Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 13, 2024

In my recent Mea Culpa post, I mentioned my prior work on Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP), and the importance of leadership. Leadership and S&OP? If you have walked in the shoes of the supply chain leader, you are probably laughing by now. Sounds easy, right? It usually starts with a project.

S&OP 393

S&OP Supply and Demand Inventory Reduction Expense Reduction 393

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 25, 2024

Wikipedia In 2014, I was exploring methods to publish what is now the Supply Chains To Admire report. We purchase data from Y charts. (A Studying Performance of the Gartner Top 25 Award Winners Plotting corporate patterns against peer group performance through orbit charts enables a quick understanding of supply chain excellence.

Eliminating Excel in Purchasing 384

Eliminating Excel in Purchasing Gartner Supply Chain Design Supply Chain Strategy 384

Supply Chain Shaman

DECEMBER 17, 2018

Nick Lynch is the Global Excellence Manager at Shell Lubricants, a division of Shell Global. Located in the United Kingdom (UK), he has more than twelve years of experience in progressive roles driving demand-drive projects for their global supply chain. Components of a Demand-Driven Journey. Incrementalism Is Not Enough.

Demand Planning Software 322

Demand Planning Software Supply and Demand Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software 322

GlobalTranz

MARCH 18, 2025

Is your business facing rapid growth, supply chain disruptions and/or unpredictable customer demand? If so, optimizing your inventory management strategy can be a game-changer. This method offers a solution to various inventory and shipping challenges for businesses just like yours.

Inventory Reduction 156

Inventory Reduction Waste Reduction Resource Reduction Cost Reduction Strategies 156

Supply Chain Shaman

JANUARY 30, 2025

My head is wobbling with announcements, late-night Friday press releases, company name changes, and executive turnover in the supply chain planning market. Logility, a conservative company supply chain planning technology, historically had no debt and cash reserves of more than 80M, is undervalued in this deal.

Supply Chain Planning Software 221

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Modeling Modeling Software 221

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 21, 2024

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. What Drives Value?

Procurement Analytics 393

Procurement Analytics Metrics Optimal Sourcing Supply Chain Planning Software 393

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 10, 2025

Today, in supply chain planning, this could not be further from reality. In May 2025, one in seven home-purchase agreements fell through resulting in the cancellation of 56,000 purchase contracts. Each is attempting to slather AI on today’s offering: this fueling a hype cycle for agentic AI. The reason?

Supply Chain Planning Software 195

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Software Waste Reduction 195

Supply Chain Shaman

DECEMBER 7, 2023

Today, I speak at the North American Manufacturing Association, Manufacturing Leadership Conference, in Nashville on the use of data to improve supply chain resilience. Background The Council of Supply Chain Resilience met for the first time this month. Let’s start the beginning. What is supply chain resilience?

Supply Chain Design Software 395

Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Supply Chain Software 395

Supply Chain Shaman

OCTOBER 4, 2018

The cheese on the puffs stains my hands like I feel that mis-guided past practices have indelibly colored supply chain practices. At the session, we discussed why companies have not made more progress on inventory management. Days of Inventory Pre and Post-Recession. IT View of the Current State of Inventory.

Inventory Management Software 337

Inventory Management Software Inventory Reduction Inventory Management Supply Chain Planning Software 337

Supply Chain Shaman

OCTOBER 5, 2018

At the Supply Chain Global Summit 2018 , Francois discussed the impact of digitalization, Industry 4.0, and L’Oréal’s approach to business that has allowed the company to continuously rank as a Supply Chains to Admire winner for four consecutive years. Read more to understand the details on the Supply Chain Index ,).

Case Study 329

Case Study Inventory Reduction Study Agile and Lean Supply Chain 329

Supply Chain Shaman

AUGUST 18, 2022

At the end of a long day of a strategy session on supply chain excellence with a client, I needed to fill up some time in an agenda. The genesis of the River of Demand learning activity. Over the last decade, I find fewer and fewer companies understand supply chain planning. The result? Background.

Supply and Demand 259

Supply and Demand Demand Planning Software Supply Chain Planning Software Optimal Sourcing 259

Supply Chain Shaman

MARCH 21, 2024

Supply Chain Planners Analogous to Secretarial Pools? In my forty years of studying supply chain planning, the groups became larger, but with questionable results. We sidestep vacuous terms like digital supply chain and attempt to measure and redefine flows based the redefinition of planning.

Inventory Reduction 434

Inventory Reduction Supply Chain Planning Software Cost Reduction Strategies Supply Chain Design Software 434

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 30, 2023

As a supply chain leader, he is struggling how to dance in the ring of fire. The ring of fire is corporate politics at the executive level on supply chain performance. Each executive has a different perspective on the definition of supply chain excellence, but they are never discussed and aligned. Let me explain.

Supply Chain Planning Software 387

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Agile and Lean Supply Chain Eliminating Excel in Purchasing 387

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 18, 2019

In parallel, the movement to global processes and the elongation of the long tail of planning increased complexity making modeling more difficult. Dependency on Excel. Due to the shortfalls in the evolution of Advanced Planning, 68% of business users use Excel spreadsheets as the primary mechanism for planning.

S&OP 230

S&OP Supply and Demand Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software 230

Supply Chain Shaman

AUGUST 14, 2016

The client leaned across the table and asked, “Is a customer-centric supply chain strategy the same as a demand-driven supply chain strategy?” Drawing from the Whiteboard: Building Customer-Centric Supply Chain Strategies. To help, I wrote a few definitions on the board: Demand-Driven Processes.

Material Savings 246

Material Savings Inventory Reduction Price Reduction Cost Reduction Strategies 246

Supply Chain Shaman

APRIL 27, 2022

Supply chain excellence is easier to say than to explain. Executive teams strive to drive improvement in supply chain results; yet, sadly, only four percent of public companies succeed. The supply chain is a complex non-linear system. Let’s take P&G as an example. The reason? A Case Study.

Procurement Analytics 369

Procurement Analytics Manufacturing Procurement Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software 369

Supply Chain Shaman

JANUARY 9, 2024

Today, we published The Supply Chains to Admire for 2023. The companies with the strongest year-over-year performance (placing in the winner’s circle for six more times in ten years) are Apple, L’Oreal, Nike, Paccar, TJX, and TSMC. Supply Chains to Admire Winners 2023 Examine Your Own Paradigm. I admit it.

Supply Chain Planning Software 386

Supply Chain Planning Software Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Planning Gartner 386

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 20, 2014

Integrated Planning: Tight Coupling of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to Supply Chain Planning (SCP). When companies tell me that they need to exchange their current Supply Chain Planning (SCP) from a best-of-breed provider to get a leg-up, I ask, “Why?” It makes no sense to me. Or accidental?

Supply Chain Planning Software 366

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Planning Scenario Planning Supply and Demand 366

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 26, 2023

The basic frame of supply chain planning–functional taxonomies for optimization on a relational database–must be redesigned before supply chain leaders can reap the benefit of deep learning, neural networks, and evolving forms of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Let’s start with a basic definition.

Optimal Sourcing 369

Optimal Sourcing Modeling Supply and Demand Manufacturing Procurement 369

Supply Chain Shaman

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

(Most of the business networks were hollowed out by venture capitalists or purchased by opportunists. The supply chain planner role is the most dissatisfied of any employee in the supply chain, but most focus on improving engines using AI into conventional work processes. The opportunity is to rethink planning.

Supply Chain Planning Software 396

Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Software Modeling Supply Chain Network Software 396

Supply Chain Shaman

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

In 2022, I frequently ask companies to draw their river of demand. The activity is designed to challenge new thinking–to rethink demand as a flow, to identify rocks (barriers), and define process latency (the time to make a decision). Drawings from Two Very Different Businesses Portraying the River of Demand. Mistake #3.

S&OP 195

S&OP Supply and Demand Procurement Analytics Manufacturing Procurement 195

Supply Chain Shaman

DECEMBER 27, 2022

In a recent research project, we found that 2/3 of companies had a digital supply chain transformation strategy; however, those that were evolving their strategy performed better during the early months of the pandemic than those that were “clear” on the project plan for a digital transformation. Supply Chain 4.0.

Supply Chain Software 418

Supply Chain Software Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Strategy 418

The Logistics of Logistics

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Richard Lebovitz and Joe Lynch discuss leading inventory attack teams. 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. acquired by SAP).

Optimal Sourcing 278

Optimal Sourcing Inventory Reduction Supply Chain Design Software Manufacturing Procurement 278

Supply Chain Shaman

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Great to conceptualize potential use cases, but not today’s reality. We have this today in most supply chain planning solutions. I don’t think that the answer is faster planning or better engines. The problem with supply chain planning is that it is, by definition, not repetitive work.

Supply Chain Planning Software 417

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Modeling Supply and Demand 417

RFgen

DECEMBER 27, 2024

You’re juggling production schedules, managing inventory, keeping an eye on finances, and making sure everything runs smoothly on the shop floor. It’s a lot to handle. That’s where a manufacturing ERP comes in. This improves communication, reduces lead times, and optimizes your entire supply chain.

Supply Chain Planning Software 98

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Manufacturing Procurement Inventory Management Software 98

Logistics Viewpoints

MARCH 9, 2023

Consumers are ever more conscious of value, sensitive to health and environmental issues – especially after the COVID pandemic, each demanding more options for their money. End-to-end supply chain visibility, planning, and execution support software are critical in agile supply chain performance.

Supply Chain Planning Software 282

Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Forecasting Software Optimization Software 282

Supply Chain Shaman

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

While consultants know the answers (or believe they do), I believe my goal as a research analyst is to unearth new questions that should be asked (and answered together openly in the supply chain community) to improve value. Like a car’s tire in a snowbank going nowhere… My goal is to free their thinking.

Supply Chain Planning Software 392

Supply Chain Planning Software Optimal Sourcing Manufacturing Procurement Waste Reduction 392

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 3, 2024

Waves of hype pass through supply chain narratives. and digital supply chains. and digital supply chains. I could write a blog about each story, but let’s save that for coffee.) (I could write a blog about each story, but let’s save that for coffee.) Thought leaders push concepts.

Supply Chain Planning Software 369

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Modeling Software Forecasting Software 369

Supply Chain Shaman

OCTOBER 29, 2014

The consulting team pitches a theme–vision of supply chain best practices, big data analytics, or demand-driven value networks– to the executive team, and a new project is initiated. Question 1: What drives a Successful Implementation of Supply Chain Planning? Supply chain planning is now on its third decade.

Supply Chain Planning Software 379

Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Demand Planning Software Optimization Software 379

SCMDOJO

DECEMBER 5, 2024

Leveling up your inventory life cycle can be crucial, but keeping all the fundamental factors jumping is essential to let the life cycle evolve. However, if the life cycle stock is healthy, inventory management is smooth. Inventory management revolves around the pivotal concept of the product life cycle. Click here!

Inventory Reduction 98

Inventory Reduction Inventory Management Software Optimal Sourcing Inventory Management 98

DELMIA Quintiq

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

The establishment of efficient global supply chains has become critical to competitiveness. From raw material procurement to final product sales, these supply chains’ ability to minimize inventory through product life cycle controls and facilitate prompt product supply is every bit as important as product differentiation strategies.

Optimal Sourcing 296

Optimal Sourcing Manufacturing Procurement Supply Chain Optimization Supply Chain Planning Software 296

John Galt

JUNE 11, 2025

Customer Portal Partner Portal Contact John Galt Solutions Atlas AI-driven SaaS platform that connects and orchestrates your entire supply chain. More than a cautionary tale for emergency preparedness, this story mirrors what’s happening across supply chains worldwide. Supply chains are heading down a strikingly similar path.

Forecasting 68

Forecasting Forecasting Software Supply Chain Planning Software Supply and Demand 68

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 21, 2023

Many of the case studies being presented at today’s conferences were born during the pandemic and the post-pandemic turbulence. While companies talk digital, the projects follow traditional supply-centric paths. My lessons learned from doing ten years of analysis include the following: Lack of Supply Chain Economies of Scale.

Gartner 424

Gartner Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning 424

Logility

SEPTEMBER 1, 2023

Demand forecasting plays a crucial role in business success, as it helps predict customer demand and plan inventory effectively. Fortunately, with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), demand forecasting software has undergone a significant transformation.

Forecasting 176

Forecasting Forecasting Software Demand Planning Software Modeling 176

Logistics Viewpoints

DECEMBER 12, 2022

Companies implementing supply chain planning (SCP) have traditionally been very big companies or companies with complex supply chains. Supply chain planning is not just for the big boys. In September of 2020, the company hired Jeff Baker to be their Vice President of Procurement and Integrated Supply Chain.

Supply Chain Planning Software 261

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Planning Procurement Solutions Scenario Planning 261

Supply Chain Shaman

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

. <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. Let’s face a hard fact: the supply chain planning market is a mess. Most have purchased software, but are dependent on Excel spreadsheets.

Supply Chain Planning Software 252

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Supply Chain Software 252

Supply Chain Shaman

JANUARY 25, 2024

Likewise, simplistic sensing of disruptions, to improve resilience is not a network. To make the point, let’s examine the food retail network, as shown in Figure 1, over the last decade. With slim margins and ever-increasing inventories, companies invested less in capital assets. What Is A Network?

Supply Chain Network Software 359

Supply Chain Network Software Manufacturing Procurement Inventory Reduction Purchasing Skills 359