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” Traditional planning models optimize functional processes to improve cost and customer service. In today’s architectures and functional metrics, value optimization does not exist. The data outcome is open source and can be used to improve project outcomes. You are right. This work was expensive.
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.
Reducing cost was the primary objective, and most operational decisionsfrom sourcing to fulfillmentreflected that mindset. Sudden tariff increases can quickly make a cost-optimized procurement strategy untenable, leaving companies scrambling to adjust. Finally, rigid fulfillment networks compound the problem.
The modern supply chain is a complex network of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and customers, all interconnected and reliant on a shared ecosystem of trust and accountability. Ethical sourcing entails: Labor Practices: Ensuring fair wages, safe working conditions, and compliance with local and international labor laws.
Proactively adopting cleaner energy sources ensures alignment with these evolving regulations. The industry’s dependency on traditional energy sources necessitates an urgent shift toward cleaner alternatives. Advanced route optimization tools further support these goals.
While past efforts focused on meeting compliance requirements, organizations are now working to proactively embed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles into their sourcing, production, and distribution activities. Building supplier capabilities while maintaining sourcing flexibility requires additional investment.
It creates a single source of truth for your rate management, automating RFQs and streamlining the entire procurement process. billion rate data points monthly to provide the most comprehensive view of the market, helping you identify savings opportunities and make data-driven decisions.
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. They are also limited by their supplier, carrier, and trading partner networks. billion to $23.07
It’s the key to transforming your supply chain from a source of frustration into a well-oiled, profit-generating machine. Forget static network designs and gut-feel decisions. Route Optimization: Calculate the most efficient delivery routes based on several factors. That’s where data analytics comes in.
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. Business Spend Management Solutions are Networked .
Key Takeaways: Taking the Uncertainty and Risk Out of Freight Network Integrity Unit:DAT has a dedicated team, the Network Integrity Unit, which works around the clock to monitor the network for suspicious activity, investigate potential threats, and enforce security measures to protect users from fraud and cybercrime.
The traditional metrics of excellence cost efficiency, on-time delivery while still important, are no longer sufficient in an era defined by volatility, complexity and political changes. The convergence of artificial intelligence and digital networking technologies is fundamentally reshaping our operating models.
Samuel Parker and Joe Lynch discuss DAT iQ: the metrics that matter. Key Takeaways: DAT iQ: The Metrics that Matter In the podcast interview, Samuel Parker gave a freight market overview based on DAT’s database of $150 billion in annual market transactions.
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?
It creates a single source of truth for your rate management, automating RFQs and streamlining the entire procurement process. billion rate data points monthly to provide the most comprehensive view of the market, helping you identify savings opportunities and make data-driven decisions.
As companies across industries have discovered, a well-optimized supply chain can drive significant improvements throughout their operations. We’ll examine the key components of efficient supply chains, explore essential performance metrics, and uncover the fundamental drivers that influence efficiency.
For organizations layered in functional metrics and driving a cost agenda, this is a tough nut to crack. During the pandemic, companies struggled with planning systems turning off the optimizers, and using the technology as a system of record. Build in-market sourcing. What Is the Value of A Network?
Third, they align the interests of all the firms in the supply network so that companies optimize the chain’s performance when they maximize their interests. Reward teams for cross-functional metrics. Focus functional metrics to improving reliability. For more on this topic, read the book Supply Chain Metrics That Matter.
In a hyper-connected scenario of the future, entire networks can proactively sense and respond to potential supply chain disruptions. Strategic product segmentation, sourcing and inventory management. Optimize supply chain execution and minimize both delivery time and costs. The same should also be deployed downstream.
These virtual replicas of physical assets, processes, or systems allow leaders to simulate, analyze, and optimize real-world performancewithout incurring real-world risks. This article explores how digital twins are being deployed in transportation, warehousing, and network design. The Business Problem: Complexity Without Control 1.
This blog offers a clear, practical overview of what spend analysis is, how it supports strategic sourcing, and why it matters for both direct and indirect procurement. We’ll walk through key benefits, types of spend analysis, steps to get started, and metrics to track—backed by lessons learned from real-world implementations.
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. Urban vs. rural, modern trade vs. traditional trade—each requires a tailored approach.
by Alexa Cheater From designing, sourcing and manufacturing, to distribution and consumption, your supply chain is at the heart of your customer satisfaction levels. Implementing inventory optimization. The challenges of inventory optimization can be immense. Single vs. multi-echelon inventory optimization.
I have learned that supply chain systems are more complex than I originally thought, and that the relationships between supply chain metrics are nonlinear. In my work on the Supply Chain Index , I see that companies I recognize as doing network design well are rising faster on the list of the Supply Chain Index work.
When you track transportation metrics and KPIs like transit time, on-time pickups, and percent of truckload capacity utilized across your carrier partners, you can identify trends and opportunities for streamlined OTR transportation management. Analytics provides visibility into your transportation network and operations. a shipment?doesn’t
As product flows rapidly shifted and hard baked assumptions about lead times and sourcing locations were put to test, users across many organizations bypassed their planning systems and turned to excel sheets, internal data science teams or non-traditional supply chain vendors who could deliver AI based solutions at a faster turn.
These systems also support phased implementation, allowing you to start with high-priority processes, train staff during regular work hours, deploy your wireless infrastructure before software rollout, maintain parallel systems during the initial transition, and closely monitor performance metrics. Think of it as smart routing for your team.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the challenges of inventory management in today’s manufacturing landscape , discuss the importance of a “single source of truth” for global inventory, and introduce a powerful solution that can help manufacturers transform their operations and drive profitability. How do they achieve this?
Mapping of demand streams by demand characteristics and frequent adjustment of the demand engines to improve optimization. Management and planning of the entire network against a value network strategy. Integration of corporate social responsibility metrics in planning. Comprehensive view of source, make and deliver.
The source data for the analysis comes from Ycharts.). We selected these metrics based on correlation work with Arizona State University in 2012. The winners drove long-term value (measured by market capitalization) while outperforming on the portfolio of metrics shown in Figure 1 and driving improvement faster than their peer groups.
Digital procurement streamlines workflows and unifies data, enabling faster sourcing, better collaboration, and improved accuracy. Digital procurement is the use of digital technologies to enhance, automate, and optimize procurement processes across the entire source-to-pay (S2P) lifecycle.
Today and in the posts that follow, I want to discuss the technology transformation that many supply chains are undergoing, and discuss how these changes can help the wider organization move from “good” to “great” Enterprises today face a conundrum in the optimization of their supply network performance.
This guide breaks down the key procurement technologies in use today and the trends reshaping the future, such as AI-driven sourcing, predictive risk management, and deeper integration across the supply chain. What Is Procurement Technology? This evolution reflects procurement’s growing role as a strategic business partner.
Aligned Metrics. To ensure the management of the complex system, the metrics of operating margin, inventory turns, ROIC, customer service, revenue, and forecast accuracy need to be managed together as a non-linear system. Do you actively design networks with a focus on form and function of inventory? Supply Chain Design.
This architecture deliberately pushes beyond visibility to enable action and automation, ultimately working toward what project44 describes as “self-optimized logistics” through “adaptive, automated actions at scale.” This extensive connectivity has resulted in impressive metrics: 1.2
My remorse is the technologists and business leaders are replacing traditional optimization with newer models based on narrow AI, but not questioning the taxonomies or the current definitions of planning. Today, companies are investing in networks to improve sensing. Today, companies are blind to relationship flows in their networks.
This is because most classical planning solutions lack the modeling capability and computing power to accommodate different data sources, large SKU count, and detailed constraints and contingencies to build an immediately executable plan. each with discrete plans generated typically in sequential batch runs.
But companies often have diverging incentives and interests from their supply chain partners, so when they independently strive to optimize their individual objectives, the expected result can be compromised. ”. I think about this discussion with Keith often as I work on the Supply Chain Index and edit the chapters of Metrics That Matter.
The Power of Source-to-Pay Digital Transformation To put it briefly, source-to-pay refers to the entire process that starts with finding, negotiating with, and contracting the suppliers of materials, goods and services, and culminates in the final payment for those items. Who Should Prioritize an S2P Digital Transformation?
Closing the gaps happens when there are aligned metrics, clarity of vision and aligned planning processes. It combines decisions across sell, deliver, make and source processes to drive value based outcomes. This includes optimization and discrete event simulation. It allows companies to evaluate the design of the network.
It is critical to monitor inventory effectiveness using five key metrics: Expedited orders, inventory turns, obsolete inventory, safety stock and stockouts. Using Metrics to Measure the Health of the Business. Companies use these metrics to minimize their investment in inventory without adversely affecting customer service levels.
Continuing Disruptions in Transportation and Sourcing Materials After the pandemic, retailers are faced with new challenges and disruptions due to global conflicts, trade restrictions, and now recessions. Here are some highlights from these trends in 2023 and implications on supply chain planning.
This week, at Supply Chain Insights LLC, we published our 11th report in the series titled Supply Chain Metrics That Matter. Active management of value networks and scenario planning makes a difference. When companies look at singular metrics (labor costs or inventory), they have moved backwards. Aligning metrics matters.
This targeted approach optimizes resource allocation and minimizes bottlenecks by allowing you to scale only where necessary. Optimizing existing layouts and exploring alternative locations may be necessary. Consider these essential metrics: Asset Utilization: How efficiently are your machines being used?
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