Tue.Jun 20, 2023

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CPO SPOTLIGHT: ANN ACKERSON

Procurement Heads

C ould you tell us a bit about your background? I have been a supply chain professional for 37 years, quite precisely! I describe it as closer to four decades than three decades, and a good chunk of that has had a heavy focus on procurement. I really do view myself as a supply chain professional, having worked in roles as wide-ranging as transportation and logistics, import/export, material planning, procurement, leading supply and demand teams, and material distribution across nine different in

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Should procurement teams aim for full maturity in all categories? Big bang or steady state? 

Procurement Leaders

Every year, Procurement Leaders’ research team explores category planning for the next 12 months. In previous years, we have looked at competitive pressures, market dynamics and savings forecasts. This time, we are looking at maturity. There is a vigorous debate in the world of procurement about the speed at which we transform categories. Some pioneering CPOs launch ‘big bangs’ in which categories are rolled out across the business in one rapid blast.

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Walmart opens high-tech fulfillment center in Indiana

Supply Chain Dive

The facility is the company’s largest to date and will move the retailer closer to its goal of offering two-day delivery to 95% of the U.S. population.

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The ‘Great Reset’ is underway

SCMR (Supply Chain Management Review)

While last year’s State of Logistics report highlighted the need to get back in sync, the 2023 version finds logistics operations building long-term resilience in an effort to best serve customers through a variety of distribution channels.

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Tariffs on the Table: How to Brief the Board and C‑Suite With Confidence

“What should we do about the tariffs?” There’s no straightforward answer — every leader has a different expectation. CFOs want numbers. COOs want action. CEOs want strategy. And supply chain and procurement leaders need to be ready with the right response — fast. That’s why GEP has created a simple three-part framework that will help CPOs and CSCOs brief the board and C-suite with clarity and confidence.

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FedEx Freight’s closures focus on Arkansas, surrounding states

Supply Chain Dive

Customers in affected areas should keep an eye on any changes in pickup and delivery times, one expert noted.

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Watch: How 'Tribal' Behavior Sabotages Digital Transformation

Supply Chain Brain

The majority of digital transformation initiatives for the supply chain fail because businesses engage in "tribal" behavior, according to a new book by Klaus Imping and Michael Ciatto.

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How to De-Carbonize Freight Transport via Repeatable and Scalable Actions

Supply Chain Brain

Shippers looking to lead the transition to electrification can begin investing in the required assets and infrastructure today.

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Trucking spot market should improve from here, ACT Research suggests

Supply Chain Dive

“We are on track for a record contraction in labor capacity this year, which is key to the bottoming process,” senior analyst Tim Denoyer said in a statement.

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Kinaxis Unveils New Supply Chain Innovations

Supply Chain Brain

Kinaxis highlighted four new product innovations during the first day of its annual customer community conference, Kinexions, which began on June 20.

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New CH Robinson CEO to leverage global supply chain, logistics management background

Supply Chain Dive

Dave Bozeman’s new role will require him to use lessons learned in his prior roles at Ford and Amazon, supply chain academics said.

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How to Modernize Manufacturing Without Losing Control

Speaker: Andrew Skoog, Founder of MachinistX & President of Hexis Representatives

Manufacturing is evolving, and the right technology can empower—not replace—your workforce. Smart automation and AI-driven software are revolutionizing decision-making, optimizing processes, and improving efficiency. But how do you implement these tools with confidence and ensure they complement human expertise rather than override it? Join industry expert Andrew Skoog as he explores how manufacturers can leverage automation to enhance operations, streamline workflows, and make smarter, data-dri

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Global Chip Race Touches Off Spending Spree, Led by Intel’s $50-Billion Campaign

Supply Chain Brain

Combined, the U.S., EU, Japan and India have committed more than $100 billion in subsidies to attract the likes of Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Micron.

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How footwear maker Keen tries to ‘control the controllables’ in its supply chain

Supply Chain Dive

Owning many of the factories that make its products has allowed the brand to stay focused on quality and sustainability amid widespread disruption.

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Eden Green is Set on Fixing America’s Produce Sourcing Problem

Supply Chain Brain

Nine times out of ten, people on the East Coast are eating lettuce that has traveled more than 3,000 miles, a problem Eden Green is trying to fix.

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Impossible Foods hires industry veterans to head science and supply chain

Supply Chain Dive

Rob Haas, who was at AB InBev, will be in charge of sourcing, manufacturing and logistics.

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How Companies Are Navigating Tariff Chaos with GEP’s AI-Powered Procurement Platform

Tariffs are no longer just policy noise. They’re driving real, bottom-line impact. One policy shift and your sourcing strategy is upside down. This bulletin cuts straight to the point. How Market-Leading Companies Are Navigating Tariff Chaos with GEP’s AI-Powered Procurement Platform breaks down how procurement teams are staying ahead of the chaos with real-time insights, smarter sourcing moves and AI-powered agility.

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China to Sign New 27-Year LNG Deal with Qatar to Secure Fuel

Supply Chain Brain

China National Petroleum will seal a 27-year liquified natural gas purchase agreement of 4 million tons annually with QatarEnergy, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

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GLS expands US coverage through 4 parcel carrier partnerships

Supply Chain Dive

The company is linking its network with United Delivery Service, Lone Star Overnight, Better Trucks and Courier Express to reach several new states.

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Saudi Arabia’s PIF Leads Bidding for $2.5bn Vale Base Metals Stake

Supply Chain Brain

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is reportedly in advanced discussions over a deal for a roughly 10% holding in Vale SA's base metals unit.

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Traceability in the supply chain with high-performance OCR

Supply Chain Dive

How do you maintain quality and safety? If you said traceability in the supply chain, then you are correct!

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A Roadmap For Modernization: How To Break Free From Your Monolith Before July 31, 2026

Speaker: Jason Cottrell and Gireesh Sahukar

Retailers know the clock is ticking–legacy SAP Commerce support ends in 2026. Legacy platforms are becoming a liability burdened by complexity, rigidity, and mounting operational costs. But modernization isn’t just about swapping out systems, it’s about preparing for a future shaped by real-time interactions, AI powered buying assistants, and flexible commerce architecture.

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Strengthening the shield: Procurement’s partnership with information security to mitigate cyber risk

Spend Matters

This content does not express the views or opinions of Spend Matters In our previous installment on Spend Matters, we discussed the rapid evolution of Supply Chain Risk Management happening within procurement organizations. As the risks that trigger supply disruptions, regulatory non-compliance and missed corporate objectives continue to gain visibility, an ‘eyes wide open’ attitude towards supplier risk assessment and mitigation strategies has become imperative to improve operationa

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DHL rebrands corporate name, e-commerce division

Supply Chain Dive

The logistics company is dropping Deutsche Post from its group name and ticker, though the brand will continue on in Germany.

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U.S. Business Logistics Costs Reach All-Time High

Supply Chain Brain

U.S. business logistics costs grew by 19.6% year-on-year in 2022 after coming in at $1.937 trillion in 2021, according to CSCMP's annual State of Logistics Report.

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Procurement as a growth engine: How procurement can drive business growth with intuitive buying

Supply Chain Dive

Companies worldwide have begun to realize procurement’s potential to promote growth and innovation.

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Procurement Is Navigating a Tech Tsunami (and It’s Upending How You Work)

Procurement is in the middle of a tech tsunami. And if it feels like the old playbooks aren’t working anymore, that’s because they aren’t. Agentic AI. Autonomous procurement. Unified source-to-pay ecosystems. These innovations are converging and transforming how procurement teams operate. The GEP 2025 Procurement & Supply Chain Tech Trends Report breaks it all down.

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Semiconductor Unpredictability: Prescriptive Advice for Business

Supply Chain Brain

When the next super cycle hits, the basic problems of the global supply chain will not be resolved, and most likely the market will lag for several more years.

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The Hybrid Cloud Forecast: A podcast with IBM Fellows

IBM Supply Chain Blog

In the Spring of 2021, my manager at the time, Jerry Cuomo, suggested that I start my own podcast. He had—and still has—a podcast called “ The Art of Automation ,” and he suggested that it was a great experience I should have, too. The topic? “How about hybrid cloud?” he suggested. And that is how the idea and the name were born.

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World’s Top Dairy Maker Plans Chicago Expansion After $3.2bn Kraft Deal

Supply Chain Brain

The family-owned company plans to hire almost 100 people at its Chicago offices over the next 12 months, according to Peter Cotter, CEO of Lactalis Heritage Dairy.

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Re-invent your warranty process with a digital twin

IBM Supply Chain Blog

According to Warranty Week , claims totaling 46 billion USD were paid by the global automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers in 2021. 54 billion USD in accruals have been made. This means that based on experience, roughly $630 per vehicle sold is held back for upcoming warranty issues. The challenge to avoid or reduce warranty claims and their costs is enormous, as flaws can happen along the complete value chain.

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State of AI in Sales & Marketing 2025

AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.

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Italy Blocks Sinochem from Extending Its Control of Tire Maker Pirelli

Supply Chain Brain

Sinochem is Pirelli's biggest shareholder with a 37% stake in the company and control of 60% of the seats on the organization's board.

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Building a unified developer experience for z/OS and cloud applications with the IBM Z and Cloud Modernization Stack

IBM Supply Chain Blog

Emerging cloud-based technology trends like artificial intelligence (AI) , the Metaverse, the Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing are evolving at a rapid pace, seemingly adding new capabilities every few months to fundamentally transform how people and organizations interact with them. For enterprises to match scale and speed, it is critical to modernize their core business applications to accelerate innovation.

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Hyundai Raises 2030 Electric-Vehicle Sales Goal to 2M

Supply Chain Brain

Hyundai also plans to spend about $85 billion to boost production and make progress in areas such as hydrogen cars, EV batteries and software for future mobility.

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Looking at this picture – from what you see do you know why I bought this product?

Procurement Insights

Before I answer the headline question, you should know that my Mother and Father were born in 1918 and 1916, respectively – which means they grew up during the Great Depression. Consider that to be my one and only hint – que Jeopardy music. Looking at the following options below, which one would you chose as your primary motive for buying Maple Leaf’s premium cut of meat: Price discount – by the way, there was an added $3 off coupon, lowering the price from $15 to $4 It&#

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The AI Race Isn’t Just About Tech Superiority – Its the Supply Chain, Stupid!

The race to dominate AI is no longer about who has the smartest algorithms — it's about who can build and scale faster. Behind every AI breakthrough lies a battle for resources: data centers, compute hardware, power, and telecom infrastructure. And right now, even tech giants are hitting a wall. Our latest white paper reveals the six critical supply chain elements that are increasingly separating AI leaders from the rest.