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When it comes to the management of inventory in value chains, frustration abounds. Executive, after executive, lament, “They have purchased many technologies and sponsored many projects to reduce inventories, but they are not seeing results.” I have been studying the evolution of inventory technologies as an industry analyst since 2002.
Logistics is the prime example of a changing industry – colossal, ripe for disruption and utterly opaque. And it’s about to get hit by a freight train of innovation. How much do we love freight innovation? Enough to go through every single article published in the top tech blogs – Techcrunch, Verge, Mashable and Recode – since 2007 to count how often articles about logistics startups, freight or cargo were published.
'History of Supply Chain Management. Over the last 100 plus years of the history of supply chain management has evolved from an initial focus on improving relatively simple, but very labor-intensive processes to the present day engineering and managing of extraordinarily complex global networks. We will take you through the last 60 plus years below and end the post with an amazing infographic.
Image credit: Moviepilot. Overwhelmed by the dark forces of supply chain planning? The best supply chain planners share a common trait with Jedi knights: No matter how tough things get, they never give up. So how do they overcome a supply chain’s darkest force: complexity? Here’s what they don’t do: Assign different parts of their planning challenge to different departments.
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.
Inventory configuration is usually the predominant issue in most manufacturing environments. Inventory policy is usually the predominant issue in most distribution environments. Here are five types of inventory optimization that you should be aware of if you are considering an optimization solution. Knowing which types are important to your business is an important step to determining which solution best fits your needs.
Is the current performance of your supply chain network optimal? How do you gauge network performance, which numbers are important to you and what do they mean? You don’t have to be a data scientist to answer questions like these. And you do not need to know high-level math or the intricacies of building complex models to get a sense of when a consultant’s expertise is needed.
Is the current performance of your supply chain network optimal? How do you gauge network performance, which numbers are important to you and what do they mean? You don’t have to be a data scientist to answer questions like these. And you do not need to know high-level math or the intricacies of building complex models to get a sense of when a consultant’s expertise is needed.
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.
by Alexa Cheater Meet the Jetsons! Like any well-rounded child of the 80s, I grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons. Admittedly the futuristic family sitcom The Jetsons , which actually first aired in the 60s, wasn’t top of my list like He-Man or Captain Planet , but there was something fascinating about the whimsical and almost unimaginable gadgets and gizmos they featured.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the catalyst in creating more responsive supply chains by providing real-time, autonomous insight into your operational execution. DHL and Cisco recently published a report (linked here) that indicated the Internet of Things will deliver a $1.9 Trillion boost to Supply Chain & Logistics Operations. The report estimates that there […].
'As pressure to improve supply chain cost performance increases for many companies, the evaluation and selection of competent suppliers becomes a key concern. In this article, Professor Burcu Keskin from University of Alabama will share 7 trends that procurement and supply chain management professionals should watch. Typically, total cost, quality, and delivery performance appear as critical factors in the supplier selection process.
I am writing this blog post in the air, sitting in seat 4c, somewhere over the Midwest en route to Philadelphia. As I look below, I see field after field of United States farmland. The land looks like a giant puzzle. After a busy week with high-tech and electronics clients, my fingers are itching to help others solve a different type of puzzle. The goal of this blog is to help business users maximize their current SAP Investments in a time of change.
Tomorrow, I am off to Europe. On Thursday, I am speak on the future of supply chain technologies at an Eyeon conference in Rotterdam. It is the end of the fall speaking conference circuit and I am looking forward to spending time at home over the holidays. While I love talking to supply chain professionals at conferences and challenging them to think more holistically about supply chain excellence, as the leaves fall, I yearn for my home.
Definition of a Mistake: An action or judgment that is misguided or wrong. Synonyms: Error, fault, blunder, oversight, miscalculation or a misunderstanding. Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) is important to building value chain agility and improving enterprise performance. (Agility is the ability to have the same performance in cost, quality, and customer service given a level of demand and supply volatility.
Benchmarking is a measurement of the quality of an organization’s policies, products, programs or strategies against standard measurements. Business Dictionary.com. Writing a Shaman blog post is now a Sunday night ritual. For me, it is a good time to reflect, think and share what I am learning. In my work with Supply Chain Insights , I immerse myself in learning.
“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.
This week, I spoke at the Chicago CSCMP round table event. I love to hear the thoughts from different speakers. At the event, James Rice, MIT, spoke on innovation, and his reflections on Clayton Christensen’s 1997 classic business book, the Innovators Dilemma. I, like many of you, read this book when it was published. However, hearing the concepts again, from Jim, sparked some new thoughts.
'Companies want to be agile. As demand and supply volatility increases, the goal is to build a flexible supply chain system. The definition is one that can deliver the same cost, quality and level of customer service with the increase in demand and supply volatility. The gap is large. Today, based on recent research, less than 30% of supply chain leaders have a supply chain that they consider to be agile.
'Yesterday, I presented to 700 global attendees on an APICS webinar. In the presentation, I shared data on the evolution of supply chain planning and the results on user satisfaction. The results confound me. They are not consistent with market perception. Let me share the story. As shown in Figure 1, users are more satisfied, the implementations are shorter and there is greater Return on Investment of solutions from Best-of-Breed solution providers—especially if the best-of-breed solution provi
'In the process of compiling the Supply Chains to Admire report for last year’s Supply Chain Insights Global Summit , the research team at Supply Chain Insights calculated the rate of supply chain improvement of companies by industry for the period of 2006-2013 and 2009-2013. We wanted to see which companies were driving the fastest rate of improvement on the supply chain metrics that matter.
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
I am sitt ing in seat 4E on an evening flight to San Francisco thinking about my day. It is Labor Day weekend in the United States, and the plane is full. While many have a three-day holiday this weekend, I will celebrate this Labor Day working. Next week is the annual Supply Chain Insights Global Summit , and summit preparation is on my agenda for the weekend.
When I was a small child growing up in the mountains of West Virginia in the United States, on snowy days, my family would gather around the kitchen table and play board games. One of my favorites was the board game Risk. It was a turn-based board game introduced in the 1950(s). Today, children would roll their eyes at the thought of playing a turn-based board game.
Definition. A Tough Nut to Crack: A problem that is very difficult to solve. Cambridge Dictionary. Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) is over thirty years old. I have been studying it as a researcher for fifteen years. With the rise of the global multi-national, S&OP increased in importance as a way to align and drive organizational balance.
An effective S&OP plan is the goal of many, but there is no clear industry definition of an effectiveness. While there are many maturity models, most are not research based. To better understand the characteristics of an effective S&OP plan, we just completed a study of seventy-three companies. In the quantitative survey, completed this summer, thirty respondents rate their processes as effective and forty-three rate the their S&OP processes as less effective on a seven point scale.
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.
As a research analyst, I am studying things that are incredibly difficult to measure. The topics may sound easy, but they are not. In my research, I answer questions like: Which technology systems drive the greatest satisfaction? How satisfied are users with supply chain planning technologies? What drives the highest level of satisfaction? The answer to these questions requires the analysis of many factors.
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.
Wang Laboratories. Eastman Kodak. Nokia, Blockbuster. Polaroid. Xerox. What do these names have in common? They were once strong brands that could not adjust fast enough to product shifts in the market. It hurts. These were once strong companies with bright futures, but they were rigid and inflexible. As growth slows, and global-infrastructures mature, more and more companies worry that they too will make this list.
'Last week, I held my new book in my hand. It is exciting to have two years of research, nine months of writing, and four months of editing to become crisp, fresh pages. The smell of ink is intoxicating. I am now an author of my third book. I also love getting feedback. Over the course of the last week, I had a Linkedin comment from Dubai, questions from a team from the Philippines, and an inquiry from Switzerland.
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.
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.
'Last week, I interviewed Robert Byrne, founder of Terra Technology on his demand planning benchmarking study. I enjoy creating the podcast series, and Rob’s findings in his benchmark study are always thought-provoking. This is his fifth year of studying demand processes. In this blog, I share the findings and why I think that they should matter to supply chain professionals in consumer-facing industries.
'Many companies talk about Supply Chain Excellence, but most leaders struggle to define it. As a goal, it is easier to say than to define. One supply chain leader, in a discussion last week, likened supply chain excellence to fitness. His reasoning? He saw fitness as a goal to work for, and he acknowledged that you can get fitter; but he believed that the state of fitness is elusive.
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