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'As pressure to improve supply chain cost performance increases for many companies, the evaluation and selection of competent suppliers becomes a key concern. In this article, Professor Burcu Keskin from University of Alabama will share 7 trends that procurement and supply chain management professionals should watch. Typically, total cost, quality, and delivery performance appear as critical factors in the supplier selection process.
In a recent Sourcing Journal Online article, Sourcing is Hard , Mike Todaro, managing director of the Americas Apparel Producers’ Network, quotes Barbara Zeins, an industry expert that published a short list of “9 Big FAT Garment Lies,” which we might as well call “Global Sourcing Lies,” more generally. Her list of supply chain lies, which are re-quoted here, is nearly universal to all industries.
'Nicolas A. Tonelli/Flickr. Global headlines anticipating growth through globalization are plentiful. Three different positions on achieving growth all point to cross-border e-commerce from a brand, company, and country perspective: BRANDS. Williams-Sonoma and Zara head to Mexico. US brands targeting global growth. European luxury brands focused on growth in the US.
'Is your trucking or logistics company an acquisition target? Or perhaps you’re considering making such an acquisition. In either event, there is a case to be made for the role of logistics IT solutions to help smooth the process of consuming or being consumed. Read on for details. Front page news from Transport Topics “Trucking, Logistics Acquisitions Expected to Continue in 2015”.
“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.
It’s baseball season again! A while back, the film “Moneyball” showed us how the Oakland A’s built a super-competitive sports franchise on analytics, essentially “ competing on analytics ”, within relevant business parameters of a major league baseball franchise. The “Moneyball” saga and other examples of premier organizations competing on analytics were featured in the January 2006 Harvard Business Review article, “Competing on Analytics” (reprint R0601H) by Thomas Davenport
What are the essential purchasing books you should read? In this article, we will uncover the best purchasing books to help you get the edge over competition. Background Historically, purchasing people are considered a kind of clerical workers who are expected to perform basic tasks such as document issuance and price negotiation. Now companies of all sizes realize how purchasing can help creating competitive advantage.
'Fons Heijnsbroek/Flickr. In my experience, organizations looking to invest in enterprise technology focus too much of their attention on the functionality at the expense of the underlying architecture. This is a mistake. Anyone can make a flashy demo, but if your new app does not have the right architecture, you’ll experience disappointing returns and have more problems in the long run than you anticipated.
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Purchasing & Procurement Zone brings together the best content for professionals in the purchasing and procurement field from the widest variety of thought leaders.
'Fons Heijnsbroek/Flickr. In my experience, organizations looking to invest in enterprise technology focus too much of their attention on the functionality at the expense of the underlying architecture. This is a mistake. Anyone can make a flashy demo, but if your new app does not have the right architecture, you’ll experience disappointing returns and have more problems in the long run than you anticipated.
'(Ken Teegardin/Flickr). Determining future trends in consumer products or most any industry was not nearly as difficult in the past as it is today. One of the major trends is that industry leaders must be students of major trends. In order to develop good strategies and execute against them, today’s leader needs to know what is happening now and a sense for what is to come.
'Robert S. Donovan/Flickr. Think for a minute about the diverse activities you can do with your smart phone. You have thousands of options for navigating, communicating, playing games, tracking your sleep and exercise, etc. “Apps” have woven themselves into our everyday lives, and this trend shows no signs of stopping. In this post, I want to talk about a parallel development within the enterprise market—I will show how platforms and “apps” are revolutionizing the B2B space.
'If ever there was a perfect time to engage a logistics IT solution like TMS, Optimizer or Yard Management tool, it is now. The current windfall shippers are experiencing thanks to the depressed cost of fuel is the perfect reason to strike now if your organization has ever toyed with the idea of improving supply chain management with a SaaS software solution.
'Challenges Supporting the Inbound Logistics to 850 Department Stores Prompted Selection of UltraShipTMS. Monday, March 2, 2015 – Fair Lawn, NJ – UltraShipTMS announces the latest addition to its growing roster of valued client companies – America’s leading small town retailer, Stage Stores. The Houston, Texas based retailer operates 850 department stores across 40 states under the Bealls, Goody’s Palais Royal, Peebles and Stage brands.
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
'Image by UK Department for International Development/Flickr. In a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine , the world’s wealthiest man, Bill Gates, argues that we need a better global supply chain and warning system for infectious diseases, and suggests that something like the simulated ’war games’ that have long taken place within and between the world’s military forces would help create such a system.
'We’ve all heard that it takes a long time to turn a battleship. However, some of the largest most complex supply chains – like those at Walmart, Target Stores, Hasbro Toys and others – are seemingly able to pivot on a dime in response to external pressures on supply lines. Case in point, the Wall Street Journal reports that these three giants (among others) have reshaped their logistics plans to avoid US West Coast-bound ocean routes (and the subsequent OTR and rail routes) due to recent labo
'Inventory management is one of the most important tasks for supply chain management professionals. However, most inventory control theories are too complicated or too difficult to apply to real world situations. Then, this article will show you 10 simple principles that you can use to streamline your inventory management practices right away. 1) Utilize cross-functional team If you''re an inventory controller and you choose to stay in your cubicle for the whole day, it''s the indication that yo
'I woke up today/Flickr. “ The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.” – Samuel Johnson. It’s 1934 and in a dark, dingy basement on the lower east side of New York, a fundamental principle of change management would emerge, from the unlikeliest of sources. Sitting in the basement was 39 year old Bob Wilson.
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.
'We’ve shared other maps in the past that help explain today’s global supply chain. Well, here’s another amazing map that helps reveal the complex underlying infrastructure that everything we buy and consume must pass through. This map, prepared by Wonkblog and based on data by the National Bridge Inventory, shows every highway bridge in U.S. that is longer than 20 feet.
'Marines/Flickr. One of the first lessons that someone new to enterprise software learns is that it plays by a different set of rules. Whereas our favorite smartphone apps are designed to work seamlessly to deliver our wants and needs faster and more conveniently than ever before, enterprise applications, even the really successful ones, have tended to force its users to change their existing business processes to accommodate the technology.
'Robert S. Donovan/Flickr. Think for a minute about the diverse activities you can do with your smart phone. You have thousands of options for navigating, communicating, playing games, tracking your sleep and exercise, etc. “Apps” have woven themselves into our everyday lives, and this trend shows no signs of stopping. In this post, I want to talk about a parallel development within the enterprise market—I will show how platforms and “apps” are revolutionizing the B2B space.
'In order to increase the efficiency of the whole supply chain, modern businesses relies on the stronger and closer relationship with their trading partners. In this article, the basic supply chain alliances concept together with the critical success factors will be presented. Basic Concept In the article named " Supply Chain Alliances, Rhetoric and Reality " by Fawcett et al 2005, alliances can be classified as below, 1) Transactional Relationship or Arms Length Relationship (no formal relation
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.
IBM has just released a study “Digital operations transform the physical” (capitalization theirs). Citing client examples the report states, “Perpetual planning enables more accurate demand and supply knowledge, as well as more accurate production and assembly status that can lower processing and inventory costs. Analytics + real-time signals = perpetual planning to optimize supply chain flows ” They are describing the space to which manufacturers, retailers, distributors
What is Inventory Control? Here we will try to answer most common questions about Inventory Control and also provide additional resources you can use. 1. What is Inventory Control? Inventory Control can be defined as below: “Inventory control is the function responsible for all decisions about all goods and materials in an organization. It makes decisions for policies, activities and procedures to make sure the right amount of each item is held in stock at any time.” - from Inventory Control and
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