April, 2015

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Local Sourcing: Exploring Enablers of Supply Chain and Procurement Localization

ivalua

Spend Matters recently published a story highlighting Auto News’ coverage of supply chain and procurement localization at Magna International. On the surface, local sourcing seems simple – work with local suppliers in the areas where you do business globally. In practice, however,supply chain localization is far from easy – in fact, its requirements and practices are often incongruous with some procurement and supply chain trends leading to greater centralization of efforts and management.

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7 Ways to Create Perfect Agile Supply Chain Machine

Supply Chain Opz

'Agile Supply Chain concept has been discussed widely but the definition can be a bit vague. In this article, we will explain how agile supply chain theories were developed and 7 ways to create agility in your organization. Agile Supply Chain Agile Supply Chain is based on the concept of "Agility" which was developed at Lehigh University in the United States.

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TMS Software Eases the Pain of Zero-Based Budgeting

Supply Chain Collaborator

'The recently completed private equity-driven acquisition of Kraft Foods Group by HJ Heinz Co. has illustrated an emerging cost-cutting practice that will surely be challenging to these newly merged operations. This new practice is being emulated by many industries and operations personnel will be tasked with accommodating the rigorous new cost-cutting efforts.

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Why a customer-driven supply chain strategy is important

The Network Effect

Customer expectations are not consistent with what companies offer. Therefore, the companies supply chains are not allowing the fulfillment of the customers’ expectations. Wow, what an opening to this message! Are these first two sentences true? Am I just trying to get your attention? How could these first two sentences be true, as it appears I am saying that no company has set customer satisfaction standards that meet customer expectations.

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Manufacturing Sustainability Surge: Your Guide to Data-Driven Energy Optimization & Decarbonization

Speaker: Kevin Kai Wong, President of Emergent Energy Solutions

In today's industrial landscape, the pursuit of sustainable energy optimization and decarbonization has become paramount. Manufacturing corporations across the U.S. are facing the urgent need to align with decarbonization goals while enhancing efficiency and productivity. Unfortunately, the lack of comprehensive energy data poses a significant challenge for manufacturing managers striving to meet their targets.

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Feature on Stage Stores and its TMS Implementation

Supply Chain Collaborator

'Stage Stores is the country’s leading small-town retailer, with 65 percent of stores and 59 percent of sales in towns with populations below 50,000, which are underserved markets with limited competition. Stage Stores operates more than 850 department stores in 40 states under the Bealls, Goody’s, Palais Royal, Peebles and Stage brands. These stores are supported by three highly automated distribution centers, located in Texas, Ohio and Virginia.

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10 Most Influential Lean Books for All Lean Enterprise

Supply Chain Opz

Are you looking for lean books that help you create sustainable change? In this article, we will show you 10 best lean books every lean enterprise should read. Background According to a short survey we conducted, we found that the best "classic" lean book is The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production by James P. Womack, Daniel T.

More Trending

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6 Years Running: UltraShipTMS named Top a 100 Logistics IT Provider

Supply Chain Collaborator

'Inbound Logistics’ Annual List of the Best Supply Chain Logistics Solution Providers Includes the Emerging Industry Leader. April 21, 2015 – Fair Lawn, NJ – Editor Felecia Stratton contacted UltraShipTMS to confirm that, for the sixth consecutive year, the Ultra organization had earned a spot on Inbound Logistics magazine’s “Top 100 Logistics IT Providers” list.

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10 Best Inventory Book for All Experience Levels

Supply Chain Opz

What inventory book can help you to cut inventory costs? In this article, we will show you 10 best inventory book that readers at all levels can learn from. Inventory Management Overview Many people think inventory management is a clerical task but they're absolutely wrong. Effective control of inventory requires a broad spectrum of knowledge. We've conducted a literature survey and found 10 types of inventory book as below, - Basic Inventory Control: deals with basic knowledge of inventory mana

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Feature on Stage Stores and its TMS Implementation

Supply Chain Collaborator

'Stage Stores is the country’s leading small-town retailer, with 65 percent of stores and 59 percent of sales in towns with populations below 50,000, which are underserved markets with limited competition. Stage Stores operates more than 850 department stores in 40 states under the Bealls, Goody’s, Palais Royal, Peebles and Stage brands. These stores are supported by three highly automated distribution centers, located in Texas, Ohio and Virginia.

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Should wall street care about your master data management strategy?

The Network Effect

'Nathaniel Zumbach/Flickr. In business our mission is to leverage our assets to the benefit of both our shareholders and stakeholders. Yet is today’s standard practice of merely maintaining master data across our various and disconnected transactional systems achieving this mission? In this series of posts I will explore how master data management (MDM), a topic traditionally thought of as a matter of interest only to CIOs and IT Directors, can have a big impact on a company’s bottom line, both

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GEP Procurement & Supply Chain Tech Trends Report

The technological landscape is dynamic and changes quickly. And for procurement and supply chain leaders looking to harness the power of technology to navigate complex challenges and an uncertain business environment, keeping up with the latest trends can be its own obstacle. So, what’s on the technological horizon for procurement and supply chain for the year ahead?

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Is a shelf-connected supply chain possible with traditional ERP?

The Network Effect

'The great management theorist W. Edwards Deming was once quoted as saying, “Without data you’re just another person with an opinion”. Over the past few years, the amount of available Point of Sale (POS) data has grown dramatically, increasing the urgency for all companies who sell through retail channels to leverage such data to drive decisions in their upstream supply networks.

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10 Project Leaders Reveal Best Project Management Book

Supply Chain Opz

'There are thousands of project management books in the market but how to determine the most practical project management book that you can really use? In this article, we will show you how we uncover the best PM books that deserve your attention. Background In 1950s, the United States Navy developed a method called "Program Evaluation and Review Technique" (PERT) for Polarlis Submarine Weapon System and this marks the birth of modern project management as we know today.

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10 CEOs Reveal Favorite Time Management Books

Supply Chain Opz

Is time management important to your business and your life? This article will show you 10 best time management books that get the attentions of leading CEOs. What is time management exactly? Time management is a broad concept that encompass various planning and control of activities. Poor time management can results in loss of revenue or business opportunities.

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10 Greatest Lean Books for The Ultimate Lean Enterprise

Supply Chain Opz

Are you looking for lean books that help you create sustainable change? In this article, we will show you 10 best lean books every lean enterprise should read. Background Lean concept is considered one of the most popular management practice that can be used anywhere from manufacturing to service environment, from automotive industry to retail industry.

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Scaling Logistics for Success: A White Claw Story

Speaker: Scott Campbell and Molly Feller

As the demand for your products skyrockets 🚀, you're likely experiencing logistical challenges that are preventing you from scaling your business. The sudden surge in demand can be exciting, but it can also put a strain on your supply chain and logistics operations. In this webinar, join Scott Campbell, Vice President, Logistics & Demand at Mark Anthony Services and Molly Feller, VP Logistics as a Service Operations at e2open, as they explore the challenges that arise when companies expe

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10 Greatest Negotiation Books of All Time

Supply Chain Opz

What negotiation books can help you sharpen your negotiation skills? In this article, we will show you 10 best negotiation books that readers at all levels can learn from. The Science of Negotiation We believe many of you know John Nash from the movie "A Beautiful Mind" but what "Nash Equilibrium" has something to do with "Negotiation"? In 1951, Nash published the paper called "Non-Cooperative Games".

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10 Outstanding Decision Making Book for Managers

Supply Chain Opz

In this article, we will explore the decision making book's landscape, decision making methods and provide a list of top 10 decision making book you can use. Background Making a sound decision can be very tricky, especially in the situations where supporting data are not available and/or the problems are too complex and involve multiple stakeholders.

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Experts Reveal Best Negotiation Books You Should Read

Supply Chain Opz

Do you want to excel in business negotiations quickly? This article will show you 10 best negotiation books that help you master essential negotiation skills. Anatomy of Negotiations According to negotiation theory, there are 4 important aspects of negotiations that you have to take into account as below, - Who are you negotiating with? When you are dealing with adversary, the maximum gain is expected but when you are dealing with your own business partner, win-win negotiation is more desirable.

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10 Greatest Leadership Textbooks of All Time

Supply Chain Opz

Do you have to lead your team to the right direction? This article will present a list of great leadership textbook that will help you every step of the way. What are leadership skills? Leadership is not position but the action you make everyday and some of these actions are as below, - Clarifying problems: a great leader has to be able to identify challenges at hand so they can make further actions - Setting objectives: after the challenges are identified, a mission statement or objectives shou

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Supply Chain Orchestration: A New Era in Supply Chain Management

When the only certainty is uncertainty, what does that mean for today’s supply chain management approaches? This eBook delves into how supply chain orchestration can help businesses unlock agility, transparency, intelligence, and trust across their end-to-end supply chain.

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10 Best Strategy Books Written by World's Leading CEOs

Supply Chain Opz

Are you an executive who wishes to plan and implement effective strategy? In this article, 10 best strategy books by world's leading CEOs will be presented. Background Strategy comes in many different shapes and forms. It can be the Art of War by Sun Tzu, the Value Chain Model by Michael Porter or the Balanced Scorecard by Norton and Kaplan. However, there are 3 basic components that are the basis of any strategy as below, - Diagnosis or the nature of challenges - Guiding Policy or a broad state

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10 Best Team Building Books to Keep Within Reach

Supply Chain Opz

Are you planning to use team building to improve organizational performance? We will show you some popular team building book that you can use on daily basis. Team Building Basics Team building is so very important in modern organizational development because companies rely on the synchronization of activities to create outstanding products or services.

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Experts Discuss Benefits of PMP Exam & Best PMP Books

Supply Chain Opz

Thinking about getting PMP certificate? In this article, leading PM experts will discuss about the benefits of PMP exam and best PMP books to help you prepare. Every organization already has some type of project management works. However, is it necessary to take the PMP exam? Each year, PMI asks project management professionals around the world to report their salary information including job title, industry, type of project and years of work experience.

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Five reasons why our supply chains aren’t demand driven

The Network Effect

'It is difficult to come across many supply chain leaders today who do not subscribe to the principle of Demand-Driven Supply Chains. As supply chain experts we continue to write about, provide webinars, present at conferences, and assist numerous client companies to progress towards the Demand-Driven Supply Chain model. Software suppliers have promoted and developed software to help enable the Demand-Driven Supply Chain model.

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How to Create a Blueprint for Fleet Resilience

Speaker: Jeff Dickinson - President and CEO of Railgistixs Transport, Supply Chain and Logistics Thought Leader

Despite the ongoing transformation of the supply chain and logistics landscape, the steadfast importance of carrier safety remains a core principle. From prioritizing preventative maintenance to optimizing fleet utilization, the fundamentals persist. If you’re overlooking and neglecting essential safety precautions today, this could result in expensive repairs and potential safety hazards in the future. 🚧 Join Jeff Dickinson for a conversation on how to mitigate risk, enforce compliance,

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What is the optimal column space for your warehouse?

The Network Effect

'Lima Pix/Flickr. Note: This post was written by Wendy Johnson, Associate Consultant, Tompkins International. . Here at Tompkins, we often work in warehouse design. One of the most common errors in the design of warehousing facilities is to use the building cost criteria to define column spacings. With all of the considerations that go into designing a warehouse, column spacing may seem to be of little importance beyond ensuring the structural integrity of the building, but this is simply not th

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The Inkblot: Why Flowcasting really isn’t subject to interpretation

The Network Effect

'Philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it. – Karl Marx (1818-1883). What do you see when you look at the image above? A demon skull? An old woman with wild hair? A happening dance party? That’s the great thing about the Rorschach inkblot test – there’s no wrong answer. Any and all interpretations of an inkblot are “right”.

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How demand sensing can vault forecast accuracy beyond its theoretical limits

The Network Effect

'Phillipp Pohle/Flickr. Note, this is part two in a series on demand sensing. Part one is here. Part two is here. Part 3 is here. . Information theory shows us that increasing mathematical precision to model a “perfect fit” will reach a point where further sophistication of time-series analysis no longer is able to improve upon forecast accuracy.

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Forecasting in a Shelf-Connected Supply Network

The Network Effect

'Christian Schnettelker/Flickr. Note: This is the next installment in an ongoing series that explores shelf-connected supply networks. In the first post, I asked whether a shelf-connected system was possible with traditional ERP systems. Today I want to discuss how new approaches to forecasting processes are required in a shelf-connected world. . A “demand-driven value network” (DDVN) oriented architecture is similar in concept to a “Consumer-Driven” network, and is a good framework for building

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How to Stay Competitive in the Evolving State of Martech

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr

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Why Aging Material Handling Equipment Puts Your Distribution/Fullfilment Center at Risk

The Network Effect

'Scottish Government/Flickr. We spend a good deal of time in distribution / fulfillment centers and get a first hand view to how material handling systems are working. Our observations over the last several years are that the equipment components of today’s material handling systems (conveyors, pick to light, sortation etc.) are showing signs of aging.

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10 Signs of Vendor Financial Risk to Watch For

Supply Chain Opz

'Vendor Risk Management is the important element of supplier evaluation. However, assessment of vendor financial risk is not quite easy to carry out. This article will show you how to check financial conditions of vendors with and without financial statement. Short Term Liquidity From operational perspective, you want to make sure that supplier has enough money to pay its bills, buy raw materials so they can deliver products and services to you.

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