within and outside our organizations.
Today, supply chain excellence matters more than ever. While the supply chain technology market lost its allure at the start of the last decade, it is now cool again. The discipline, first defined in 1982, includes source, make, deliver, and planning functions. The supply chain technology market is responding. The reason?
These passports document all aspects of the life cycle – from the sourcing of raw materials to final disposal or recycling. For businesses, DPPs are becoming essential to comply with best practice guidance as well as coming statutory regulations that demand transparency in supply chains.
” Followed by “How are you organized, and what defines functional excellence? And, how do you tie functional excellence to corporate value?” Companies became less clear on the definition of supply chain excellence and how to implement decision support technologies. This gap grew over the last decade.
In follow-up qualitative interviews, one of the largest issues with organizational alignment was metric definition and a clear definition of supply chain excellence. To manage continuous improvement, companies need a clear definition of excellence and organizational alignment to that goal. They do not excel in planning or forecasting.
. <Bear with me… > Here I share a nine-step process in an attempt to help companies unravel the process for buying supply chain planning software. Polluted with well-intended marketing messages by over-zealous technology providers and consultants creates confusion. The genesis for this post stems from frustration.
Supply chain excellence is easier to say than to explain. The supply chain is a complex non-linear system. The culture is dominated by “lifers” and technology investment is conservative. Keith was an undisputed leader in building talent to drive manufacturing excellence. The reason? Discontinued in 2011.
Despite two decades of advancement in supply chain technologies, companies are struggling to gain balance at the intersection of operating margin, inventory turns and case fulfillment. I believed that the first generation of supply chain systems would improve operations to a greater degree than actually happened. I am an old gal.
The lack of interoperability between decision support platforms is a problem for companies attempting to improve decisions from the channel to supplier bi-directionally through technology. I believe demand is a flow based on the combination of products/services/customers and channels, as shown in Table 1.
Yesterday, @DamarqueViews asked me a question on twitter: “What do you think are the greatest barriers in the adoption of social technology in the supply chain?” I find the evolution of social technologies, and the promise of social, exciting for the supply chain. They excel in the four Ps of marketing.
For most digital became an excuse to implement more traditional relational database technologies. Most companies invested in enterprise transactional systems, but their networks operate primarily through spreadsheets and email. Most are excited about their new platforms. ” Does the Dog Hunt? I am researcher.
As a developer working on the braking software of an automatic car for the past eight years, he constantly tells me that it is not easy, and all of the estimates are too waaaay too positive. I thought back to the press releases I wrote at prior technology companies, which only had a glimmer of truth. The facts are clear.
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. Technology integration: Leveraging digital tools to enhance visibility and decision-making.
The solution needs to enable real-time visibility and collaboration across your supply chain to meet demand and ensure the accuracy of quality, quantity and timeliness of supply — all to further a more resilient supply chain. The user should also have easy access to related attachments and reference documents.
Let’s start with the definitions: Graph AI uses Machine Learning on graph-based technology to understand the relationships between variables to drive insights. Graph technology leverages graph structures to represent and store data. Running optimizers frequently introduce noise and error into a complex system.
Warehouse optimization isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a lifeline for businesses seeking to thrive in the demanding world of modern commerce. It’s a holistic approach that blends strategic planning, streamlined processes, and the right technology to transform your warehouse into a well-oiled, profit-generating machine.
My Perspective and Point of View Traditional supply chain technologies depend on relational database structures. Like Linus clinging to his blanket, supply chain teams make most of their decisions on Excel spreadsheets. Or a unified data model across source, make, and deliver for planning? I term this our data jail.
On one hand, consumers expect to increase their online purchases post-pandemic. Retailers and delivery services companies that can break through today’s cycle of mediocre home delivery performance stand an excellent chance of improving customer loyalty and growing market share. Source: Descartes & SAPIO Research.
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%
Production schedulers and planners work every day to balance limited labor, materials, production time, and availability of machines and tools against forecasted demand, customer orders, and the backlog. The goal is to optimize every production run by factoring in constraints before work starts.
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. Richard Lebovitz and Joe Lynch discuss leading inventory attack teams. acquired by SAP).
Several factors contribute to customer loyalty, but providing excellent customer service—and a top-notch experience–is one of the most important in driving retention. 6 Examples of Excellent Customer Experiences. Image source: National Retail Association. Image source: Twitter. Image source: Ikea.
The ability of an organization to deliver reliable and consistent results for revenue, margin, customer service, and quality in the face of demand and supply variability. No technology in the market measures inventory health. Maximize the value of the purchase order flow data already in the existing networks. (A Yes, I think so.
The company sources goods from 34,000 suppliers out of 30 nations. Driving an excellent supply chain depends on how people are recruited and managed, processes, and the technology used. The company uses a network design tool from Coupa. This is an important analysis tool for maintaining a well-run supply chain.
Top 3 Procurement Technologies to Embrace in 2025 Staying ahead of key procurement technology and advancements is essential for CPOs who want to improve spend cost reduction, drive strategic value, and navigate the increasingly complex procurement landscape.
Theyre often seen as separate worlds, each with its own goals, systems, and ways of working. This blog explores procurement vs supply chain strategy and looks at how aligning the two leads to operational excellence. Procurement professionals focus on sourcing goods and services, negotiating with suppliers, and managing contracts.
It was a story where people believed that functional excellence leads to supply chain superiority. I strongly feel that a blind focus on functional excellence will cause the supply chain to become out of balance. These technologies are mature. I feel that many of these technologies are now legacy. Here is my argument.
However, achieving and maintaining visibility poses several challenges, including data availability and quality, technological limitations, and interoperability issues. but when demand slowed, the pressure to reduce inventory becomes a lot higher. What is supply chain visibility and why it is important?
A supply chain collaboration network (SCCN) is a key technology for improved collaboration across an extended supply chain. That is how enterprise and supply chain software solutions work. A company buys these solutions to optimize their business. ARC has done research and writing on supply chain collaboration networks.
BOSTON—June 7, 2022 — ToolsGroup , a global leader in supply chain planning and optimization software, today announced its acquisition of Onera, a provider of real-time inventory availability and fulfillment software solutions to retailers.
based supplier of fashion blanks transforms its demand and inventory management with Logility. One of the leading wholesale producers and sellers of premium quality blank apparel in the United States, Next Level Apparel has implemented the Logility® Digital Supply Chain Platform to modernize its demand and inventory planning processes.
They also are also one of the largest distributor in the US of tools, equipment and supplies for the tire and wheel service industry. They source plastic pellets and then use injection, blow molding, rotational molding, and thermoforming to produce their finished products. Myers Industries began implementing the solution in February.
The client leaned across the table and asked, “Is a customer-centric supply chain strategy the same as a demand-driven supply chain strategy?” I asked the group to think of demand-driven concepts as the enabler of customer-centric strategies. To help, I wrote a few definitions on the board: Demand-Driven Processes.
Modern enterprises rely on supply chain software to track several activities, including manufacturing and distribution of goods. However, most of these systems were created before web technologies existed or were in their infancy. These platforms allow users to create robust apps without coding each detail from scratch.
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