Supply Chain Shaman
FEBRUARY 22, 2015
'In the supply chain, the questions do not change; but the answers do. Quote from a Supply Chain Leader at a Conference in Europe. Yesterday, Peter Bolstorff, Executive Director, APICS Supply Chain Council, called to discuss the use of the Supply Chain Index by APICS to measure supply chain improvement. Peter is one of the nicest guys that I know, and I am glad to see him at the council.
DELMIA Quintiq
FEBRUARY 16, 2015
'The butterfly effect. The “butterfly effect” was a term coined by mathematician, meteorologist and chaos theory expert Edward Lorenz around 1960. It refers to how one small incident can have a huge impact later on down the line. The recent West Coast ports cargo-handling disruption is an example of the butterfly effect. The labor dispute caused freight bottlenecks.
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AIMMS
FEBRUARY 20, 2015
Interview with Lora Cecere, Founder and CEO of Supply Chain Insights and Author of Supply Chain Metrics that Matter ( published December 2014 ). Lora Cecere is the founder and CEO of the research firm Supply Chain Insights. She is the author of the enterprise software blog Supply Chain Shaman , which attracts 5,000 readers weekly. She also writes a blog for Forbes and is a LinkedIn Influencer.
Talking Logistics
FEBRUARY 24, 2015
'Now more so than ever, corporations understand the tremendous impact logistics and transportation can have on their overall business performance and are taking meaningful strides to optimize their supply chain operations. While some organizations have the human capital, industry depth and expertise, and IT infrastructure to manage their transportation on an insourced basis, a majority do not.
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GlobalTranz
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
'Editor’s Note: This is our second post in a collaborative blog post series about mobility in manufacturing & logistics along with Catavolt, who helps manufacturing organizations drive operational excellence with mobile apps. We encourage our audience to visit The Catavolt Blog for more relevant posts about mobility in manufacturing for best practices, tips, and great industry insights.
Supply Chain Brief brings together the best content for supply chain and logistic professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Supply Chain Shaman
FEBRUARY 23, 2015
'This morning, my mailbox was bombarded with the news of tentative agreement of the settlement of the nine-month labor conflict between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). The people on the ground–my contacts in the 3PL, freight forwarding and transportation industry–know that the labor strife is only a part of the larger story.
Kinaxis
FEBRUARY 5, 2015
'by Melissa Clow Our partner Celestica recently published the following article, ‘What If You Could Take The Guesswork Out Of Forecast Planning?’. The author, Osgood Vogler, Director, Analytics, Celestica Supply Chain Managed Services, describes an insight-based demand management process: So, how do you take the guesswork out of forecast planning? Let’s find out.
Supply Chains Rock
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
'I first met Stefan Reidy, CEO and founder, of arviem several years ago when he was in NY City to speak with Forbes magazine for an article on his ideas for tracking freight containers using a variety of wireless technologies. During the interview Reidy was incredibly enthusiastic about what this could mean for the future of supply chains.
Talking Logistics
FEBRUARY 23, 2015
'The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) reached a tentative new 5-year agreement late on Friday, so the West Coast ports resumed full operations this past weekend. But there’s little time to celebrate. It will take two to six months for supply chains to get back to normal, and some industries will suffer permanent losses, especially farmers.
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GlobalTranz
FEBRUARY 4, 2015
'Editor’s Note: This is the first post in a series produced in partnership with Catavolt, who helps manufacturing organizations drive operational excellence with mobile apps. We encourage our audience to visit The Catavolt Blog for more relevant posts about mobility in manufacturing for best practices, tips, and great industry insights. It’s no secret that anything “mobile” is all the rage today.
Logistics Viewpoints
FEBRUARY 5, 2015
'In our world of technological innovation, the pressure to provide consumers with faster and more efficient levels of service is mounting, and retail manufacturers are feeling the impact. Gone are the days when consumers’ only options were limited to visiting brick-and-mortar stores to shop. Today, if they still choose to shop at a physical store, […].
SCM Research
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
'The German Academic Association for Business Research (VHB) is about to publish JOURQUAL 3 , a journal ranking based on the ratings of more than 1,100 VHB members. A-graded SCM journals are: Production and Operations Management and Journal of Operations Management. Several SCM journals received the grade B, including: International Journal of Production Economics , International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management , Journal of Supply Chain Management , Journal of Busines
Kinaxis
FEBRUARY 24, 2015
'by John Westerveld I’ve had the opportunity over the past few weeks to investigate how many companies perform their Master Planning practices, and in the process do a pile of thinking about the Master Scheduling role. My conclusion is that if your company is running smoothly, you need to stop what you are doing right now and hug your Master Scheduler.
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The Network Effect
FEBRUARY 19, 2015
'Yantian Port in China/BBC. As a nice follow-up to last week’s post on the world’s largest container ship , the BBC has an in depth article on an “invisible network that keeps the world running” Just what is this network, you ask? The answer is the global supply chain. The article provides a counterargument to those who think that technological progress has stagnated , and that we’re out of big ideas: The global supply chain that brings us those tablets and phones
Talking Logistics
FEBRUARY 18, 2015
'Supply chain visibility and big data are hot topics and everyone is trying to figure out how to extract and analyze the data they have for better visibility and decision making. Financial data and visibility into the costs associated with shipping are critical to improving corporate financial performance. To find out how having supply chain financial visibility can improve contract negotiations, and to learn how technology can help shippers gain financial visibility across global supply chains,
GlobalTranz
FEBRUARY 20, 2015
'Editor’s Note: This is a blog by one of our affiliate partners, Global Vision Group , a Federal Maritime Commission licensed Non Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) and Ocean Freight Forwarder (OFF). The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshoremen Warehouse Union (ILWU) have been operating without a contract since the end of June, 2014.
Logistics Viewpoints
FEBRUARY 11, 2015
'Individuals living in the higher latitudes will tell you that ice dams on your roof are an omen of bad things to come. I learned this first-hand last week after record snowfall in the Boston area. To minimize future damage, I set out to purchase a roof rake to clear the snow off of my […].
Speaker: Andrew Skoog, Founder of MachinistX & President of Hexis Representatives
Manufacturing is evolving, and the right technology can empower—not replace—your workforce. Smart automation and AI-driven software are revolutionizing decision-making, optimizing processes, and improving efficiency. But how do you implement these tools with confidence and ensure they complement human expertise rather than override it? Join industry expert Andrew Skoog as he explores how manufacturers can leverage automation to enhance operations, streamline workflows, and make smarter, data-dri
Supply Chain Opz
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
'Collaborative mindset is the cornerstone of supply chain management. However, establishing and managing relationships on a global scale can be a challenging task. In this guest commentary, professor Ayman Omar who is a global supply chain expert from Kogod School of Business at American University will shed light on this issue. In a rapidly changing and expanding global landscape, companies are realizing they are only as good as the weakest link in their supply chain.
Kinaxis
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
'by Matt Benson If your 3PL supply chain problem was to deliver 400,000 items daily from supplier to customer and your on-time in full metric was a six-sigma target standard of 1 failure per million, how would you do it? What If I was to also constrain the resources you had at your disposal and said you only had 5000 transportation vehicles and your delivery slot was just 1 hour and that your delivery window was always 12pm until 1pm?
SCM Research
FEBRUARY 9, 2015
'In their very insightful essay, Toward the Theory of the Supply Chain , Carter, Rogers & Choi (2015) argue that “before we continue to build theories of supply chain management , we must first develop a theory of the supply chain – the phenomenon that we purport to manage” I could not agree more with their argument. Indeed, without focusing on the supply chain before focusing on how to manage it, SCM research would not be more than fishing in murky waters.
Talking Logistics
FEBRUARY 9, 2015
'Talking Logistics was launched as a live, online video talk show focused on supply chain and logistics topics. A year after launching, however, a supply chain executive said to me, “ Talking Logistics is like an online Executive MBA course, with live lectures and guest speakers every week discussing timely and important topics.” That perspective resonated with me because for years I’ve been advocating the need for new models of supply chain learning , how we need to think beyond traditional pat
Speaker: Jason Cottrell and Gireesh Sahukar
Retailers know the clock is ticking–legacy SAP Commerce support ends in 2026. Legacy platforms are becoming a liability burdened by complexity, rigidity, and mounting operational costs. But modernization isn’t just about swapping out systems, it’s about preparing for a future shaped by real-time interactions, AI powered buying assistants, and flexible commerce architecture.
GlobalTranz
FEBRUARY 24, 2015
'When you want to drive down your logistics and transportation spend, the very first thing that you need is freight and transportation data. Without hard data, you can’t take action. When enterprises try to act in the absence of data, they are usually guessing and won’t get the results they need. However, as we’ve noted in a previous post, getting the right data is key as well.
Logistics Viewpoints
FEBRUARY 8, 2015
'In his 2016 budget plan, to be unveiled today, President Obama will propose that U.S. companies’ overseas profits be taxed to fund a major boost in infrastructure spending. These tax proposals could change the way the Tax Efficient Supply Chain (TESC) operates. When highly profitable companies pay little in the way of taxes, negative press […].
The Network Effect
FEBRUARY 11, 2015
'Image by Michael Heiss/Flickr. Today I want to direct your attention to a really interesting report from ChainLink Research, “ Network Platforms–Solutions for Multi-Party Inter-Enterprise Processes “ The report explores a phenomenon that readers of this blog will definitely recognize–the rise of “many-to-many” cloud platforms that enable trading partners to securely and easily work together to satisfy consumer demand.
Kinaxis
FEBRUARY 11, 2015
'by Andrew Dunbar A colleague and I started our morning off with a coffee and a conversation about integrating EOQ (Economic Order Quantity) into MPS ( Master Production Scheduling ). In no time at all we were debating between lean versus EOQ. While each approach has its merits, the two concepts present some conflicting advice. Here we go again! It doesn’t matter if you’re a technician working on the shop floor or an executive in the board room, if you’re in the business of manufacturing then th
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DELMIA Quintiq
FEBRUARY 9, 2015
'It’s taken me decades to understand a simple but profound fact about business performance: Current planning and scheduling methods, including S&OP processes and software, and even many advanced “optimization” systems are, in fact, static. That is, the moment you commit any plan or schedule to “live” status, it is inaccurate and out-of-date, and therefore likely costing your business money…and your customers frustration!
Talking Logistics
FEBRUARY 20, 2015
'This was a busy week for supply chain and logistics news, so let’s go straight to it. Kintetsu to Buy Neptune’s APL Logistics for $1.2 Billion ( BloombergBusiness ). Pressure mounts on shippers, union to settle U.S. West Coast ports dispute ( Reuters ). Draft U.S. rules on commercial drones keep some limits on use ( Reuters ). More Than Two Thirds of Global 2000 Connect to Ariba® Network to Simplify Commerce.
GlobalTranz
FEBRUARY 13, 2015
'All over the world, heading offshore to outsource production has become something that it is had been accepted as the norm. Offshoring does indeed make sense for many companies, especially those that want to establish a global footprint. Too many, however, outsource production for the wrong reasons. Lured by the promise of cheaper labor ( which is starting to not be the case ), companies are blind to the tactical costs of manufacturing overseas.
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