Logistics Viewpoints

MARCH 6, 2025

Companies leaning heavily on global sourcing? manufacturer I know saw their import costs jump overnight, forcing a rethink of a decade-old sourcing strategy. Strategic moves like bulk buying, closer supplier partnerships, and syncing procurement with supply chain planning can tighten inventory, cut waste, and free up cash.

Price Reduction 210

Price Reduction Material Savings Cost Reduction Strategies Waste Reduction 210

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 25, 2024

By charting the performance against peer groups, I could see the story. The first step was to find a reliable data set and establish the peer groups. This data source synchronizes corporate reporting across global markets while tracking restatements, name changes, and currency shifts.) We purchase data from Y charts. (A

Eliminating Excel in Purchasing 385

Eliminating Excel in Purchasing Gartner Supply Chain Design Supply Chain Strategy 385

Supply Chain Shaman

APRIL 24, 2025

The Losers Are the Global Multi-National Supply Chain Teams As I work on the Supply Chains to Admire report, that will publish soon, I wince at the performance of large strategic customers of the supply chain planning vendors when compared to their peer groups. The methodology is now 20 years old. No planning technology today can do this.

Gartner 195

Gartner Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Planning Scenario Planning 195

Logility

JUNE 5, 2024

This urges a shift from the unsustainable practice of buffering against uncertainty with high inventory levels. Enter Inventory Optimization (IO) as a vital strategy to combat supply chain stress. Yet, recent research suggests a more advanced approach, Multi-Echelon Inventory Optimization (MEIO), surpasses traditional methods.

Optimal Sourcing 188

Optimal Sourcing Inventory Reduction Inventory Management Software Modeling 188

Logistics Viewpoints

JUNE 3, 2025

Optimizing fulfillment requires a series of steps to get a shipment from its source to the end customer. These steps include sourcing and receiving inventory, storing inventory, order processing, picking and packing an order, shipping the order, and returns management.

Optimal Sourcing 147

Optimal Sourcing Optimization Software Sourcing Strategies Price Mitigation Strategies 147

Supply Chain Shaman

APRIL 2, 2025

For my long-time readers, you know that fewer than 3% of companies outperform their peer group in our Supply Chains to Admire analysis , and that the Gartner Top 25 is essentially a beauty contest for underperformers. The third step is to do a data inventory. The focus is on unveiling a new, bright, and shiny object. And what is value?

Optimal Sourcing 195

Optimal Sourcing Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Supply Chain Design Software 195

Logistics Viewpoints

AUGUST 9, 2022

While consumers may see some short-term benefit in the form of discounted goods, many retailers have had to reset investor expectations , reflecting the expected hit on margins from carrying so much inventory. Inventory management is challenging enough in normal times. So, what is it going to take to enable better inventory management?

Inventory Management Software 264

Inventory Management Software Inventory Management Inventory Reduction Supply Chain Planning Software 264

ToolsGroup

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

Improving inventory position can help retailers secure consumer loyalty and capture impulse spending. Across other retail sectors, customers have increased their trust in inventory availability from 1-7%. In July 2022, IHL and ToolsGroup surveyed U.S. consumer trust in retailers over the last two years as a result of out-of-stocks.

ToolsGroup 156

ToolsGroup Optimal Sourcing Study Groups 156

Supply Chain Shaman

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

If S&OP efforts were that effective, don’t you think that we would have made more progress against inventory levels, margin, and growth? In part, this results in increasing swings in inventory in response to shifts in consumer demand as one moves further up the supply chain. Go to the source. She is a disbeliever.

Supply and Demand 433

Supply and Demand Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Demand Planning 433

Supply Chain Shaman

SEPTEMBER 3, 2018

Over the last six years, we studied the connection between business results (growth, operating margin, inventory turns and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)) and the link to company characteristics. The technology group wanted to implement SAP IBP, and the business leaders were resistant. What did we find? The gap was large.

Supply Chain Planning Software 377

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Agile and Lean Supply Chain Supply Chain Software 377

Supply Chain Shaman

JANUARY 25, 2024

With slim margins and ever-increasing inventories, companies invested less in capital assets. Today, this network operates with less capacity and ballooning inventories. Less than 1% of companies in this value chain outperform their peer group. Here I offer three starting points: ESG Initiatives Need to Focus on Inventory.

Supply Chain Network Software 360

Supply Chain Network Software Manufacturing Procurement Inventory Reduction Purchasing Skills 360

Supply Chain Shaman

DECEMBER 7, 2023

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. I am currently doing research on inventory management. Today, this is not the case. Yes, I think so.

Supply Chain Design Software 397

Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Supply Chain Software 397

Supply Chain Shaman

NOVEMBER 15, 2021

Inventories in the chemical industry are at record lows: a forerunner of bad days ahead. While we will recover quickly in retail (moving from painful shortages to a glut of inventory), the chemical industry–sitting four and five layers back in the supply chain–takes longer to recover. Retail shelves are increasingly empty.

Supply Chain Design Software 355

Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Sourcing Strategies Supply and Demand 355

Logistics Viewpoints

JANUARY 18, 2024

1) Streamlined Data Flow and Process Automation Is all about AI At the heart of effective supply chain automation lies the seamless flow of data across various sources and digital platforms, akin to a well-constructed highway for data. Supporting optimal strategies for inventory investment and allocation to support your sustainability goals.

Supply Chain Software 327

Supply Chain Software Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Network Design Software 327

Logistics Viewpoints

JANUARY 11, 2024

If you can’t see what’s truly going on at any moment in time across your supply chain, you’ll make yourself vulnerable to lost opportunities, lost income, lost inventory, lost shipments, and eventually, lost customers. Jeremy Hudson is Director of Client Services at Open Sky Group. The consequences can be serious. So, what next?

Supply Chain Planning Software 315

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Network Software Analytics Software Forecasting Software 315

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 21, 2024

In fact, Estee Lauder has just finished an elaborate deployment of supply chain planning yet is not driving improvement faster than their peer group. Evaluate the performance of L’Oreal against peer group in Figures 3A and 3B. Note that L’Oreal is driving a faster level of improvement and market capitalization than Estee.

Procurement Analytics 394

Procurement Analytics Metrics Optimal Sourcing Supply Chain Planning Software 394

Logistics Viewpoints

DECEMBER 15, 2022

The idea is that data points within a group share similar properties, and each group is different (statistically speaking) from another. Retailers can apply cluster analysis techniques in different ways to find groups of customers, products, stores, or suppliers that behave similarly. The retail industry is rich with data.

Optimal Sourcing 263

Optimal Sourcing Analysis Procurement Analytics Purchasing Skills 263

Supply Chain Shaman

APRIL 27, 2022

At each company, there is a relationship between the metrics of growth, margin, inventory, customer service, and asset strategy. When we compare the results of P&G to its peer group for 2012-2021, P&G outperforms in inventory turns and margin but underperforms in growth and asset utilization. Was this by design?

Procurement Analytics 369

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

ToolsGroup

JUNE 17, 2021

Right-sizing inventory. Avoiding inventory overages and shortages begins with a better forecast, but also requires a smarter inventory strategy. Differentiated customer service classes enable alignment of order fill rate targets by groups to the organization’s go-to market strategy.

Forecasting 295

Forecasting Forecasting Software Modeling Supply Chain Planning Software 295

Logistics Viewpoints

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

Lastly, this single source of truth for all parties positively impacts customer relationships. Where customers gain the ability to make informed decisions based on improved visibility into their inventory, 3PLs can reduce their cost of service, while simultaneously enhancing productivity and profits.

Supply Chain Planning Software 278

Supply Chain Planning Software Inventory Management Software Analytics Software Forecasting Software 278

Supply Chain Shaman

AUGUST 7, 2019

To accomplish this goal, I ask a cross-functional group to audit the past year. As a group, we drill into root issues. ” Or alternatively, “Is there data that could be sourced to help?” Many times useful data exists in marketing or sales groups, but is not shared with the supply chain team.

Supply Chain Design Software 271

Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Software Supply Chain Design 271

Logility

AUGUST 30, 2022

a leader in supply chain innovation powering the sustainable and resilient enterprise, and The Parker Avery Group, a leading retail and consumer goods consulting firm, announced that they have formed a strategic partnership. Logility customers include Big Lots, Husqvarna Group, Parker Hannifin, Sonoco Products and Red Wing Shoe Company.

Logility 130

Logility Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Analytics Software 130

Logistics Viewpoints

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

I informed our readers that ARC Advisory Group/Logistics Viewpoints is conducting a survey to determine the perceptions, priorities, and strategic initiatives of today’s supply chain and logistics executives. However, I am surprised at the degree that localized sourcing is being considered.

Supply Chain Planning 292

Supply Chain Planning Optimal Sourcing Supply Chain Optimization Supply Chain 292

Logistics Viewpoints

MAY 13, 2025

At the same time, companies have been forced to pull forward inventory purchases, creating a squeeze where carrying costs are up while cash flow is tight. Until a trailer is unloaded and the warehouse records that inventory, it’s not reflected in the companys warehouse management systems.

Supply Chain Design Software 104

Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Software Logistics Network Optimization Software 104

Supply Chain Shaman

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

It was my first time working with this group. The team was organized around the functional silos of source, make and deliver. The group laughed. ” The group was quiet as we discussed the fact in the traditional organization that functional silos are not designed to work together. My name is often mispronounced.

Manufacturing Procurement 318

Manufacturing Procurement Optimal Sourcing Benchmarking Supply Chain Design Software 318

Supply Chain Shaman

MARCH 5, 2019

Groups throw-out concepts. While there are many types of visibility (see Figure 1), the most common use case is either sourcing or transportation visibility. For example, only 29% of manufacturing companies can access total cost data and 31% struggle to see the impact of business decisions on inventory. It looks like this.

Supply Chain Design Software 340

Supply Chain Design Software Real-time Visibility Prescriptive Analytics Software Supply Chain Planning Software 340

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 21, 2023

While companies that supply chain leaders believe are top performers– J&J, P&G, and Unilever– do not outperform their peer group. I list sixteen in Table 2, but of the 29 companies listed in the Gartner Top 25, 27 underperform their peer group sector. Is this success? Is this success? I don’t think so.

Gartner 426

Gartner Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning 426

Logistics Viewpoints

APRIL 1, 2021

Building optionality in the supply chain through collaborative sourcing: Supply chain teams can proactively identify choke points within the existing network by leveraging emerging technologies such as digital twins and advanced analytics, and modeling their end-to-end supply chains.

Optimal Sourcing 284

Optimal Sourcing Manufacturing Procurement Procurement Analytics Procurement Solutions 284

Logistics Viewpoints

MARCH 9, 2023

This is because most classical planning solutions lack the modeling capability and computing power to accommodate different data sources, large SKU count, and detailed constraints and contingencies to build an immediately executable plan. each with discrete plans generated typically in sequential batch runs.

Supply Chain Planning Software 287

Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Forecasting Software Optimization Software 287

Logistics Viewpoints

AUGUST 5, 2021

We must plan, source, make, and deliver differently for supply chain sustainability. These examples address the source, make, and deliver areas of supply chain. Similarly, increasing the efficiency of planning and reducing waste will lay a firm foundation for greener sourcing, manufacturing and delivery. Buffering creates waste.

Supply Chain Planning Software 325

Supply Chain Planning Software Sustainability Material Savings Supply Chain Planning 325

ThroughPut

FEBRUARY 18, 2025

In todays fast paced industrial world, inventory mismanagement poses substantial financial risks. With approximately $30 trillion of trade flowing from node to node, inventory rebalancing or mismanagement contributes to two major and often preventable issues: lost uptime, and lost sales. The Solution: ThroughPut.AI

Inventory Reduction 52

Inventory Reduction Optimal Sourcing Waste Reduction Cost Reduction Strategies 52

The Logistics of Logistics

JANUARY 13, 2023

Earlier in his career, Trey was part of the Flexport Atlanta founding team and led Kuehne + Nagel’s account management group where he helped design and operate automotive, high tech, and industrial manufacturing supply chain solutions. Trey and the Amplio team believe that sourcing electronic components should be easy and predictable.

Manufacturing Procurement 244

Manufacturing Procurement Optimal Sourcing Purchasing Skills Procurement Solutions 244

ToolsGroup

JUNE 15, 2020

During this stage project leaders should be communicating with leaders and other functional groups to help them understand how SCP will benefit their specific roles and goals. How will the company and different functional groups transition to life with the new SCP technology? How will the technology remove these barriers?

Supply Chain Planning Software 319

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Software Supply Chain Planning Forecasting Software 319

ToolsGroup

APRIL 20, 2022

Sarah Voorhees, VP of Demand and Inventory Planning at American Tire Distributors , is one such leader who emphasizes the importance of individual check-ins: A 1:1 conversation can be intimidating, though, especially if the person has sensitive concerns. Source: Fortune. #3: Source: Fortune. It’s been a tough couple of years.

Sourcing Strategies 194

Sourcing Strategies Optimal Sourcing Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Software 194

Supply Chain Matters

MARCH 14, 2025

Supply Chain Matters highlights indications providing added evidence that manufacturers and retailers are front loading inventory management actions in attempts to initially hedge against added U.S. We cited indications of the post Lunar New Year ramp-up of global production levels to replenish inventories, more so than in prior years.

Inventory Reduction 52

Inventory Reduction Inventory Report Price Reduction 52

ToolsGroup

JANUARY 6, 2022

Pre pandemic we were importing the majority of our inventory from East Asia, in particular China and Japan. These businesses often collect tires of high quality as spare inventory and do not have the infrastructure in place to sell them. Lesson #1: Global supply chain challenges have businesses turning to local suppliers.

Supply Chain Planning Software 290

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Software Supply Chain Planning Supply Chain Strategy 290

Supply Chain Shaman

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

On Friday, I presented an overview of outside-in planning to a consulting group. They group aligns on 22 blood traits and drives bi-directional orchestration decisions in S&OP across the traits for plasma/red and blood types. Using network design technologies calculate the form and function of inventory. The reason?

Modeling 273

Modeling Supply and Demand Optimal Sourcing Supply Chain Planning Software 273