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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.
A Procurement System refers to a sophisticated framework or software designed to streamline and automate various stages of the procurement process within an organization. Best-of-breed solutions often specialize in specific aspects of procurement, while full-suite solutions seamlessly automate multiple process steps.
Kinaxis refers to its combination of MSCN and SCP as an AI-infused supply chain orchestration platform that delivers fast, intelligent, and proactive decision-making. But, the supply plans also need to have what they refer to as network feasibility. Coupa and Kinaxis joined the club in only the last few years.
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.
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? Running procurement and supply chain without metrics is like driving blindfolded.
Supply chain and procurement have undergone a seismic change in recent years. The Need for Supply Chain and Procurement Upskilling The global supply chain and procurement markets have changed drastically in the last number of years.
Inventory buffers shrink. And cross-functional teams — from procurement and sales to finance and customer service — are left scrambling to react. Multimodal in Practice At a basic level, multimodal shipping can refer to using two or more distinct modes — such as truck, rail, air or ocean — in a single supply chain. locations.
Agentic AI refers to proactive, self-learning systems capable of making independent decisions, solving problems, and continuously adapting to changing conditions. Keelvar Keelvar specializes in autonomous procurement and supplier negotiations, making sourcing more efficient and cost-effective.
Within this setup, an ERP procurement module helps companies make purchases and manage suppliers. Numbers speak louder: According to Procurement Tactics’ top procurement trends in 2025 , 83% of CPOs prioritize digitization. Keep reading to learn: What Is ERP in Procurement?
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.
Definition: Procurement automation is the use of digital tools to make routine tasks throughout procurement more efficient. Advanced technologies like AI and cloud-based procurement software helps companies reduce the burden of manual work, lower costs, and gain insight into analytics. Why switch to automated procurement?
A wave of uncertainty When the tariffs were paused (currently set to expire in August), shippers quickly resumed ordering—both to make up for delayed shipments and to ensure sufficient inventory ahead of potential demand spikes. More importantly, inventory costs have risen even faster—driven by tariffs and rising warehousing expenses.
What is Inventory? A Comprehensive Guide to Types and Uses Inventory is a critical component of any business that deals with goods, as it forms the backbone of a company’s ability to operate efficiently and profitably. What is Inventory? Reduce excess stock and associated carrying costs.
While these terms are often used interchangeably — even by professionals — they refer to distinct areas of expertise, each playing a vital role in ensuring product availability, customer satisfaction, and cost efficiency. helps companies forecast demand and balance inventory by using existing ERP and supply chain data — no new tools needed.
Supply chain and procurement executives should urgently pay heed to the need to make sure it is distributed to them, said Jay Koganti, vice president supply chain at the Center of Excellence of Estée Lauder , during a presentation titled “ AI Trends Transforming Supply Chain – and How Leaders Should Respond,” at the DPW New York conference June 11.
Ask a procurement or transportation professional if they have a good demand signal and expect a laugh. Technology can automate role-based views up and down the river of demand for all roles: marketing, sales, finance, manufacturing, procurement, transportation, and human resources. A negative FVA increases cost, inventory, and risk.
Real-time supply chain visibility refers to the ability to track, monitor, and analyze the flow of goods, information, and resources across the entire supply chain in real time. Furthermore, RTSV enables businesses to optimize inventory management and avoid stockouts, ensuring that products are available when customers need them.
When we talk about building a resilient supply chain, we’re not just discussing having backup suppliers or extra inventory. Supply chain resilience refers to an organisation’s ability to anticipate , prepare for , respond to , and recover from disruptions while still maintaining your business operations.
You’re juggling production schedules, managing inventory, keeping an eye on finances, and making sure everything runs smoothly on the shop floor. Think of it as the central nervous system of your operation, connecting everything from production planning and inventory control to supply chain management and financial reporting.
In 2025, efficient spare parts inventory management is no longer a competitive advantage — it’s a business necessity. Yet for many organizations, spare parts inventory remains a critical blind spot. Obsolete stock, fragmented procurement workflows, and disconnected data only make the challenge harder.
In 2025, efficient spare parts inventory management is no longer a competitive advantage — it’s a business necessity. Yet for many organizations, spare parts inventory remains a critical blind spot. Obsolete stock, fragmented procurement workflows, and disconnected data only make the challenge harder.
Just-in-Case (JIC) Inventory Unlike the just-in-time (JIT) model, which prioritizes lean inventory, JIC emphasizes maintaining buffer stock to safeguard operations. This unified view eliminates silos and ensures all stakeholders—from engineering to procurement—are working with the most current information. REFERENCES [link]
AI in the supply chain refers to the use of intelligent technologies to manage and optimize different supply chain activities, such as inventory management, demand forecasting, and route optimization. AI helps businesses gain greater insight into every step of the supply chain process, from procurement to distribution.
Managing inventory effectively is a constant challenge for businesses. Misunderstandings about the dynamics of inventory fluctuations, like the bullwhip effect, can exacerbate these challenges. Misunderstandings about the dynamics of inventory fluctuations, like the bullwhip effect, can exacerbate these challenges.
Depending on the nature of your business, your trading partners or your location, this could include procurement strategies, demand planning, logistics, and global trade management among others. Mastering Direct Spend Management Procurement teams generally do not report to the chief supply chain officer.
As a leading vendor of procurement technology and solutions to manufacturing companies around the world, JAGGAER is witness to these changes as they happen, and even before they happen. AI enhances just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing by synchronizing inventory with real-time production needs.
Reduced inventory: A manufacturing execution system updates inventory records with new production so that purchasing, shipping, and planning departments always know exactly what material is available. This saves manufacturing, transportation, storage, and inventory monitoring costs.
Understanding AI-Powered Predictive Analytics AI-powered predictive analytics refers to specialized analytics tools designed explicitly for analyzing vast amounts of historical and real-time data.
Supplier collaboration refers to the strategic alignment and joint efforts between a company and its suppliers to achieve common goals that benefit all parties. This not only helps avoid stockouts but also reduces the need for excessive inventory, reducing overage and storage costs. What is supplier collaboration?
However, in business, cost-effectiveness meaning refers to maximizing profits while minimizing expenses. Total effect refers to measurable benefits such as cases prevented, lives saved, or services delivered. Key cost categories include: Direct costs : Raw materials, labor, and inventory.
Table 1: Aligning the Organization to a Balanced Scorecard to Maximize Market Potential When we isolate the impact and only focus on only operating margin/inventory turns compared to a focus on cost of goods/inventory turns (as shown in Table 2), the impact is a 63% reduction in market capitalization/employee. Strategic levers (e.g.,
AI in supply chain refers to the application of artificial intelligence technologies—such as machine learning, natural language processing, and optimization algorithms – to make the supply chain more agile, intelligent, and autonomous. What is AI in Supply Chain? But with AI, organizations can gain true end-to-end visibility.
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 procurement cost reduction. The key thing to remember is that cost reduction in procurement isn’t just about slashing expenses.
While MRO spend typically accounts for less than 10% of a company’s total procurement, it can represent up to 80% of its transactional activity. Duplicate part numbers, inconsistent naming conventions, missing attributes, and obsolete records all combine to slow down procurement, increase errors, and inflate costs.
Data literacy , on the other hand, refers to the ability to read, work with, analyze, and argue with data. has the potential to align ERP systems, demand forecasting systems, procure to pay (P2P) systems, transportation management systems (TMS) and Warehouse Management Systems (WMS).
AI in retail supply chain refers to the deployment of intelligent algorithms—including machine learning, predictive analytics, computer vision, and generative AI—to digitize, optimize, and accelerate retail business operations. Capital Efficiency: Minimized inventory holding costs through just-in-time restocking and accurate demand matching.
Subscribe Are Ghost Assets Haunting Your Inventory Control? IT Asset Management, or ITAM, refers to the strategic approach of managing and optimizing the life cycle of IT assets within an organization. This process involves tracking, managing, and optimizing hardware, software, and network components from procurement to disposal.
AI in supply chain refers to the application of artificial intelligence technologies—such as machine learning, natural language processing, and optimization algorithms – to make the supply chain more agile, intelligent, and autonomous. What is AI in Supply Chain? But with AI, organizations can gain true end-to-end visibility.
What are we referring to when talking about the extreme complexity of modern supply chains? It is an important field to many global businesses in terms of their operations since it touches tasks from procurement to logistics. But what exactly is meant by supply chain complexity?
MIT defines generative AI as a machine-learning model that is trained to create new data rather than predicting a specific dataset, whereas agentic AI refers to AI systems that can autonomously take actions, make decisions and adapt to new situations without constant human intervention.
AI in retail supply chain refers to the deployment of intelligent algorithms—including machine learning, predictive analytics, computer vision, and generative AI—to digitize, optimize, and accelerate retail business operations. Capital Efficiency: Minimized inventory holding costs through just-in-time restocking and accurate demand matching.
We’re creating a reference baseline for a geographic area.” For many of the company’s clients, however, it’s enough to know the originating country or region. Unlike the science of human fingerprinting, “we don’t have to get down to millions of data points,” she says. NEXT: Can China get around cotton origin testing?
By sharing information such as demand forecasts, inventory levels, production plans, and lead times, you can minimize uncertainty and variability in the supply chain, allowing for more accurate and timely decision-making. This not only streamlines procurement but also strengthens supply chain resilience.
Use tools like business credit reports, payment history analysis, and trade references to evaluate customer financial stability and identify early warning signs of potential payment delays. Set up automated alerts for customers whose DBT spikes, or who begin delaying payments more frequently. Assess customer financial health regularly.
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