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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?
AI in supply chain automation is gradually reshaping how core functions operate, particularly in procurement, warehousing, and logistics. Key Insight: The use of AI in supply chain automation is producing tangible benefits across procurement, warehousing, and logistics.
These steps include sourcing and receiving inventory, storing inventory, order processing, picking and packing an order, shipping the order, and returns management. Standard sizes and categorizations play a crucial role in determining the costs associated with shipping products that meet standard criteria in fulfillment centers.
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.
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.
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than ever—juggling cost control, compliance, supplier risk, and internal complexity, all while trying to modernize outdated systems.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.
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?
Key strategies include: Electrification of Transport: The use of electric vehicles (EVs) for freight and last-mile delivery reduces emissions and operational costs. Predictiveanalytics helps logistics companies anticipate disruptions and adapt proactively. Renewable energy adoption reduces operational costs over time.
Advanced supply chain planning is being transformed by probabilistic forecasting , which revolutionizes demand forecasting, supply planning, and inventory optimization. Enhancing Inventory with Probabilistic Forecasting A supply chain is a complex ecosystem influenced by dynamic variables. The result?
Probabilistic forecasting is revolutionizing demand forecasting, supply planning, and inventory optimization by significantly improving forecast accuracy and decision-making across distribution networks. Enhancing Inventory with Probabilistic Forecasting A supply chain is a complex ecosystem influenced by dynamic variables.
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. Here are the key insights we gathered firsthand at this year’s event.
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.
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?
Supply shortages resulting in empty shelves or parking lots of WIP inventory represent a spectre causing supply chain leaders to reconsider supply chain inventory practices. Opinion of just-in-time (JIT) as a practice has taken a battering and inventory is rising. Is supply chain inventory the problem?
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.
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. By aligning supply chain and procurement, spend can be considered more holistically.
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 inventorycosts and delivery times.
Even more impressive, lost sales due to stockouts can decrease by up to 65%, while inventory reductions of 20% to 50% are possible. Enhanced Promotions and Events Analysis Promotions, advertising campaigns, and trade events are vital components of marketing strategy, but accurately measuring their impact on demand remains challenging.
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!
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
How often do you think about your retail reverse logistics strategy? Instead of being relegated to the margins, executives must rethink their strategy and consider how a data-driven reverse supply chain can add more value and improve profit margins. The Benefits of a Data-Driven Retail Reverse Logistics Strategy.
In May 2025, one in seven home-purchase agreements fell through resulting in the cancellation of 56,000 purchase contracts. Ask a procurement or transportation professional if they have a good demand signal and expect a laugh. A negative FVA increases cost, inventory, and risk. The ripple effects are pervasive.
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.
However, the juice for my newfound nightly routine soon became difficult to find, perpetually out of stock each time I tried to purchase it at the grocery store. With tart cherry juice sales transitioning into a steady demand pattern, retailers must adapt their inventorystrategies accordingly to meet this evolving consumer preference.
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.
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.
How aligned do you believe your organization is to drive these metrics? P&G did not appreciate the work Gilette accomplished on form and function of inventory and using market signals. As a result, the company’s performance at the intersection of margin and inventory turns was circular for the past decade.
As an old gal, with over forty-years of supply chain experience, writing this report for ten years taught me many lessons. I find in the orbit chart analysis that 45% of companies in the report are unconsciously incompetent. An average margin of 21% with inventory turns of 1.58 Wrap-up Spend time with the report.
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.
For businesses with seasonal inventory, estimating yearly demand fluctuations with reasonable accuracy can be both challenging and costly. After all, over-estimating can lead to inventory surplus and associated warehousing costs. This is where predictiveanalytics can prove instrumental for strategic supply chain management.
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?
This unlocks enormous value as you eliminate time lags, lower costs, and slash inventory buffers across the network. This strategy enables companies to achieve four critical objectives: Unlock value trapped in the supply network that is due to poor data quality and communication. This then sub-optimises the supply chain.
In the realm of efficient procurement management, understanding the various types of procurementreports becomes paramount. These reports serve as navigational tools, offering insights into different facets of the procurement process.
from last year, with over two-thirds of purchases happening online. Stockouts and Overstock Hurt Retailers The inventory imbalance was glaring this year: 33% of shoppers ** reported being unable to find the items they wanted due to stockouts. Success came from data-driven discount strategies , not blanket offers.
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.
Understanding how your Procurement and Supply Chain KPIs are performing isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential for survival and growth. Is inventory bloating your costs? Why You Need Visibility of Supply Chain and Procurement KPIs? Struggling with the true cost of ownership or serving your customers?
Shoppers coping with inflation have shifted buying habits , purchasing fewer goods and cutting back on big name brands in favor of cheaper alternatives. Short-term consumer product strategies for tariffs and regional demand shifts In the short-term, U.S. As tariffs expand, be prepared to mirror these strategies in other regions.
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.
There is so much data, and to make use of it, we need to use data mining and analytics to drive meaningful insights that can be put to some good use. ABC Analysis for Inventory Planning : Clustering products that behave similarly highlights issues, challenges, and opportunities for serving customers better.
The latest study highlights opportunities for businesses to strengthen resilience with artificial intelligence (AI)-driven demand sensing to optimize inventory, realize more value from planning investments, and better serve clients during disruptions of any size. Orlando, FL – October 2, 2024 – E2open Parent Holdings, Inc.
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.
That was one of the primary conclusions of the annual logistics report released last week by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) at a media briefing in New York. This year’s report was entitled “Navigating Through the Fog.” The CSCMP report puts an estimate on what it calls total U.S. billion last year.
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.
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. It was also the preference of the consulting partners because the projects were longer, more costly and better aligned with the consulting model.
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