This site uses cookies to improve your experience. To help us insure we adhere to various privacy regulations, please select your country/region of residence. If you do not select a country, we will assume you are from the United States. Select your Cookie Settings or view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Used for the proper function of the website
Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Strictly Necessary: Used for the proper function of the website
Performance/Analytics: Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
To build an outside-in model, and use new forms of analytics, we must start the discussion with the question of, “what drives value?” ” Traditional planning models optimize functional processes to improve cost and customer service. You are right. The answer is not th e Gartner Top 25. What should we do?
The transition to renewable energy and the adoption of sustainable practices are now essential for reducing environmental impact, ensuring regulatory compliance, and maintaining competitiveness. Businesses face heightened uncertainty in managing costs and securing stable energy supplies.
The adoption of AI in supply chain automation is enabling companies to make more accurate decisions, reduce cycle times, and better manage complexity. AI in supply chain automation is gradually reshaping how core functions operate, particularly in procurement, warehousing, and logistics.
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.
If you’re evaluating procurement technology or exploring ways to drive more value from existing systems, chances are you’re looking beyond tactical fixes – you want a smarter, scalable strategy. Misaligned priorities across finance, legal, and procurement create friction that delays decision-making and reduces impact.
Traditionally, procurement has been a process weighed down by manual tasks, fragmented systems, and endless paperwork. Today, procurement is undergoing a transformation. While procurement teams have long worked to add strategic value, Artificial Intelligence (AI) amplifies their impact.
SAP is embedding its generative Joule across the SAP Ariba source-to-pay solution portfolio to make it easier for their customers to manage routine inquiries, such as status updates, summarization, and frequently asked questions. The enterprise software company also announced a new analytics solution covering external workforce management.
Enterprise procurement leaders are under more pressure than ever—juggling cost control, compliance, supplier risk, and internal complexity, all while trying to modernize outdated systems. AI, automation, and generative tools are redefining efficiency, allowing procurement teams to move from reactive to proactive decision-making.
Procurement and supply chain management are often used interchangeably—but in practice, the lines between them can blur in ways that create real friction. Misaligned priorities, siloed systems, and unclear ownership can directly impact key performance indicators like cost savings percentage and procurement cycle time.
For most CPOs and CFOs, deciding on the right purchasing setup — centralized or decentralized — is no small task. Each model has its perks, and choosing the best fit can feel like walking a tightrope. Keep reading to learn: What is centralized purchasing? What is centralized purchasing?
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. In the automotive sector, manufacturers are simultaneously reducinginventorycosts and delivery times.
In follow-up qualitative interviews, one of the largest issues with organizational alignment was metric definition and a clear definition of supply chain excellence. In my post Mea Culpa, I reference my work with the Gartner Supply Chain Hierarchy of Metrics. Error is error, but is it the most important metric? My answer is no.
It is crucial for organizations to understand the importance of Purchase Order collaboration to effectively manage their direct spend, optimize operations, and mitigate risks. From natural disasters to geopolitical tensions and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, supply chains have been significantly impacted.
In May, the total number of job cuts in the US were 696,309 – an increase of 80% from the 385,859 jobs cut in the first five months of 2024. During the first week of June 2025, job cuts continued with 90,000 layoffs with iconic brands like Kimberly-Clark (1500-1900), Microsoft (6,000), P&G (7000), and Wal-Mart (1,500).
According to McKinsey , organizations implementing AI-driven demand forecasting solutions can reduce forecast errors by 30% to 50%. Even more impressive, lost sales due to stockouts can decrease by up to 65%, while inventoryreductions of 20% to 50% are possible. The company recognizes over 200 micro-climates within the U.S.
A disruption at any point in the global logistics network including the average of 12 touch points from shipment packaging to final delivery can prove disastrous for profits, service levels, customer loyalty, and other key metrics. With the global e-commerce market predicted to reach $8.1 billion to $23.07
Since January, Canadians’ weekly grocery trips have become a real-time indicator for the potential impacts of tariffs as shoppers have responded to threats with a showcase of buying power, prioritizing nationally sourced and manufactured products even before a single tariff was enacted.
According to McKinsey & Company, procurement accounts for 50% to 80% of a company’s cost base. That’s why organizations zero in on strategies to achieve procurementcostreduction. It cutscosts yet helps maintain product quality and smooth operations.
By maximizing space utilization, improving inventory control , and boosting workflow efficiency, you can unlock significant cost savings and elevate your customer service game. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the key elements of warehouse optimization and provide actionable strategies you can implement today.
In a previous post , I made a case for how the Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSCO) and Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) are smarter together. Accordingly Supply Chain and Procurement will need continuous collaboration. Such sourcing events can be in the context of direct materials or logistics capacity.
Decoding the Procurement Department: A Comprehensive Guide to Roles and Responsibilities This supply chain article provides a comprehensive overview of the procurement department within an organization. Read In Detail About Procurement Department Here 2.
At each company, there is a relationship between the metrics of growth, margin, inventory, customer service, and asset strategy. For the purpose of this article, I will use Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) as the proxy metric to discuss asset utilization.) Understanding this relationship requires modeling. (A
GEP and the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Supply Chain Resource Cooperative surveyed supply chain, procurement and IT professionals across a range of industries to gain insight into their priorities and strategies regarding supply chain resilience and optimization. Alex Zhong, Director Product Marketing at GEP.
There are many ways an organization can cut supply chain costs. While there are no short-term fixes, enterprises should prioritize areas where they can make the quickest gains to reducecosts. Mastering Direct Spend Management Procurement teams generally do not report to the chief supply chain officer.
Wikipedia In 2014, I was exploring methods to publish what is now the Supply Chains To Admire report. The use of orbit charts allowed me to see the patterns of performance at the intersection of metrics over time. We purchase data from Y charts. (A We have archived corporate reporting from Y charts for 1982-2023.
Analytics and business intelligence (BI) are no longer optionaltheyre essential. They need visibility across multiple internal systemslike ERP, CRM, and financial platformsand even external sources shared with suppliers, partners, and customers. Think of it as the central nervous system of your analytics ecosystem.
In today’s fast-paced industrial landscape, managing spare parts and MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operations) inventory is more than just keeping shelves stocked. It’s about strategic optimizationensuring availability while minimizing waste and costs. Improve cash flow by reducing capital tied up in inventory.
What is Vendor Relationship Management (VRM) and Why It’s Essential for Your ERP and Inventory Software? Strong vendor relationships are critical for business success, especially when it comes to managing inventory and procurement. By automating this process, you reduce errors and improve financial reporting accuracy.
PwC reports that almost half of assets under management are held by investment firms committed to decarbonization. It was a rude surprise when I learned it would cost $100 to fill the tank. I was drawn to Hunter and Amory Lovins, who advocated a strategy pairing energy efficiency with renewables, long before its current popularity.
Businesses often use it in retail and purchasing. Category management isn’t just another procurement trend. It’s a way for companies to group similar goods or services (like IT infrastructure, facilities, or raw materials) and manage them holistically instead of handling every purchase in isolation.
This shift has pushed supply chain leadership to pivot from reactive management to proactive strategy built on data. Analytics allows organizations to move beyond intuition. With real-time dashboards, predictivemodels, and risk simulations, leaders can identify bottlenecks before they occur.
import volumes still climbing (see Figure 1), limited processing capacity at key West Coast ports and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) contract expiring next summer, importers will be scrambling to maintain the inventory they need to support the demand increase.
I did a little digging to find out the specifics about excess inventory, the stated causes, and the potential implications. Retailers’ Inventories – Just Keep your Returns? Unfortunately, I am unsure about the order of magnitude or the duration of these inventory mismatches. Here’s my take on the topic.
Economic downturns can disrupt the flow of goods, increase operational costs, and reduce profit margins. In this blog post, well explore the importance of robust supply chains, the key risks they face during economic downturns, and practical strategies. Recession-proofing a supply chain doesn’t mean eliminating all risks.
Inventory is the lifeblood of any manufacturing business. Get it right, and youve got happy customers and streamlined costs. Striking the perfect balance between available stock and cost efficiency is key. Tracking inventory flow and performance across your supply chain is a must. But what exactly should you measure?
When you look behind the scenes of a global business operation, procurementstrategy and supply chain management are usually top priorities, though theyre not always working in sync. This blog explores procurement vs supply chain strategy and looks at how aligning the two leads to operational excellence.
Table of Contents ** Minutes What is product sourcing? Where can I source products from? This makes it essential that buyers understand where they are sourcing their products from and how that ultimately affects their brand. What is product sourcing? Where can I source products from?
Automotive distributors play a vital role in the automotive supply chain by procuring parts, warehousing them, and then supplying them to OEMs (original equipment manufacturer), retailers or end consumers. The data can be used to identify inefficiencies in the supply chain, improve inventory management, and streamline operations.
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
In today’s dynamic market, procurement is far more than just a buying and purchasing center. Forward-thinking organizations have transformed the department into an untapped gold mine that creates value for the entire end-to-end manufacturing process—from design and sourcing to production and delivery.
That’s why staying on top of the latest supply chain planning trends is so important – they can make all the difference when it comes to staying competitive, reducingcosts, and meeting your customers’ needs. They are more likely to shop for discounts and sales and may delay purchases of some items.
The past few years have created a lasting impact on the way business is conducted, driving many companies to analytics to gain the visibility they need to control and optimize key processes. The Basics of Procurement KPIs. There must be a clearly defined data source with a standardized process for collecting and measuring that data.
As businesses globally focus on reducing lost productivity, costly downtime, and rising inventory expenses, effective spare parts management has become a top priority—especially for asset-intensive industries. Poor spare parts management and planning can significantly impact the bottom line, leading to inventory failures.
How AI is Transforming Manufacturing: Strategies, Benefits, and Use Cases Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a huge topic and one that is constantly changing as research and development efforts push out the boundaries of whats possibleand whats already happening! For example, in complex event processing diagnostic systems.
We organize all of the trending information in your field so you don't have to. Join 102,000+ users and stay up to date on the latest articles your peers are reading.
You know about us, now we want to get to know you!
Let's personalize your content
Let's get even more personalized
We recognize your account from another site in our network, please click 'Send Email' below to continue with verifying your account and setting a password.
Let's personalize your content