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A lack of standardized ESG metrics across industries and regions makes it challenging to consistently evaluate and compare supplier performance. Procurement and sustainability functions often operate independently, leading to inconsistencies when ESG criteria are applied during sourcing and supplier management.
However, as carbon taxes and emissions reporting requirements continue increasing, supply chain professionals face mounting pressures from inside and outside their organizations to measure and improve performance against new, nebulous sustainability metrics. Freight transportation makes up over 10% of total global carbon emissions.
Understanding The Shift In running the supply chain during a period of abundance, waste was a by-product of traditional thinking. The waste included: Negative Forecast Value Added (FVA) in demand planning. The use of outside-in signals can reduce it by 40-60%. Measure waste. Highlight the waste for the organization.
In this type of environment, traditional procurement software and manual processes are insufficient – and many procurement teams are looking to artificial intelligence (AI) for answers. Key Takeaways Understand the potential impact of AI – including Generative AI & AI Agents – in procurement.
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.
Now for the Do’s & Don’ts In the dynamic world of FMCG, your Route to Market (RTM) strategy and distributor partnerships can make or break your brand’s success. Do Set Clear KPIs and Governance Structures : Establish transparent metrics for sales, coverage, and service levels. Ensure margins are fair and sustainable.
In this article, we’ll explain what centralized purchasing is, the challenges it tackles, the benefits of centralized procurement, and the types of companies that can benefit most from it. That’s when a centralized procurement organization structure proves beneficial.
Production Capacity Analysis While traditional testing methods can be time-consuming and offer incomplete data, focusing on key production metrics within the manufacturing process provides more actionable insights. Consider these essential metrics: Asset Utilization: How efficiently are your machines being used?
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.
You’ll learn how to leverage data to streamline operations, reduce costs, improve efficiency, and exceed customer expectations. Various supply chain optimization techniques, such as detailed planning, assessing current practices, and automating processes, can significantly enhance efficiency and reduce costs. Let’s dive in.
There are many ways an organization can cut supply chain costs. While there are no short-term fixes, enterprises should prioritize areas where they can make the quickest gains to reduce costs. Mastering Direct Spend Management Procurement teams generally do not report to the chief supply chain officer.
Peeling Back the Lid on Supply Chain World Salad In this world, where board discussions focus on eliminatingwaste and meeting corporate social responsibility goals, supply chain teams respond with projects like end-to-end planning, control towers, and real-time decisions. Each concept is flawed adding to, not reducing, cost and waste.
Top 3 Procurement Technologies to Embrace in 2025 Staying ahead of key procurement technology and advancements is essential for CPOs who want to improve spend cost reduction, drive strategic value, and navigate the increasingly complex procurement landscape.
Especially grievous are the gaps between finance and operations, manufacturing and procurement, and the operations and commercial teams. Lane RFPs focused on cost reduction, but few asked if they had a feasible plan. Cost and Waste Can Be Pushed Backwards in the Value Chain Without Consequences. We are to blame.”
As I work with companies, I often contrast the strategies, approaches and outcomes within a peer group. They were unclear on their supply chain strategy and the role of supply chain planning. Food manufacturers, over the course of the last decade, have pushed costs and waste backwards in the supply chain. So, what can we learn?
Category management isn’t just another procurement trend. With today’s growing cost pressures and increasingly complex supply chains , quick fixes no longer cut it. Category Management (CM) is a strategic procurement approach that groups related purchases into categories to manage each as a strategic unit.
I would like for us to move past the conventional view of sourcing strategies and globalization to drive improvements to the supply chain in a variable world. In 8 out of 10 companies I work with, this approach creates a negative FVA introducing error and waste into the supply chain. Let me explain. So, my reply to Peter S.
This article is derived from our newest SRM White Paper, “One Platform, One Vision – The Benefits of a Unified AI-Driven Supply Chain Planning & Procurement Decision-Making Platform” Ask a procurement leader and a supply chain planner about their biggest priorities, and you’ll likely hear two very different answers.
We were discussing the results of the planning benchmarking work that we have just finished, and I was sharing some insights on inventory management when one of the panelists emphatically stated, “Inventory is a waste to manage. Companies need to carefully manage the asset and mitigate the waste. A heated debate ensued.
Manufacturing data collection is your secret weapon for boosting efficiency, cuttingwaste, and staying ahead of the competition. Accurate data in production tracking and process improvement ensures precise data collection from machines and operators, leading to better production performance insights and reduced inefficiencies.
Cash-to-Cash Metrics. Cash-to-cash is a compound metric: (Days of Receivables+Days of Inventory)-Days of Payables=Cash Conversion Cycle. Instead, the focus is on reducing the costs of finance by eliminating labor costs through Business Process Reengineering (BPOS) and elongating payables. Want to talk about waste?
While trucks have a smaller carbon footprint/kg/km than air freight, the enormous volume of truck freight explains why reducing the carbon footprint is a priority goal. . Add in emissions from fork trucks, yard trucks, 3PLs and there’s almost no way for a shipper to easily assess, track and reduce their carbon footprint. .
For AFFLINK's partners and affiliates navigating complex procurement environments, ESG integration reshapes how supply chains are built, evaluated, and optimized. Why ESG Matters to Supply Chain Management Modern supply chain strategies extend beyond efficiency and cost containment. Innovative suppliers play a key role here.
Nearly eight in 10 (78%) consumers consider food waste, likely out of a desire to minimize spending. Lower-income consumers and those using food assistance programs care the most about food waste as a purchase driver—again, suggesting it is a response to higher prices.”
We have found that supply chain metrics are gnarly and complicated.During Eight years ago, we started with a focus on Total Delivered Cost (TDC) and elevating our cost savings program performance, as well as eliminating sub-optimized cost efforts that might have helped in one specific area, but hurt our overall performance.
An optimized supply chain is one that is as efficient as possible; it is more likely to reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction rates, and add value for stakeholders. That means identifying areas of waste, overlap and large volumes and enabling continuous improvement through the use of transportation metrics to track performance.
Here is the list: Supply chain technology implementations have reduced inventory. Here they are: The Lie of Inventory Reduction. Repeatedly, I heard that supply chain applications have saved costs, reduced inventory and improved customer service. When working capital has been reduced, it is usually a story of reducing payables.
That’s why staying on top of the latest supply chain planning trends is so important – they can make all the difference when it comes to staying competitive, reducing costs, and meeting your customers’ needs. Food waste produces 7% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, mainly methane, an extremely potent gas.
The Art of Supplier Collaboration: Best Practices to Build Lasting Partnerships Dynamic market changes and global events seem to create newer demands and greater pressure on procurement professionals. Growth Strategic supplier relationships are vital for supporting business growth.
“ The most dangerous kind of waste is the waste we do not recognize ”: Shigeo Shingo. Lean thinking focuses on the elimination of all waste (where waste is defined as any non-value added process) and bringing value to the customer , beyond the customer’s expectations. Try to recognize all of your wastes.
Containerization eventually reduced shipping and loading costs by at least 75%. 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. The problem space has gotten harder, not easier.
In supply chain management, total lead time is a crucial metric encompassing the period from customer order to delivery, be it in B2B or B2C scenarios. Procurement Lead Time: Efficient procurement lead time ensures timely access to raw materials, a fundamental step toward efficient production.
Key elements to include: Sustainability Goals and Metrics: Define clear sustainability goals aligned with the company’s overall objectives. Introduce relevant metrics for measuring environmental impact like carbon emissions, water usage, and waste generation. Consider minimal packaging designs to reducewaste.
Financial Reengineering is the radical redesign of business processes and organizational structure in order to achieve significant improvements in performance, such as productivity, cost reduction, cycle time, and quality. The traditional supply chain leader focused only on cost reduction. Cash-to-cash is a compound metric.
We take a look and offer strategies and case studies, along with tips from supply chain professionals. A circular supply chain is where used products or their parts are returned or processed so they can be repaired, resold, refurbished or recycled – which reduceswaste from the supply chain and is more sustainable.
The Evolving Role of the COO in Supply Chain From Operations to Strategy Traditionally, COOs focused on ensuring efficient processes, overseeing manufacturing, logistics, and administrative functions. Develop and execute operational strategies that align with corporate objectives. Today, their remit has expanded dramatically.
What does Procurement mean? An organization’s Procurement function is responsible for managing spend, in other words the buying goods and services that are used to make the products sold to customers as well as the purchasing of products and services used to run the organization on a day to day basis. What is Direct Procurement?
If you’re reading this blog in 2021, you know about the increasing importance of sustainability and reduced environmental impact with fires in the western US, excessive flooding in Europe and a recent Canadian heat wave. The benefits go beyond brand allegiance to include: Improved operational efficiency with reducedwaste and costs.
Thus, this article explores practical strategies to help you keep production on track and build a more reliable production environment. Key Strategies to Keep Factory Production on Schedule The factory floor is a dynamic environment where each product moves through a defined sequence of operations. Stay ahead of breakdowns.
Expiration Management: Receive automated alerts for approaching expiration dates to minimize waste and maintain efficacy. Real-Time Analytics: Track usage patterns, stock levels, and procurement needs for data-driven decision-making. This blog post explores the crucial role of medical inventory software in modern healthcare.
AI in retail supply chain is fueling this shift through: Hyper-Personalized Customer Journeys: AI captures behavioral signals and translates them into tailored offers, personalized recommendations, and dynamic pricing strategies. Automated Multi-Echelon Replenishment: Coordinates inventory across warehouses, DCs, and stores to reducewaste.
This shift has pushed supply chain leadership to pivot from reactive management to proactive strategy built on data. Integrating Analytics Into Every Tier Analytics must penetrate every layer of the supply chainfrom procurement to last-mile delivery. Organizations must anticipate risk, adapt faster, and recover smarter.
You’ve probably heard the terms cost-effective and cost-efficient thrown around in meetings or business strategy sessions, but do you actually know the difference? — Performing best with the least wasted time and effort. Which strategy is cost-efficient? According to Dictionary.com: Effective (adj.)—
I find senior executives love to throw around superlatives like customer-centric, agile, efficient and responsive but lack the understanding of how the words translate to supply chain strategy in the real world. Managing a supply chain requires big feet—grounding in real-world experience—coupled with big wings—conceptualization of strategy.
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