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I remember the plane ride well. My career was in transition. I was moving from a position where I led a manufacturing operation to being a part of a team to design supply chain software to improve planning decisions. I was moving from the world of manufacturing to a new world of software. As I read the brochure of my new employer on the airplane, I felt so behind.
Industrial IoT and big data are converging to enable demand-driven 'smart supply chains.' The advancements in 3D printing and 'Additive Manufacturing,' coupled with supply chain efficiencies, could make distributed manufacturing a reality, ushering in the era of smart manufacturing. The Continual Coverage and Now Reality of Smart Manufacturing with 3D Printing.
Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them. Steve Jobs. As supply chains expands, they become harder and harder to control. As ships evolve from barges to Maersk EEEs, digital tools for logistics professionals evolve too.
A recent Gartner study, conducted annually, sheds some light on what matters most to top executives in supply chain technology. I attended the Supply Chain Technology User Wants and Needs Study delivered by Dwight Klappich at the Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference two weeks ago in London, where he laid out Gartner’s latest findings about the things that matter most in supply chain performance.
The $53 trillion manufacturing economy in the US is undergoing a major automation paradigm shift due to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Thanks to new practical frameworks, automation projects that were once impossible or inefficient to implement are now being fast-tracked, and robotics automation is becoming increasingly relevant to a growing number of users and scenarios.
Discover the highest level of branding where others are least likely to look. What do H&M and Whirlpool know about supply chains that many of their competitors don’t? It is that world-class supply chains embody world-class brands by delivering to the customers the promises made and stories told by their marketing departments. And that only happens when marketing and supply chain teams collaborate, which is probably not often enough.
by Alexa Cheater It’s an industry that’s seen as anything but sexy, and that lack of appeal is presenting a major problem. A growing global shortage of talented supply chain professionals has companies scrambling to find ways to attract and retain that next generation of leaders. Some, like toy maker Mattel , have devised strategies aimed at hiring fresh-faced grads and molding them into exactly what they need.
by Alexa Cheater It’s an industry that’s seen as anything but sexy, and that lack of appeal is presenting a major problem. A growing global shortage of talented supply chain professionals has companies scrambling to find ways to attract and retain that next generation of leaders. Some, like toy maker Mattel , have devised strategies aimed at hiring fresh-faced grads and molding them into exactly what they need.
It is a beautiful fall day in Philadelphia. This afternoon I put the finishing touches on a new report, “What Is the Value Proposition for Sales and Operations Planning?” I think it is the most complete assessment of the S&OP value proposition I have seen in the industry. It is always fun to write great research. I am so excited about it that I thought I would repurpose some of the recommendations into a quick post before I bolt for ballet.
The list of relevant applications of the Internet of Things (IoT) era technology across multiple industries and market segments continues to grow. Current and future applications have the potential to provide new methods of value creation and sources of revenue streams for companies in the digital age. For supply chains, this advancing technology enables the building of a framework in which rapid responses and solutions in an increasingly intricate network can be designed and implemented quickly
I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day. – James Joyce. Innovators see the world differently. And innovation, technology and logistics are more intertwined than ever. But real progress isn’t always so apparent in freight forwarding. When we heard Joeri Kuik, VP at DHL Global Forwarding, Global Head of DHL Lead Logistics Partner and Chief Innovation Officer, get up at the eft 3PL Summit in Venlo and say th
Gartner analysts presented their latest supply chain findings throughout the two-day Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference last month in London. This is a compilation of predictions and recommendations from various presentations. Business technology spend is moving outside IT – In the keynote presentation, Gartner analyst Mike Burkett said that 38% of business technology spending is now outside IT, which Gartner sees climbing to 50+% in 2017.
Centralized planning, done well, looks at global orders and uncovers hidden opportunities for optimization by diverting and sharing resources company-wide. However, each decision has to take many things into account – and they aren’t always the same things. Rules, regulations, people and facilities vary from region to region, or even from factory to factory.
Last year the ARC Advisory Group did a study on the ROI a shipper would get by having their transportation managed by a third party logistics firm. In a managed transportation services (MTS) arrangement, a shipper contracts with a third party to plan and execute the shipper’s moves. Survey results indicate that MTS relationships are generally successful from both freight savings and service level perspectives.
Yesterday morning, I was sick. In the early morning, in a hotel room in Antwerp, I crawled to the bathroom and groaned as my body expunged what I think was food poisoning. The body is amazingly efficient in getting rid of what is making you sick. Feeling very green, I stumbled through the airport and found my way to my seat on the plane from Brussels to Philadelphia. <The joys of international travel.> While I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and sleep, the stewardess came down
With everything connected , will humans be even needed in logistics and supply chain? Will connected supply chain technology applications simply speak to each other and update all the data? Will we usher in an era of no process and all strategy? We surely hope that strategy for transportation management is the focus. Who has time and money for human INPUT error?
“What should we do about the tariffs?” There’s no straightforward answer — every leader has a different expectation. CFOs want numbers. COOs want action. CEOs want strategy. And supply chain and procurement leaders need to be ready with the right response — fast. That’s why GEP has created a simple three-part framework that will help CPOs and CSCOs brief the board and C-suite with clarity and confidence.
by Kirsten Watson These days it seems you can’t spend ten minutes surfing the internet without seeing an article about millennials. Heck, we’ve even written about the generation of people spanning those born in the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. At the same time, in supply chain forums, media, and blogs, talk of the talent shortage in the industry is inescapable.
First a confession: I borrowed this blog’s title directly from Gartner Analyst Noha Tohamy and her recent research note Five Things Supply Chain Strategists Need to Know About Machine Learning. I couldn’t do better myself. Noha’s main message in her note is that demand signals are everywhere—points of sale, distribution channels, the web, social media, etc.
“Producing enough food, fiber and fuel for more than 9 billion people by 2050, while conserving natural resources is a … Continued. The post Big Data Poised to Play a Big Role in Ensuring Food Security appeared first on Enterra Solutions.
By offering IoT-enabled condition monitoring, spare parts, and equipment repair services, equipment OEMs can remotely monitor asset health in their customers’ plants, anticipate failures, order the parts, and often execute repairs before the failure occurs.
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
When I worked at Motorola, we regularly used the “5 Whys” technique to help us uncover the root causes of problems. As described in iSixSigma: By repeatedly asking the question “Why” (five is a good rule of thumb), you can peel away the layers of symptoms which can lead to the root cause of a problem. Very often the ostensible reason for a problem will lead you to another question.
In today's highly competitive marketplace, it’s imperative for businesses to innovate new ways to streamline their supply chain and optimize productivity. With the aid of modern supply chain technology applications, you can create better visibility within your supply chain , which will enable you to have more control over your business and stay ahead of the competition.
by Alexa Cheater This guest post comes to us from Argentus Supply Chain Recruiting , a boutique recruitment firm specializing in Supply Chain Management. From discussing 3D printing to workplace automation , we at Argentus are always trying to stay on top of technological developments that will impact Supply Chain and its related disciplines. Because Supply Chain is intimately tied up with both technological progress (both in terms of software and hard goods / transportation technology), as well
Earlier this year, we ran a series of articles exploring the future of logistics technology. Many of the experts – Cathy Roberson , Joel Clum and others, are consultants with a 50,000 foot view of the industry. Today we’re continuing the series with a post by Robert J. Hall, the president of Track Your Truck. Real innovation is driven by the entrepreneurs in the field, which is just one reason we’re so interested in what Mr.
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.
To meet consumers’ increasing appetite for choice, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) manufacturers develop a huge amount of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs). This has a direct impact on packaging manufacturers who now need to find ways to cope with more diverse demand. The packaging industry is one of intense competition, so individual manufacturers have to keep up.
In my keynote, I stressed that Smart Manufacturing initiative around the world, are all inspired by research that indicates that manufacturing growth, competitiveness and resilience are directly correlated with high technology intensity and manufacturing complexity as well as quality. These three key factors can be improved and maintained by investment in product, process and productivity innovation.
“People always ask, ‘What’s the one thing that keeps you up at night?’ ” United Technologies Chief Executive Greg Hayes said last month. “It’s the ramp. The technology, I’m very confident we’ve got that right. But you’re only as good as your worst supplier. When you’ve got 8,000 parts in an engine, one of those parts aren’t there, you’re not building an engine.”.
We continue our series on understanding the 3PL KPIs (Key performance indicators) from 3PL consultant, Chuck Intrieri of The Lean Supply Chain as it relates to the engagement with a 3PL. We began our series first writing about the 9 key broad and somewhat soft topics to understand in effective KPI Management. Today we will first point out on a deeper level strategic performance business practices that you may conduct in order to better track 3PL KPIs.
What is Remote-Insourcing? Sounds like an oxymoron, right? Not anymore. Remote-Insourcing isn’t outsourcing—it’s a revolutionary staffing model that lets our clients fill key entry-level positions with top-tier, loyal, long-term talent, integrated seamlessly into their businesses—just like local employees but without the turnover or W2 HR hassles. With under 4% unwanted attrition, you train once and keep the same team for years.
by Bob Ferrari The following guest blog commentary is contributed by Bob Ferrari, Founder and Executive Editor of the Supply Chain Matters blog and Managing Director of the Ferrari Consulting and Research Group LLC. In October, I had the opportunity to speak at the APICS 2015 conference. My topic was: Positioning Your Skills for the Future Needs of Supply Chain Management , and in this 21 st Century Supply Chain guest blog, I wanted to share some of my key messages to this audience as well, sinc
Source: Supply Chain Digest. What does it take to create an award-winning supply chain? Last month, Lennox Residential was runner-up in the 2015 Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Supply Chain Innovation competition, arguably the top supply chain award in North America. And last year Costa Express won the “Technology” category award at the European Supply Chain Excellence Awards , also a top honor.
Retailers are still debating the logistical and financial feasibility of same-day delivery while racing to offer it – in equal measure. Apple provides same-day delivery for some of its products for a flat fee; Neiman Marcus pulled it off with panache just for Father’s Day in 18 markets; and Macy’s is aggressively expanding its same-day delivery service to cover more regions.
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