RFgen

DECEMBER 19, 2024

But between rising costs, complex logistics, and the constant struggle to optimize space and labor, staying ahead can feel like an uphill battle. That’s where warehouse optimization comes in. Here’s what you can expect: A clear definition of warehouse optimization and its core components. Ready to get started?

Optimal Sourcing 97

Optimal Sourcing Optimization Software Waste Reduction Inventory Reduction 97

ivalua

JUNE 12, 2025

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.

Cost Reduction Strategies 130

Cost Reduction Strategies Material Savings Expense Reduction Negotiating Skills 130

ToolsGroup

MARCH 31, 2025

Advanced supply chain planning is being transformed by probabilistic forecasting , which revolutionizes demand forecasting, supply planning, and inventory optimization. This approach significantly improves forecast accuracy and enhances decision-making across distribution networks. The result?

Forecasting 156

Forecasting Supply Chain Planning Software Forecasting Software Supply Chain Planning 156

Logistics Viewpoints

APRIL 1, 2021

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.

Optimal Sourcing 283

Optimal Sourcing Manufacturing Procurement Procurement Analytics Procurement Solutions 283

ToolsGroup

MARCH 31, 2025

Probabilistic forecasting is revolutionizing demand forecasting, supply planning, and inventory optimization by significantly improving forecast accuracy and decision-making across distribution networks. However, this approach ignores real purchasing behavior, such as customers buying complete sets of four tires. The result?

Supply Chain Planning Software 156

Supply Chain Planning Software Forecasting Forecasting Software Inventory Reduction 156

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 10, 2025

Technology can change or even improve work. In May 2025, one in seven home-purchase agreements fell through resulting in the cancellation of 56,000 purchase contracts. Supply chain was defined in 1982 as interoperability between source, make and deliver. What’s missing? The ripple effects are pervasive.

Supply Chain Planning Software 221

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Software Waste Reduction 221

Logistics Viewpoints

MAY 19, 2022

The trade with Asia we take for granted today was only possible by mitigating a significant supply chain trade-off – reducing costs without appreciable impacts to quality and service. Supply chain optimization has also improved in significant ways that can address these trade-offs better than before.

Optimal Sourcing 300

Optimal Sourcing Modeling Supply Chain Optimization Optimization Software 300

ivalua

MAY 30, 2023

Ivalua Spend Management Insights [ivory-search] 3 Powerful Ways Procurement will Drive the 2030 Saudi Vision Transformation May 30, 2023 | | Procurement Strategy by Sara Omer What is the Saudi Vision 2030 Program? Procurement and supply chain teams will play a crucial role in making this vision a reality.

Manufacturing Procurement 49

Manufacturing Procurement Procurement Solutions Resource Reduction Procurement Analytics 49

Logistics Viewpoints

JUNE 29, 2023

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.

Manufacturing Procurement 269

Manufacturing Procurement Procurement Analytics Material Savings Inventory Reduction 269

Logistics Viewpoints

APRIL 6, 2023

Procurement and Supply Chain Management are essential functions that can help companies navigate these challenges, but they are often siloed and operate in separate departments. Their metrics are often misaligned as well – supply chain focuses on service and procurement focuses on the cost of acquiring materials and services.

Optimal Sourcing 246

Optimal Sourcing Sourcing Strategies Manufacturing Procurement Material Savings 246

Logistics Viewpoints

SEPTEMBER 4, 2023

Procuring transportation for freight is much different than any other procurement category. Transportation procurement needs to support both customer service and a company’s internal supply chain goals. One master of freight procurement is Kyle Masters. Simmons Foods Simmons Foods is a farm to fork poultry manufacturer.

Procurement Solutions 283

Procurement Solutions Procurement Analytics Manufacturing Procurement Optimal Sourcing 283

Logistics Viewpoints

AUGUST 15, 2022

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.

Supply Chain Network Software 309

Supply Chain Network Software Manufacturing Procurement Procurement Analytics Optimal Sourcing 309

Jaggaer

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

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.

Manufacturing Procurement 52

Manufacturing Procurement Optimal Sourcing Procurement Solutions Procurement Analytics 52

RFgen

DECEMBER 4, 2024

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. As companies across industries have discovered, a well-optimized supply chain can drive significant improvements throughout their operations.

Sourcing Strategies 96

Sourcing Strategies Inventory Reduction Waste Reduction Expense Reduction 96

Jaggaer

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

What Is Strategic Sourcing? A Complete Guide Strategic sourcing is a data-driven approach to securing the best value for your organization from its strategic suppliers. It is called strategic because it replaces traditional ad hoc approaches to sourcing, which were almost entirely focused on cost savings, item by item.

Negotiating Skills 52

Negotiating Skills Sourcing Strategies Purchasing Skills Optimal Sourcing 52

Supply Chain Shaman

DECEMBER 15, 2022

In the supply chain team analysis, note the 21% gap between procurement and manufacturing teams, the 35% gap between sales and operations and the 21% gap between finance and operations. Functional Metrics. Outsourcing makes sense only when it improves capabilities. Organizational Alignment 2012. What do you think?

Manufacturing Procurement 397

Manufacturing Procurement Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Procurement Analytics 397

Supply Chain Shaman

NOVEMBER 21, 2022

” As I dipped my spoon into some scrumptious chestnut soup at a great restaurant, my companion asked, “With the advancements in optimization and self-learning, aren’t we close to having self-driving supply chains?” The perspective of a manufacturing leader is quite different than that of a business leader in logistics.

Supply Chain Planning Software 376

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Optimal Sourcing Modeling 376

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 26, 2023

The basic frame of supply chain planning–functional taxonomies for optimization on a relational database–must be redesigned before supply chain leaders can reap the benefit of deep learning, neural networks, and evolving forms of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Or a unified data model across source, make, and deliver for planning?

Optimal Sourcing 369

Optimal Sourcing Modeling Supply and Demand Manufacturing Procurement 369

Logistics Viewpoints

MARCH 3, 2025

Ibrahim Al Syed, the director of digital manufacturing at Celanese, was surprisingly forthcoming about how Celanese developed these capabilities at ARC Advisory Groups 29th Annual ARC Industry Leadership Forum. The company has 55 manufacturing sites across the world. We needed to model the data in a way that we can do simple searching.

Negotiating Skills 183

Negotiating Skills Supply Chain Design Software Modeling Software Supply Chain Planning Software 183

Kinaxis

MAY 16, 2025

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.

Beverage 144

Beverage Price Reduction Canada Cost Reduction Strategies 144

Supply Chain Game Changer

JUNE 24, 2025

Simply by searching for a pair of shoes within an intuitive user interface, users are given a seemingly limitless amount of choices each with prices, photos, measurements, and any other metric a shopper could desire. Worse yet, their responsibilities are far more important than purchasing a pair of sporty sneakers.

Manufacturing Procurement 52

Manufacturing Procurement Procurement Solutions Procurement Analytics Optimal Sourcing 52

Supply Chain Shaman

NOVEMBER 11, 2020

Globally ten percent of jobs are in manufacturing, while 37% are associated with supply chain management. The discipline, first defined in 1982, includes source, make, deliver, and planning functions. One of my favorite supply chain leaders has a stack of Palantir reports in black binders on his desk. Reflection. Let me explain.

Supply Chain Design Software 362

Supply Chain Design Software Procurement Solutions Manufacturing Procurement Supply Chain Planning Software 362

Supply Chain Shaman

JANUARY 21, 2014

They are unable to drive improvements in both. In companies, there is no standard model for demand processes. New forms of analytics make new capabilities possible. Improving forecasting is not sufficient. Let’s start with these: Demand Sensing: The reduction of time to sense purchase and channel takeaway.

Supply and Demand 393

Supply and Demand Modeling Demand Planning Software Forecasting 393

Supply Chain Shaman

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

While consultants know the answers (or believe they do), I believe my goal as a research analyst is to unearth new questions that should be asked (and answered together openly in the supply chain community) to improve value. I see a preponderance of reports and white papers that have lots of pages but say little. Back to John.

Supply Chain Planning Software 392

Supply Chain Planning Software Optimal Sourcing Manufacturing Procurement Waste Reduction 392

Silvon Software

APRIL 16, 2025

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. In this post, well dive into six critical KPIs that influence inventory optimization.

Optimal Sourcing 65

Optimal Sourcing Inventory Reduction Supply Chain Optimization Price Mitigation Strategies 65

Supply Chain Shaman

APRIL 27, 2022

Executive teams strive to drive improvement in supply chain results; yet, sadly, only four percent of public companies succeed. At each company, there is a relationship between the metrics of growth, margin, inventory, customer service, and asset strategy. Understanding this relationship requires modeling. (A The reason?

Procurement Analytics 369

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

Supply Chain Shaman

FEBRUARY 18, 2021

Resist the temptation to place deeper analytics on top of existing data models. Instead, rethink the model and the approach. Re-implement demand planning, trade promotion management, and revenue/price management together to improve the baseline demand signal. Watermelon Metrics Don’t Drive The Right Results.

Supply Chain Planning Software 355

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Supply and Demand Procurement Analytics 355

Supply Chain Shaman

DECEMBER 7, 2023

Today, I speak at the North American Manufacturing Association, Manufacturing Leadership Conference, in Nashville on the use of data to improve supply chain resilience. Key elements include a focus is the use of the defense production act to improve accessibility of medicines to prevent drug shortages. My conclusion?

Supply Chain Design Software 395

Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Supply Chain Software 395

Precoro

JUNE 3, 2025

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.

Manufacturing Procurement 45

Manufacturing Procurement Procurement Analytics Procurement Solutions Material Savings 45

IT Supply Chain

JUNE 18, 2025

What Contractors Need to Streamline Procurement in 2025 By Ian Summers (pictured) Content Writer 111 Views You’re on-site before dawn, the framing crew’s ready, but the steel shipment’s stuck in limbo, the invoice isn’t approved, and your project management app just pinged you for the fourth time.

Manufacturing Procurement 52

Manufacturing Procurement Procurement Solutions Procurement Analytics Supply Chain Planning Software 52

Jaggaer

APRIL 24, 2025

Supply chain management typically does not fit very well with procurement, which is a challenge at the best of times, and can be a disaster in difficult times. But as Lora said, there is little point in applying AI to give us better optimizers and taxonomies when the basic assumptions behind globalization have been fundamentally undermined.

Optimal Sourcing 52

Optimal Sourcing Manufacturing Procurement Procurement Analytics Demand Planning Software 52

SYSPRO Smarter ERP

NOVEMBER 18, 2024

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.

Automotive 98

Automotive Optimal Sourcing Purchasing Skills Manufacturing Procurement 98

Logistics Viewpoints

DECEMBER 15, 2022

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 creates product segments by grouping products with similar sales volume or purchase frequency to enable category managers to focus on what matters most.

Optimal Sourcing 260

Optimal Sourcing Analysis Procurement Analytics Purchasing Skills 260

Supply Chain Shaman

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

I know that your primary focus is procurement. Global companies with stable brands struggle to drive improvement, but ironically, we speak of best practices. Or planned orders to purchase orders?) Most companies believe that they are improving demand signals with current deployments, but they are not. Go to the source.

Supply and Demand 431

Supply and Demand Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Demand Planning 431

ivalua

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

Ivalua Blog [ivory-search] Weathering Future Disruptions: 8 Steps to Building Supply Chain Resilience February 8, 2023 | | Manufacturing by Doug Keeley In the face of an unprecedented global crisis, Procurement stepped up to become a crucial driving force for business continuity. Work to achieve 100% supply chain visibility.

Manufacturing Procurement 242

Manufacturing Procurement Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Software Optimal Sourcing 242

GlobalTranz

APRIL 3, 2018

Multiple manufacturers, multiple relationships, multiple distribution models, multiple contracts. Manifesting this trend is the terminology and concept of Digital Path to Purchase — the omni-channel, tech-focused approach to supporting and acting on a consumer’s purchase.

Supply and Demand 267

Supply and Demand Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Software Optimal Sourcing 267

Logistics Viewpoints

APRIL 14, 2022

Experts from North Carolina State University and GEP conducted a survey on supply chain, procurement and IT leaders to determine their challenges and priorities, focusing on examining gaps in the supply chain. The study found that these leaders considered the largest gap to be between supply chain and procurement, citing it as a major issue.

Supply Chain Planning Software 284

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Software Forecasting Software Procurement Solutions 284