The next time you feel the need to toast someone, raise your glass to all the supply chain professionals involved in omnichannel retail operations. To meet consumer needs, everyone in the supply chain needs to work harmoniously together or risk bad reviews and loss of business. Segmented Supply Chain Processes. There can be a difference between segmented supply chains and unintegrated supply chains. MORE

Today’s supply chains are facing similar challenges with personalizing logistics operations for customers. Let’s look at some key steps on the journey to a customer-focused supply chain. Segment customers to match incentives to needs. One of the dangers in servicing omni-channel orders from traditional supply chains is continuing to treat your customers like one big, homogeneous mass. MORE

In anticipation of his presentation at JDA’s Innovation Forum in Chicago on September 10, Supply Chain Nation sat down with Rick Blasgen, president and CEO of CSCMP, as part of our Expert Insight series to get a preview of his presentation on the State of Supply Chain Management. SCN: Supply Chain Management has undergone tremendous evolution in the 50 years CSCMP has been in existence. SCN: How do supply chain practices vary between the U.S. MORE

Last month JDA teamed up with IndustryWeek and Altera Corporation to present a Webcast on the topic of supply chain segmentation titled: One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Altera’s Supply Chain Segmentation Journey to Profitable Growth. I’d like to point out a few highlights from the webcast that are useful for today’s manufacturing and distribution supply chain professionals. Featured Manufacturing Supply Chain MORE

Prologis report on warehousing is bullish about the demand picture in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. With many companies being caught out by low stock holdings, there has been renewed interest in bulking up inventories in order to avoid a repeat of this situation and also to better handle major disruptions in many critical supply chains segments. MORE

When I was asked to organize the Innovation and Thought Leadership track at FOCUS 2015 , I recognized that I would need to assemble some high-impact speakers who would get attendees thinking about the radical changes they need to make in their supply chains. The aim of this informative track is to share some proven strategies and best practices for supply chain innovation. The Warehouse of Tomorrow. MORE

Perhaps the most overworked word in the supply chain management lexicon is “visibility.” Yet it’s difficult to overstate the importance of a view into what’s going on in the supply chain. At the same time, the value of supply chain visibility is lessened if it isn’t comprehensive – encompassing the supply chain from one end to the other, from upstream to downstream. The right data enables better scheduling and use of supply chain assets. “A MORE

The beauty of the supply chain is all around us. I guess I’m a supply chain junkie…can’t get enough of it. There are tons of articles, white papers and blogs about today’s supply chain challenges: globalization, off-shore manufacturing, supply chain segmentation, big data, mobility, social media, price optimization, warehouse throughput, labor scheduling and in-store picking. My eleven year old son gets supply chain!! MORE

Cold chain is under more scrutiny than it probably ever has been, as a complex 2020 transitions into a 2021 of continued, heightened demand. Cold chain goes hot in 2020. It is worth stepping back and taking a moment to take stock of what has happened in the last year within cold chains. MORE

Through the course of keynotes, workshops and the flow of conversation at the event, a number of several key trends emerged: Drones in the warehouse. Tasked with figuring out what drones mean in a warehouse environment, he dismissed the common preconception that drones will soon be carrying items around warehouses (they are too heavy), and explained how they will instead be used for scanning codes to monitor inventory levels. The supply chain of the future. MORE

Mark Hersh (shown here) is now a Director of Supply Chain Strategy at Clorox while Dave retired in 2018. Mark and Dave, both career Clorox employees, drove a program to customize the supply chain response using Value Chain Segmentation. Designing a Fit For Purpose Supply Chain. Value Chain segmentation—designing a fit for purpose supply chain—was the focus of the strategy day workshop. Map of Segmentation. MORE

Discussion Questions: Carefully explain the difference between a “resilient” and an “efficient” supply chain. What strategies do the authors suggest for making a supply chain both “resilient” and “efficient” at the same time? Supply Chains Can Be Both Resilient and Cost Efficient. The problem, according to the authors, is that protective measures can be at odds with supply chain managers’ goal of improving cost efficiency. MORE

This heightens the need for having a global procurement network which can support and respond to a company’s supply chain needs in a timely manner. A consolidated supplier base eliminates variances in inventory and reduces overheads, particularly for the supply of C-parts. 5 Identifying the Right KPIs Identifying and implementing the right KPIs to manage and operate supply chains effectively remains one of the biggest problems in supply chain management. MORE

by Dr. Madhav Durbha As supply chain professionals, we can grow insular in our thinking, as on a day-to-day basis we risk confining ourselves narrowly to our domain of responsibility or solving challenges specific to our regions. The 2017 Supply Chain & Logistics EMEA summit & expo was one such opportunity. Through the pilots that DHL conducted, AR is showing tremendous productivity gains in the warehouse such as a 25% gain in picking productivity. MORE