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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.
This complexity has introduced gaps in visibility and responsiveness that traditional systems werent designed to handle. It is not a technology on its own, but rather a process that combines planning, execution, and monitoring through integrated tools and workflows.
Three months into 2025, we have seen a barrage of on-again, off-again tariffs that have supply chain and logistics teams reeling, as they must rethink everything from next weeks shipping route to their foundational network models. That may sound impossible, but new technology places this capability within the reach of every organization.
Venture capitalists are high on Artificial Intelligence (AI), and over-exuberant professors with shiny new models are jockeying into position to get rich. Building a software company is hard work. Try to gain an understanding of how technological advancements can improve work. I am speaking to many that are ill equipped.
At this years keynote, Manhattan Associates outlined its current strategic direction, underscoring platform unification, AI integration, and leadership transition. His comments reflected a long-term orientation: technology and strategy are expected to evolve in parallel with shifts in the global supply chain environment.
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.
Retrofitting existing infrastructure with energy-efficient technologies further enhances sustainability efforts. Critical practices include: Circular Supply Chains: Designing systems that minimize waste and emphasize recycling and reuse. Advanced route optimization tools further support these goals.
Financial crises, global tensions, supply shortages, technological innovations, and regulatory changes are inevitable we just cant predict when theyll strike. This uncertainty makes dynamic inventory replenishment optimization essential for business success. Disruptions in the supply chain happen with surprising regularity.
This is amplified across the supply chain into an exponential impact on inventory and planned orders for manufacturing. As the global organization developed, companies increased their dependency on third-party manufacturing and distribution (increasing latency) without investing in value network technologies. Inventory Health.
The global supply chain landscape is undergoing significant transformations, influenced by rapid technological advancements, shifting consumer expectations, and the intricacies of international commerce. Preparing the next generation to excel in this dynamic field requires more than traditional education methods.
Lean models alone are no longer sufficient. All of this points to a larger issue: systems that perform well under stable conditions but lack the flexibility to respond when those conditions change. AI is helping companies better detect risk, model alternatives, and make faster decisions with more confidence.
Small companies outperform large companies, and the marquee customers of major supply chain planning technology providers underperform. The issue is that when companies optimize functional metrics, they throw the supply chain out of balance and sub-optimize value. This shift improves modeling options and the use of disparate data.
These classes are designed for networking and exploring outside-in models in a safe environment. New forms of technology are an enabler. We are stuck with old models Without new thinking, we wont get unstuck. _ This week, I began teaching a new round of outside-in planning classes.
Picture this: You’re a warehouse manager, and with a few taps on your smartphone, you instantly know the exact location and quantity of every item in your inventory. That’s not science fiction—it’s the power of mobile inventory management. Ready to turn your inventory from a headache into a strategic asset?
Senior leaders must think beyond incremental improvements, embracing systemic innovation to achieve significant environmental impact. Smart energy management systems further enhance efficiency by tracking and optimizing energy use in real-time. Reducing carbon emissions is a cornerstone of this effort.
If there’s a bright spot anywhere it’s the fact that, as logistics challenges have grown, so has the availability of advanced technologies to manage these challenges. For logistics teams, digital control towers add maximum value when they’re integrated with the transportation management system (TMS). Warehouse Task Automation.
This year’s conference brought together industry leaders, tech pioneers, and retail professionals to address challenges and opportunities, to explore technologies and strategies that promise to revolutionize the industry. Agent AI is emerging as a game-changing tool for understanding and responding to customer behavior in real-time.
Thats why modern BI systems are quickly becoming the go-to solution for data-driven enterprises. They integrate, align, and activate data across the business to drive better, faster decisions unlike legacy reporting tools that can’t. But lets be clear: not all BI platforms are created equal. Why does that matter?
Digital twins are emerging as digital transformation accelerators for supply chain and logistics organizations seeking enterprise-level visibility, real-time scenario modeling, and operational agility under disruption. These are not static dashboards or simple visualizationstheyre living, data-rich models of real-world operations.
To achieve those results, “we had to massage the platform to accept emissions data from our carriers,” Mr. De Golia explained. The model allowed Microsoft to run many scenarios and supported trading off service reliability, cost, and carbon emissions. A clear goal needs to be combined with good data and metrics.
This model simplifies the world of RtM into a series of three steps that any RtM practitioner can execute. Here are the Top 5 Do’s and Don’ts to help you build a high-performing RTM model and distributor network: ✅Top 5 Do’s Do Align RTM Strategy with Consumer Behaviour : Design your RTM based on where, how, and why your consumers shop.
Yet, despite significant investments in tools and talent, many organizations still struggle to connect strategic vision with real-world operations. Most S&OP efforts break down due to disconnected systems, siloed data, and a lack of cross-functional engagement. Others excel at modeling and optimization. The result?
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 reducing inventory costs and delivery times.
Beyond simply improving forecast accuracy, todays ML-powered demand forecasting software uncovers hidden supply trends, anticipates pricing fluctuations, and enables proactive supply chain planning decisions. Even more impressive, lost sales due to stockouts can decrease by up to 65%, while inventory reductions of 20% to 50% are possible.
By combining leadership and technology, I believed that we had the opportunity to create a better supply chain. The gap is the result of the stewpot of corporate politics, misguided consultants, and over-hyped technologies. When compared to pre-recession years, we ended the decade with twenty more days of inventory. I was wrong.
To keep customers like my dad satisfied, RGD and Quick-commerce companies need to invest in new technologies to optimize the supply chain and logistics operations. These technologies are often invisible to the end-user but make a big difference in keeping the promises about product availability, freshness, and speed of delivery.
The future inventory fire sale. One of my stark realizations this year is that smaller companies are beating larger and often more established companies on growth metrics, inventory turns, operating margin, and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC). (In The metrics selection resulted from work with Arizona State University in 2013.)
It is clear that the past is not a good model for the future. Each saw the need to change and not dwell on the loss of the position as they knew it, but to embrace the potential of new opportunities stemming from the technology inflection. Today’s technology shifts are similar. Shudder at the thought. Autonomous planning?
The Company was attempting to gain economies of scale by grouping manufacturing technologies within a common infrastructure to reap the benefits of a co-generation facility, a centralized warehouse, and a talented administrative team. Engineers could sign up for hour-long blocks to use the new systems. Why Jump Now?
End-to-end supply chain visibility, planning, and execution support software are critical in agile supply chain performance. CPG companies that utilize an autonomous supply chain technology see a reduction in their inventory and cost and an increase in revenue.
That’s where manufacturing inventory management software comes in. The right software can streamline your production, optimize stock levels, and even help you save money. In this ultimate guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about manufacturing inventory management software.
Connected technology transforms traditional supply chains into dynamic systems capable of real-time decisions and proactive problem-solving. Data analytics also offers actionable insights for: Inventory Management: See stock levels across multiple locations in real-time.
Definition As I follow the evolution of supply chain technology, I am struck by what I see as a stream of paradox and anomaly, and the tendency of supply chain leaders to cling to convention. technologies. The world of NoSQL unified data models is inconceivable to most. I constantly ask myself, why? Art of the Possible.
The supply chain is a complex non-linear system. 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.) My answer is no.
trillion distortion inventory problem. Trillion Inventory Distortion Problem In this podcast, Karl Swensen, CEO and Co-founder of Pull Logic, discusses how their AI-enabled technology helps retailers, brands, and manufacturers reduce lost sales by addressing supply chain and selling process failure points.
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.
Each model has its perks, and choosing the best fit can feel like walking a tightrope. On top of that, we’ll break down how to approach selecting the right centralized purchasing system for your business needs. Keep reading to learn: What is centralized purchasing?
The second step is usually a large implementation of a technology project–Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Relationship Planning or Analytics. The first evolution of technologies were built by best-of-breed solution vendors. This new solution was favored by the Information Technology (IT) organization.
No company in either the household non-durable (consumer goods) or the food manufacturing group beat their peer group on the balanced scorecard of growth, inventory turns, operating margin, and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) for 2013-2022. My reply to my friend is that “The supply chain is a complex non-linear system.
It’s a natural fit for an environment built on orchestration across vendors, partners, inventory, and data. In supply chain terms, this translates into going beyond monitoring key performance improvements (KPIs) to enable systems to heal themselves and the processes and operations they run when disruptions occur.
As the state of the trucking market evolves and innovations improve , OTR freight management technologies and logistics service providers offer transportation management optimization to help businesses avoid significant supply chain disruption. Reducing Reliance on Outdated Systems and Technology .
Driving an excellent supply chain depends on how people are recruited and managed, processes, and the technology used. In the annual report where they report on their key performance indicators (KPIs), they don’t just report on core financial metrics and the NPS, they also have people metrics. The company recorded 1.9
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.
Leveraging powerful tools like Inventory Management Software , todays COOs gain real-time visibility, streamline operations, and make faster, smarter decisions that keep their businesses ahead of constant change. Champion technology adoption, automation, and data-driven decision-making. million annually.
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