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I laugh when business leaders tell me that they are going to replace their current supply chain planning technologies with “AI.” Each supply chain planning technology at the end of 2024, went through disruption–change in CEO, business model shift, layoffs, re-platforming and acquisitions. You are right.
In 2012, when I started Supply Chain Insights , I believed that I could revolutionize the purchase of supply chain planning solutions by initiating a rating and review process across trading partners. Business leaders see the open sharing of feedback on software as too risky. How can I improve the process of software selection?
Manufacturing ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software integrates all your core business processes into one powerful platform. Think of it as the central nervous system of your operation, connecting everything from production planning and inventory control to supply chain management and financial reporting.
They need visibility across multiple internal systemslike ERP, CRM, and financial platformsand even external sources shared with suppliers, partners, and customers. Thats why modern BI systems are quickly becoming the go-to solution for data-driven enterprises. But lets be clear: not all BI platforms are created equal.
End-to-end supply chain visibility, planning, and execution support software are critical in agile supply chain performance. The classical approach involves functional silos, sequential decisions, and Excel and people to render a plan executable. each with discrete plans generated typically in sequential batch runs.
Technology can change or even improve work. 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. Most companies forecast a single stream with a focus on error.
We need planning platforms to keep up with all the changes. This means we need more agile, flexible, and scalable planning platforms to process and consolidate new data sources, drive insights using advanced analytics such as AI/ML to drive autonomous decisions, and expand collaboration within and outside our organizations.
When it comes to running a company, when things break down executives have traditionally said “we need to improve our forecasting!” Would better forecasting accuracy be a good thing? Unfortunately, most companies cannot, and will never be able to, consistently rely on highly accurate forecasts. Absolutely!
In follow-up qualitative interviews, one of the largest issues with organizational alignment was metric definition and a clear definition of supply chain excellence. To manage continuous improvement, companies need a clear definition of excellence and organizational alignment to that goal. They do not excel in planning or forecasting.
Today, supply chain excellence matters more than ever. While the supply chain technology market lost its allure at the start of the last decade, it is now cool again. I forecast that this interest will grow and the market is going to become more confusing. The supply chain technology market is responding. Talent Demand.
Nick Lynch is the Global Excellence Manager at Shell Lubricants, a division of Shell Global. It is just not enough to do a software upgrade or slowly push continuous improvement projects. He did this first by implementing demand sensing from Terra Technology (now E2Open) eight years ago. Nick does this well. The reason?
The lack of interoperability between decision support platforms is a problem for companies attempting to improve decisions from the channel to supplier bi-directionally through technology. The essence of the question is resilience and the ability to forecast in a variable market reliably. For most, this is a market opportunity.
. <Bear with me… > Here I share a nine-step process in an attempt to help companies unravel the process for buying supply chain planning software. Polluted with well-intended marketing messages by over-zealous technology providers and consultants creates confusion. The genesis for this post stems from frustration.
Given your expertise, I’d love to hear what alternatives you recommend for better demand forecasting and real-time visibility beyond what’s commonly adopted today.” The issues are largely rooted in politics and the lack of clarity on supply chain excellence. Or planned orders to purchase orders?) I don’t know.
Furthermore, it should leverage advanced AI and analytics combined with a configurable platform to ensure tight communication, information sharing and continuously improved collaboration with multiple tiers of suppliers, logistics providers and partners. The user should also have easy access to related attachments and reference documents.
As an analyst in the supply chain market for 15 years, I have written many articles on best-of-breed technology companies purchased by a larger company. Today I am writing my take on the acquisition of Terra Technology by E2open. History of Terra Technology. Terra Technology is 15-years old.
For most digital became an excuse to implement more traditional relational database technologies. Most companies invested in enterprise transactional systems, but their networks operate primarily through spreadsheets and email. Most are excited about their new platforms. ” Does the Dog Hunt? I am researcher.
Expand the “FLOW” program for logistics information sharing to forecast transportation flow. Source: Supply Chain Insights ASCM defines resilience in the SCM Supply Chain Dictionary as the ability of a supply chain to anticipate, create plans to avoid or mitigate, and to recover from disruptions to supply chain functionality.
Production schedulers and planners work every day to balance limited labor, materials, production time, and availability of machines and tools against forecasted demand, customer orders, and the backlog. Forecasting and Production Planning for greater accuracy. Use Capable to Promise for planning and to close more quotes.
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. Technology integration: Leveraging digital tools to enhance visibility and decision-making.
It’s a holistic approach that blends strategic planning, streamlined processes, and the right technology to transform your warehouse into a well-oiled, profit-generating machine. Eight proven optimization strategies, combining technology, best practices, and sustainable solutions.
Clear operating strategy and definition of supply chain excellence across plan, source, make and deliver. Most companies buy decision support technology, but do not redefine work to improve decisions. Improved Forecast Value Added (FVA). Instead, focus on Forecast Value Added analysis. Drives Value.
Richard is the CEO of LeanDNA , a purpose-built analytics platform for factory inventory optimization. About Richard Lebovitz Richard Lebovitz is the CEO of LeanDNA , a purpose-built analytics platform for factory inventory optimization. Richard Lebovitz and Joe Lynch discuss leading inventory attack teams. acquired by SAP).
Introduction Gardner, (1954) and Huntzinger, (2007) define Purchase price variance (PPV) as a metric used to measure the effectiveness of cost-saving efforts by calculating the difference between the planned cost (standard pricing) allocated for purchasing activities and the actual cost incurred.
CAGR , the global supply chain management software market is expected to touch USD 50 billion by 2032. This one figure speaks volumes about how organizations worldwide want access to the best supply chain management tools to boost efficiency and value in their distribution and logistics network. Growing at an overwhelming rate of 11.1%
Several factors contribute to customer loyalty, but providing excellent customer service—and a top-notch experience–is one of the most important in driving retention. 6 Examples of Excellent Customer Experiences. Image source: National Retail Association. Image source: Twitter. Image source: Ikea.
The company sources goods from 34,000 suppliers out of 30 nations. Driving an excellent supply chain depends on how people are recruited and managed, processes, and the technology used. The company uses a network design tool from Coupa. This is an important analysis tool for maintaining a well-run supply chain.
Let’s start with the definitions: Graph AI uses Machine Learning on graph-based technology to understand the relationships between variables to drive insights. Graph technology leverages graph structures to represent and store data. Running optimizers frequently introduce noise and error into a complex system.
Top 3 Procurement Technologies to Embrace in 2025 Staying ahead of key procurement technology and advancements is essential for CPOs who want to improve spend cost reduction, drive strategic value, and navigate the increasingly complex procurement landscape.
Theyre often seen as separate worlds, each with its own goals, systems, and ways of working. This blog explores procurement vs supply chain strategy and looks at how aligning the two leads to operational excellence. Procurement professionals focus on sourcing goods and services, negotiating with suppliers, and managing contracts.
Businesses adopt online procurement systems to mitigate risks and to streamline requisitions, approvals, order placement, and spend management. However, with numerous e-procurement software vendors available, choosing the right tool can be overwhelming. Keep reading to learn: What is an online procurement system?
Reason #4 Making key decisions by modelling the supply chain in Excel. That got me thinking about why I was throwing away what had been perfectly good food; I had forecasted needing a certain amount, but the customers (my family) didn’t take what I’d forecasted. Better forecasts – Forecasts are always wrong!
Source Wikipedia. Consumers want to shop anywhere, and buy in the way that they want to buy. Each year I go to the Consumer Goods and Technology (CGT) conference where speaker-after-speaker talks about retail/supplier collaboration. As things change there is no system of record. In this relationship, no one wins.
It was a story where people believed that functional excellence leads to supply chain superiority. I strongly feel that a blind focus on functional excellence will cause the supply chain to become out of balance. These technologies are mature. I feel that many of these technologies are now legacy. Here is my argument.
In addition, poor visibility, unpredictable demand, and disjointed systems worsen the situation further and lead to inefficient procurement, misplaced stock, and emergency orders. Thats why a growing number of organizations are turning to AI software for spare parts inventory management.
What is Source to Pay (S2P)? Yet in the case of source to pay, it is wholly justified. That said, many organizations, including large enterprises, may not think in terms of source to pay as an end-to-end process, if they think about it at all. Yet there are good reasons to do so. the public sector).
From harvest to hands, the food & beverage (F&B) industry leaves no room for guesswork, especially without supply chain optimization software. The key to creating an effective market-driven demand plan is access to rich forecasts based on inputs from multiple sources. And that’s pretty astonishing.
This technology company is headquartered in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Among other things, ZF manufactures electrified powertrains, car chassis technology, active and passive safety systems, and advanced driver assistance systems. ZF transforms those purchased products into over 2,000 products.
Q: Is it only inventory disrupting the agility resulting from inaccurate forecasts by S&OP? In the supply chain, variability and volatility come from many sources. Common Platforms: The more that products are standardized and platforms are rationalized, the easier it is to design for agility. Is it S&OP?
Your Comprehensive Guide to Production Planning Software The benefits of production planning software vs scheduling are about the granularity of the plan: capacity plans (or master production schedules) are not granular and factor in less granular things, like high level capacity, forecasts, inventory, and transfer times.
Love it or hate it, daily necessities need to be purchased. Whichever reasons fuel the motivations of your target market, here are the top trends shaping how they’ll buy – and how you can stay front of mind and ahead of the competition. Data source: eMarketer. eCommerce Purchases and “The New Normal” Retail Categories.
by Lori Smith Can the S&OP process be done without technology? The answer to that question has certainly evolved over the years, and while there are still some holdouts, most will now agree that technology is indeed required. So what technologies are today’s supply chain teams using to support the critical S&OP process?
The prevalence of smoking is going down, but the world’s population is increasing; the net result is that the forecast for the number of smokers is essentially flat in 2025 as compared to 2010. We needed to simulate multiple scenarios of significantly increased capacity and sourcing complexity, at speed and over a long planning horizon.
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