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In a survey we conducted in October 2020, 91% of our Indago supply chain research community members, who are all supply chain executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies, either Agreed or Strongly Agreed that the time had come to transform the traditional transportation procurement process.
Home Introducing Freightos Enterprise: End-to-End Procurement, Benchmarking, and Management Freightos Enterprise unifies market intelligence, tender management, and shipment operations into one solution, enhancing logistics efficiency for large import-export businesses.
Procurement became a logical place for leading healthcare systems to focus. As vice president of supply chain and procurement, Mr. Wengert was brought in to drive change. Hospital chains’ approach to procurement lagged far behind the practices employed by manufacturers, retailers, and distributors. “We How did St.
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.
This enables companies to adjust sourcing, production, and logistics well in advance of potential disruptions. Load balancing algorithms ensure efficient distribution across Amazons logistics network, preventing bottlenecks and improving delivery reliability. This reduces excess inventory while maintaining service levels.
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.
Home Introducing Freightos Enterprise: End-to-End Procurement, Benchmarking, and Management Freightos Enterprise unifies market intelligence, tender management, and shipment operations into one solution, enhancing logistics efficiency for large import-export businesses.
For example, if I improve the cost structure in transportation, procurement, manufacturing and sales independently, what decision support framework decides the right trade-offs? In current systems where Distribution Requirements Planning (DRP) and Transportation Management (TMS) are different models, alignment is impossible.
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.
Reducing cost was the primary objective, and most operational decisionsfrom sourcing to fulfillmentreflected that mindset. Sudden tariff increases can quickly make a cost-optimized procurement strategy untenable, leaving companies scrambling to adjust. Procurement is another area seeing change.
Planners are uniquely positioned with an end-to-end focus, from procurement of materials, through manufacturing and engineering, to the movement, storage, and delivery of finished products or services. Supply chain planners are now frequently tasked with initiating transformations to address these various pressures.
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.
Just-in-time (JIT) inventory models, lean supplier networks, and offshore manufacturing reduced expenses but left companies exposed to disruptions. The COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing geopolitical shifts demonstrated the risks of relying on single-source suppliers and minimal inventory buffers. Resilience is now taking precedence.
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. Ask a procurement or transportation professional if they have a good demand signal and expect a laugh.
This past February we asked members of our Indago supply chain research community — who are all supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies — “Is your company using Artificial Intelligence in its supply chain or logistics operations?”
On the positive side, companies such as a small manufacturer of advanced plastic components used across various sectors, such as medical, industrial, automotive and consumer products has experienced increased interest from clients eager to purchase American-made goods. Where do industrial companies focus to prepare for tariffs?
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.
Supply chains, which facilitate the movement of products from manufacturers to consumers, have historically encountered issues such as inefficiency, fraud, and a lack of transparency. Companies find it difficult to fully trust the data from suppliers, complicating efforts to ensure product authenticity, safety, and ethical sourcing.
Probabilistic forecasting is revolutionizing demand forecasting, supply planning, and inventory optimization by significantly improving forecast accuracy and decision-making across distribution networks. However, this approach ignores real purchasing behavior, such as customers buying complete sets of four tires. The result?
Procurement must never be an afterthought in any enterprise. Manufacturers need to have the right raw materials and supplies available. The answers to these questions lie in understanding a few of the top industrial procurement trends to expect in 2018. Companies Will Seek New Ways to Use Technology in Procurement.
This approach significantly improves forecast accuracy and enhances decision-making across distribution networks. Advanced supply chain planning software leverages these probability distributions to optimize inventory targets, balancing service levels against carrying costs with mathematical precision. The result?
Simply using common calendar tools, such as Google, means you are using the IoT, but the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) leads to the use of connected, smart devices to reduce inefficiencies, delays, and inaccuracies throughout the product lifecycle, including procurement as well. Warehouse Management. Transportation Management.
The high-tech firm is more than a manufacturer of PCs, tablets, smartphones, and servers. The company has more than 2000 suppliers and operates over 30 manufacturing sites. We have all our factories, both in-house and outsourced, all of our distribution centers, and our transportation network on the Blue Yonder foundational system.
Translation of the demand forecast into planned orders to minimize manufacturing constraints. Use of optimization to consume planned orders into manufacturing scheduling and distribution requirements planning (including inventory optimization of safety stock). MRP is translated based on the manufacturing schedule into ERP.)
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.
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.
Bowman, SupplyChainBrain In the rush to adjust sourcing strategies in line with current trends in international trade, the answer might be to think small. manufacturers have spent the last few decades consolidating production at gigantic offshore plants, especially in China. Enter the concept of the “microfactory.”
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?
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.
At the same time, the Chief Purchasing Officer (CPO) has taken on a pivotal role by securing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect the workforce and direct materials when primary sources fail. As disruptions become the norm, Supply Chain Planning and Source-to-Pay (S2P) cycles need to be increasingly dynamic and intertwined.
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. Using channel and trading partner signals build outside-in models and orchestrate decisions across source, make and deliver. So, What Is Value?
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.
For 58 years, food and beverage and consumer goods manufacturers have battled for dominance, from chips and wings to soda, beer, party supplies, and even aluminum foil for food storage and DIY trophies. Manufacturers that dont plan ahead will lose the game. That takes a data-driven approach to forecasting, procurement and distribution.
Choosing the Right ERP System for Manufacturing: Key Features to Consider Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a cornerstone of modern manufacturing, bringing together core business functions to improve operational efficiency. Quality Control – Manufacturers must ensure that every product meets industry and customer standards.
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. In the automotive sector, manufacturers are simultaneously reducing inventory costs and delivery times.
The Manufacturing Supply Chain Journey through AI and Automation Manufacturing Supply Chains Explained The manufacturing supply chain comprises all the processes a business uses to turn raw materials and components into final products that are ready to be sold to customers, whether these are consumers or other businesses.
Home Introducing Freightos Enterprise: End-to-End Procurement, Benchmarking, and Management Freightos Enterprise unifies market intelligence, tender management, and shipment operations into one solution, enhancing logistics efficiency for large import-export businesses.
They write, “This includes tackling bigger issues such as compliance, supplier relationship management, risk and disruption, responsible sourcing, and transparency. “AI allows you to integrate real-time data from various sources, helping you devise more efficient delivery routes and schedules.
That includes analyzing historical data, determining the distribution type for every customer and period, calculating the mean and standard deviation, excluding outliers, and producing a simulated demand picture for as many periods as possible. Every forecast typically begins with internal company historical shipment data.
PWC’s Digital Trends in Supply Chain Survey reports that 83% of manufacturers say that supply chain technologies have not delivered the expected results. When he speaks of the supply chain, he means procurement. Align Transportation Planning and Distribution Requirements Planning (DRP). This is his world.
Paul is the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Verusen , a supply chain intelligence platform, purpose-built to help manufacturers streamline their MRO supply and materials management. Industrial Distribution business unit.
Image: iStock/JuSun June 18, 2025 Helen Atkinson, Managing Editor “The future is already here; it’s just not evenly distributed,” wrote William Gibson in his 1984 novel Neuromancer. Koganti said this is the fastest-growing use of AI in supply chain, especially when it comes to forecasting, procurement and fulfillment.
Multiple manufacturers, multiple relationships, multiple distribution models, multiple contracts. Manifesting this trend is the terminology and concept of Digital Path to Purchase — the omni-channel, tech-focused approach to supporting and acting on a consumer’s purchase.
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