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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.
From sourcing and bid evaluation to warehouse slotting and dynamic routing, AI tools support faster and more consistent outcomes by processing large volumes of operational data and identifying patterns that human decision-makers may overlook. These capabilities are now being integrated into mainstream TMS, WMS, and ERP platforms.
For most CPOs and CFOs, deciding on the right purchasing setup — centralized or decentralized — is no small task. 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.
A Complete Guide Strategic sourcing is a data-driven approach to securing the best value for your organization from its strategic suppliers. The process creates efficiencies across all spend categories, minimizes supply chain risks through improved supplier selection and awards, while giving visibility into pricing and forecasting.
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?
Building Better Decision Systems for Supply Chains Supply management often suffers when departments rely on siloed tools. Procurement teams may use one platform, while logistics depends on another, and finance runs an entirely separate system. This minimizes strain on suppliers and builds trust.
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.
Spoiler: Effective inventory management strategies are key to navigating price hikes without passing excessive costs onto consumers. As prices continued to rise, purchasing power plummeted. As prices continued to rise, purchasing power plummeted. Is Your Supply Chain Inflation-Proof?
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.
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.
Factors such as disruptions in production, transportation issues, and increased global demand have led to scarcities in lumber, steel, and other crucial components. To address this challenge, builders can adopt proactive measures such as diversifying suppliers, exploring alternative materials, and placing orders well in advance.
China, and the EU, trade barriers are driving more than price changes. Immediate Cost Surges and Planning Chaos The most obvious tariff impact on supply chains is pricing. That means reworking contracts, renegotiating supplier deals, or even abandoning entire product lines. But the real disruption is in predictability.
Product sourcing is the process of finding the products you want to sell in your store, buying them from a supplier, and then reselling them. Too often, brands find a supplier but end up experiencing performance issues further down the line, leading to delays, shortages, and quality issues. What is product sourcing?
Julie Leonard Marketing Director, Inovity Posted on: Jun, 27 2016 Using the right tool for the right job has always been a best practice and one of the reasons, we feel, that RFID has never taken off in the DC as exponentially as pundits have been forecasting since 2006. I am sending this to my colleagues who work with me.
Jonathan Starks , CEO of FTR Transportation Intelligence, observes, “A trade war would be bad for growth, bad for supply chains, [and] bad for consumers.[2] With these solutions, supply chains can proactively address disruptions and minimize delays and inventory shortages. ”[1] Questions abound.
As an example, Gartner cites the 94% of supply chain logistics leaders that either currently have a supply chain management transportation system or plan to deploy one in the next one or two years. ( link] Robert Transportation Manager, N/A Posted on: Aug, 30 2016 Good article! I am sending this to my colleagues who work with me.
One measure of the health of the US manufacturing sector is the US Purchasing Managers Index from the Institute of Supply Management. It was a slight down six months for oil prices in the first half of the year. It was mostly down from there until the end of May, when the price surged to about $75.0, growth for all 2025, 2.8%
Julie Leonard Marketing Director, Inovity Posted on: Jun, 27 2016 Using the right tool for the right job has always been a best practice and one of the reasons, we feel, that RFID has never taken off in the DC as exponentially as pundits have been forecasting since 2006. The blog ends with a pitch to readers to attend a symposium.
Julie Leonard Marketing Director, Inovity Posted on: Jun, 27 2016 Using the right tool for the right job has always been a best practice and one of the reasons, we feel, that RFID has never taken off in the DC as exponentially as pundits have been forecasting since 2006. I am sending this to my colleagues who work with me.
Julie Leonard Marketing Director, Inovity Posted on: Jun, 27 2016 Using the right tool for the right job has always been a best practice and one of the reasons, we feel, that RFID has never taken off in the DC as exponentially as pundits have been forecasting since 2006. I am sending this to my colleagues who work with me.
Julie Leonard Marketing Director, Inovity Posted on: Jun, 27 2016 Using the right tool for the right job has always been a best practice and one of the reasons, we feel, that RFID has never taken off in the DC as exponentially as pundits have been forecasting since 2006. I am sending this to my colleagues who work with me.
Increased tariffs mean higher prices for raw materials and finished goods, but shipping, storage and handling costs often increase too, which threatens small- to midsized business (SMB) profitability — especially when up against larger competitors with more resources. Higher prices can alienate loyal buyers.
Then they ask what should be done about the problem and ask employees why they have proposed one solution instead of another. This generally requires considering a range of solutions and collecting more evidence.) For many of us that doesn’t sound much like respect for people. Do it your way and get on with it.” What is the result?
Ongoing disruptions in the Middle East are driving up supply chain costs across energy, transportation, insurance, inventory, and technology. Assess and mitigate exposure to new global transportation bottlenecks 2. What do you say? Prepare CFOs for continued supply chain cost volatility 3.
Julie Leonard Marketing Director, Inovity Posted on: Jun, 27 2016 Using the right tool for the right job has always been a best practice and one of the reasons, we feel, that RFID has never taken off in the DC as exponentially as pundits have been forecasting since 2006. I am sending this to my colleagues who work with me.
Julie Leonard Marketing Director, Inovity Posted on: Jun, 27 2016 Using the right tool for the right job has always been a best practice and one of the reasons, we feel, that RFID has never taken off in the DC as exponentially as pundits have been forecasting since 2006. I am sending this to my colleagues who work with me.
So we now turned to Mr. Mesher, arguably the most influential supply chain analysts of all time, which he later parlayed into a highly successful business career as CEO of software firm Descartes Systems. He was there from the beginning, convincing Gartner founder Gideon Gartner to launch a supply chain service, which Mesher led.
Since early 2025, the US Surface Transportation Board, the federal regulatory agency overseeing railroads, has signaled a more industry-friendly approach to merger reviews. That price would represent about a 23% premium to Norfolk Southern’s stock before the first reports of a potential deal this month. Supply Chain Digest Says.
Click here to send us your comments January New that supply chain software provider Logility will be acquired by Aptean. Kenworth stated that its decision came from the need to embrace cleaner, more efficient solutions. Here, my choices for the top or most interesting stories by month in the first half of the 2025: Gilmore Says.
bookings for container transport from China to the United States spiked almost 300% in the wake of the United States and China pausing punishing tit-for-tat tariffs, container-tracking software provider Vizion said on Wednesday. US import prices unexpectedly rise in April U.S.
As can be seen, it was a mixed year for our supply chain software stocks, with some big winners, including software firm Kinaxsis (up 149.9%) and Oracle (up 64.4%). Gilmore Says. What do you say? Click here to send us your comments The overall market, as measured by the S&P 500 index, was up a solid 13.4% in the past year.
The US thus spent about $131 billion more in parcel shipping than it did in rail transport last year - a bit more than a delta of $127.4 of total transport costs and 38.5% of total transport costs and 8.9% of transportation spend – down from 6.1% With overall transport costs rising 8.7% Gilmore Says.
The trade war is likely to extend the for-hire freight recession further as higher prices reduce goods affordability and consumers’ real incomes.” ( See More Below) CATEGORY SPONSOR: SOFTEON Each month, Cass nicely summarizes the state of freight, as seen in the graphic below for May: Source: Cass An y reaction to thi s Cass report?
Commandment 9: Insist on User Friendliness Independent of the effort put forth to design a system, purchase hardware and develop software, the single biggest test of implementation occurs when an operator attempts to scan bar coded media. It is fortunate that this industry offers a wide variety of outstanding hardware and software.
The early years were rough, both due to Smith’s personal troubles (a lawsuit by his half-sisters and a hit-and-run incident for which charges were later dropped) and high fuel prices from the 1973 OPEC embargo. link] Robert Transportation Manager, N/A Posted on: Aug, 30 2016 Good article! We have to keep this in mind.
Add to that the new battle in the Middle East, with its risk of expansion, potentially impacting oil prices and more, and there is a lot to be worried about. link] Robert Transportation Manager, N/A Posted on: Aug, 30 2016 Good article! I agree that companies choose the 'safe' solution more often than not.
He adds: “The emissions spike we’re seeing today is the result of years of underinvestment in meaningful, near-term solutions. There is no shortage of reporting tools, green fuel pilots or glossy ESG statements. The tools exist. link] Robert Transportation Manager, N/A Posted on: Aug, 30 2016 Good article! Not mentally.”
That also led Klappich to recently define a new category of software, which Gartner calls a Multiagent Orchestration Platform (MAOP) for managing mobile robots in warehousing and manufacturing. ( link] Robert Transportation Manager, N/A Posted on: Aug, 30 2016 Good article! I am sending this to my colleagues who work with me.
Another manager in the computers and electrics sector stated that: “Tariffs continue to cause confusion and uncertainty for long-term procurement decisions. The Prices Index remained in expansion (or increasing) territory, registering 69.7, a little up from 48.5 a little up from 48.5 a little up from 48.5 Supply Chain Digest Says.
Julie Leonard Marketing Director, Inovity Posted on: Jun, 27 2016 Using the right tool for the right job has always been a best practice and one of the reasons, we feel, that RFID has never taken off in the DC as exponentially as pundits have been forecasting since 2006. I am sending this to my colleagues who work with me.
TuffAir’s strategy was novel, integrating small-aircraft logistics, FAA exemptions, Ohio-based test zones and proprietary software and flight routing technology.” link] Robert Transportation Manager, N/A Posted on: Aug, 30 2016 Good article! I agree that companies choose the 'safe' solution more often than not.
Electric Charging Station Installs Soar in Q2 According to a report from Transport Topics this week, 703 high-speed, public charging stations opened in the US in the second quarter, the second-largest such infrastructure boom on record, according to Department of Energy data.
Many different terms, such as less-than-truckload (LTL), procurement and transportation management, describe supply chain management processes. For example, transportation management often focuses on the journey of products after manufacturing. The Definition of Procurement Logistics. Purchased parts and similar items.
New technologies revolutionizing transportation are creating tremendous opportunities but also unprecedented challenges for tire manufacturers. To achieve this, having the right planning solution is crucial. The establishment of efficient global supply chains has become critical to competitiveness.
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