November, 2017

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How Can I Drive Lights-Out Planning?

Supply Chain Shaman

Inquiry is increasing. Company dissatisfaction with supply chain planning is growing. The goal is to improve insights while decreasing the number of planners. The growing dissatisfaction is on the inadequacies of today’s technologies. Yesterday, I facilitated a group of business leaders attempting to drive innovation in supply chain practices.

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Supply chain visibility: The key to growth

Kinaxis

by John Westerveld I came across a KPMG study last week covering a survey of 360 senior executives Forbes Insights did in 2016. There were a couple of key takeaways from the report: Manufacturers are planning on growth, but the overall market isn’t likely to grow. This means companies will need to battle for a bigger piece of the pie. The need for supply chain visibility is greater than ever, yet only half of the executives surveyed say they have the visibility they need to make decisions

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What’s wrong with Strategic Network Design?

ToolsGroup

Editor's note: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, there will be no blog post next week. The problem with strategic network design is when it accounts for service time but not service level. That is, it accounts for the time it takes to serve customers, but not the probability that a certain percentage of the orders will be delivered within that time. It optimizes the network, but it doesn’t optimize inventory across the network – a shortcut that can lead to a different network once the inventory i

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How AI and the IoT Can Change Transportation Management

GlobalTranz

Analysts predict that by 2020, 75% of new cars will feature IoT connectivity. The percentage increase describes consumer applications, but the idea of connected vehicles should garner interest from other sectors such as shipping, logistics, and transportation. Leaders in these industries would be wise to plan for a future where AI and the IoT transform transportation management.

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Speeding Robotics Automation with AI

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.

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Weather Disasters Usher in New Era of Supply Chain Risk Management

Enterra Insights

As the United States continues to recover from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, it seems unnecessary to warn supply chain risk … Continued. The post Weather Disasters Usher in New Era of Supply Chain Risk Management appeared first on Enterra Solutions.

More Trending

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Blockchain: Reflections on a Webinar

Supply Chain Shaman

Yesterday, I spoke at the University of Tennessee Supply Chain Leaders Forum on innovation. The presentation focused on nine themes. One of the nine was blockchain. I asked the audience for a show of hands to understand how many of the supply chain leaders in the room were testing blockchain. I saw no raised hands. Later that afternoon, I hosted a webinar featuring blockchain case studies.

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Collaboration in supply chain management is key

Kinaxis

by John Westerveld When scrolling through my news feed Friday, I found this article from SCN : “ Collaboration Key in Creating Competitive Advantages Through Supply Chains “ The article describes research recently published by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Global Supply Chain Institute. You can download the report here. There were some interesting ideas that came out of this study, like how collaboration in supply chain management is key to success.

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How to Attain “Stage 4” Supply Chain Planning Maturity

ToolsGroup

Gartner has identified five stages of supply chain planning maturity and they say that 70-80% of companies plan to increase their supply chain planning (SCP) technology spend over the next two years to climb to the next level. In their recent report titled Carefully Assess Which Tools Are Right for Each Stage of Supply Chain Planning Maturity (20 October 2017, Tim Payne & Amber Salley), the analyst firm describes the right tools to get from one level to the next.

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What Transportation Modes Are Most Affected by Capacity Crunches?

GlobalTranz

Current and future capacity crunches are often analyzed for impact in the U.S., but they exist around the globe. The same holds true for their impacts on varying transportation modes. All modes of transit feel the effects of capacity crunches, but those that suffer the biggest effects tend to involve ground-transit, including less-than-truckload (LTL), full truckload (FT) and parcel shipping.

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Tail Inventory: The Silent Cost Driver You Shouldn't Ignore

Learn how centralizing slow-moving SKUs can help reduce fulfillment costs by $300M+ while boosting fulfillment efficiency.

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Top Insights about Supply Chain Network Design – benefits, tips and what your competitors are doing

AIMMS

What are companies looking for in supply chain network design technologies ? What works well, and what are the challenges? We commissioned Supply Chain Insights to conduct independent research about this topic and discussed the findings in a recent webinar. Today, we’re pleased to share a more extensive report on this topic. The report c o vers per ceptions about supply chain network design (SCND) as a process and outlines the key benefits and barriers experienced by comp

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This Week in Logistics News (October 28 – November 3)

Logistics Viewpoints

For the first time in franchise history, the Houston Astros are world series champions. The Astros outlasted the LA Dodgers in a thrilling seven game series to bring home the crown. As soon as that final out was made, the real planning began. And no, I’m not talking about how the Astros can build off of this year’s team in free agency to defend the title next year.

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Logility Buys Halo BI

Supply Chain Shaman

On Monday, November 27th, Logility announced the purchase of privately-held Halo Business Intelligence. This announcement continues the trend of supply chain software market consolidation. Here I share what I believe that this means for the market. A Look Back . Logility is a well-established player in the supply chain software market. With over forty-years of experience in SCM software, Logility went public in 1997.

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Stranger supply chain things: Capacity planning lessons from Stranger Things

Kinaxis

by Mike McAllister Courtesy of the Science Museum of Minnesota/Netflix. As a teenager in the 80s, it probably comes as no surprise I relate heavily to every cultural reference in Stranger Things. From the hair (I coveted to Steve’s A-Ha inspired coif) to the arcade (DigDug not so much – I would spend my allowance quarter by quarter on Star Castle and Defender, instead) and everything in between, the binge-watch worthy Netflix series contains pop culture Easter eggs in virtually every scene.

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Tariffs on the Table: How to Brief the Board and C‑Suite With Confidence

“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.

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Using Business Intelligence to Navigate Supply Chains

Talking Logistics

Karen Sage, Chief Marketing Officer at MercuryGate, addresses the following questions and more in this timely and informative episode: Why is converting data into actionable intelligence so important today? What are the main challenges shippers and logistics service providers face in this area? How have BI/analytics capabilities in TMS evolved over the years?

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5 Tips for Achieving the Most Out of Your Supply Chain Data

GlobalTranz

In a recent study, MIT found that companies that focus on 5 key initiatives to improve their supply chain data can have a big impact on their bottom line. Some supply chain companies are leaning on the power of analytics to help streamline their processes and get ahead of their competitors. But many companies have struggled to embrace the relationship between using analytics and implementing changes that can improve business performance.

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Top Insights about Supply Chain Network Design – benefits, tips and what your competitors are doing

AIMMS

What are companies looking for in supply chain network design technologies ? What works well, and what are the challenges? We commissioned Supply Chain Insights to conduct independent research about this topic and discussed the findings in a recent webinar. Today, we’re pleased to share a more extensive report on this topic. The report c o vers per ceptions about supply chain network design (SCND) as a process and outlines the key benefits and barriers experienced by comp

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Will you be a Supply Chain Disruptor or the Disrupted?

ToolsGroup

You should be interested in applying disruptive technologies in your supply chain not only at a physical level, like in transportation and logistics, but also at a more virtual level in your supply chain planning. And you should be thinking about them now, because disruptive technologies have a first mover advantage. If you are not the disruptor in your supply chain, you become the disrupted.

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How to Modernize Manufacturing Without Losing Control

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

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Navigating the Supply Chain Management Fault Line

Supply Chain Shaman

Tremors. Seismic shifts. Supply chain management technology has a fault line. It is growing. The technology market for supply chain management is dramatically shifting. Last week I bounced from call to call. Innovative startups. Artificial Intelligence innovators. Blockchain ventures attempting to define business processes and new approaches. In parallel, I am also seeing market consolidation of traditional applications.

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Six pieces of out-of-this world supply chain advice from astronaut Chris Hadfield

Kinaxis

by Alexa Cheater Mesmerizing. Motivating. Magical. That’s how best to describe the experience of hearing famed Canadian astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station (ISS) Chris Hadfield address the crowd at Kinexions, our annual user and training conference. Hadfield’s inspiring presentation focused on preparedness, failure and what it takes to blast into the future.

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What Supply Chains Really are and Why it Matters

The Network Effect

Companies re-assessing the nature of their supply chains are shifting priorities and realizing new value What is a Supply Chain? The post What Supply Chains Really are and Why it Matters appeared first on The Network Effect.

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Capacity Crunch Factors: What Causes a Capacity Crunch?

GlobalTranz

Unbelievably, the capacity crunch is back the shipping headlines. In April 2017, William B. Cassidy of the Journal of commerce (JOC) noted shippers were expecting a forthcoming slight capacity pinch, but that was before hurricane season arrived. Now, the shipping and transportation industry faces unprecedented capacity problems, and the upcoming ELD implementation deadline will exacerbate the issue.

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Breaking The Commerce Bottleneck: Your SAP Exit Plan Starts Now

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.

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This Week in Logistics News (November 6-10, 2017)

Talking Logistics

What are sidewalks made out of? If you said cement, you would be wrong; sidewalks are typically made out of concrete. Yes, there is a difference between cement and concrete, even though many people (including me, I admit) use the terms interchangeably. Cement is one of the raw materials that goes into making concrete, which is the finished product. I learned that fact (and many more important things) at the Command Alkon ELEVATE 2017 conference in New Orleans this week.

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Digital Yards On CSCMP.tv

PINC

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E2open Acquires Zyme: A Bridge Too Far?

Supply Chain Shaman

This week, E2open announced a definitive agreement to acquire Zyme. For readers of this blog that do not know Zyme, the company focuses on the management of channel data in the high-tech industry. The company is a CRM solution. The Zyme solution improves revenue management, warranty and rebate processes. This source of channel data is very industry specific to the high tech market.

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Good-bye siloed, functional planner. Hello storm chasing network planner.

Kinaxis

by Bill DuBois If you had anything to do with supply chain planning in the early days of enterprise resource planning (ERP), you may consider those years the “good ol’ days”. Spreadsheets were the latest and greatest thing, your biggest headache was a supplier failure, and collaboration meant walking down the hall to visit with your buyer or dropping by the shop floor to check on a machine breakdown.

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Revolutionizing Hiring: Remote-Insourcing That Slashes Turnover & Training Costs!

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.

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Talking Logistics: Top 5 Factors When Choosing a TMS

3GTMS

Our industry has gone through some significant changes in the last 10 years and we’re likely to go through even more thanks to factors like omni-channel, autonomous trucks and increasingly complex routing. The good news is that a transportation management system (TMS) can give you one of the strongest ROIs of any supply chain management […]. The post Talking Logistics: Top 5 Factors When Choosing a TMS appeared first on 3GTMS.

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A Brief History of WMS in the Supply Chain

GlobalTranz

The development and history of warehouse management systems (WMSs) have had a profound impact on how the supply chain functions. However, few understand the history of WMS and how it evolved to encompass item tracking, storage data, inbound and outbound shipping, picking and much more. Rather than trying to look at every small detail that led up to the modern WMS, let’s take a look at some of the most notable advancements in its history.

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Inventory Checks Powered By Drones

Talking Logistics

Drones are enabling organizations to use employees more efficiently and improve inventory accuracy in a world where consumers want everything cheap and now. Every company on the planet that has a significant supply chain operation is plagued by inventory reconciliation problems. It’s the nature of the game, and to overcome this challenge, companies have historically used better forecasting, shifted safety stock levels, and enhanced order point and order quantity processes.