Articles
Supply Chain Technology
EIS: Practice Makes Perfect
Based in Downers Grove, Ill., Enterprise Information Solutions Inc. (EIS) is devoted to systems integration and open systems, open source computer engineering. The company’ s transportation practice focuses on transportation and logistics solutions. Marc Mitchell, one of EIS’ s founders, holds the intriguing title of Transportation Practice Director. “When we founded EIS, we decided to […]
Read MoreWhere the Supply Chain Meets the Value Chain
By taking a different approach to the way we look at certain objects and processes, we gain the benefit of objectivity. A similar method holds true when looking at the supply chain. It is the nature of systems, especially complex ones such as in the supply chain, to evolve and change. Part of the pressure […]
Read MoreUsing Aftermarket Service As a Strategic Weapon
Web-based inventory, supply chain planning, and forecasting tools are among the more important and growing applications in the supply chain industry. Within this maelstrom of supply chain management, customer relationship management, warehouse management, and ERP offerings, Atlanta, Ga.-based Servigistics is taking an aggressive position in aftermarket service. “Global leaders such as Dell, Toshiba, EMC, and […]
Read MoreCRM Plays Crucial, Often Confusing, Role in SCM
The importance of customer relationship management (CRM) within the supply chain is vitally important. This column offers my take on some important integration issues. The customer and the customer’s customer have been a critical part of the supply chain since its inception. The customer is quite clearly what the supply chain is all about. Having […]
Read MoreVelant’s Automated Planning Solution
Two primary goals of transportation management are reducing costs and enhancing customer service. To meet these demands and improve its transportation planning offerings, Velant, a solution provider headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., has developed a managed service that integrates advanced technology with the expertise of logistics specialists. The company’s Transportation Management Center (TMC) is targeted at […]
Read MoreWhat’s Behind mySAP’s Technology?
The technology behind mySAP’s Supply Chain Management module—which spans planning, execution, networking, and coordination processes—bears closer review. mySAP SCM is built upon industry standards such as HTML, XML, and WAP (Wireless Application Protocol). These tools ensure interoperability and flexibility. Part of SAP’s flexible optimization strategy is the use of user-specific heuristics. “Within SAP, heuristics are […]
Read MoreFor SAP, Size No Longer Matters
In this era of business change, even the biggest supply chain technology providers are reaching out to small- and mid-sized companies, creating new products, and making it easier for companies to respond to their offerings. Much of their focus is also targeted toward easier implementation. Industry stalwart SAP has responded to these changes in business […]
Read MoreClicking Toward Dynamic Carrier Selection
As supply chain technology evolves, service providers continually refine their offerings to deal with specific challenges. One difficulty many companies face is finding the optimal carrier for a shipment. To address this, Clicklogistics, currently being acquired by Yellow Corporation’s Meridian IQ division, recently launched version 3.0 of its web-native transportation management system (TMS) featuring a […]
Read MoreElite System Boosts Supply Chain Visibility
Web-based businesses continue to grow and become more sophisticated, especially when it comes to the supply chain. Technology that was once the exclusive provenance of CAD programs and complex industrial or financial GUIs now has a good chance of being used in applications that serve the supply chain. Clearly companies need greater visibility along as […]
Read MoreSupplyPro’s Point-of-Use Inventory Management
Not all supply chain solutions providers offer broad-based remote services. Some do a very good job on a more local level—though, often, their offerings can be hooked into a global web network. Some concentrate solely on the supply chain at point-of-use. One such solutions provider is SupplyPro, based in San Diego, Calif. It has developed […]
Read MoreSupply Chain Planning in a Global Environment
Last month’s column examined LogicTools Inc.’s LogicChain and LogicNet supply chain applications. This month, we talk with the person behind those applications—David Simchi-Levi, LogicTools CEO and president. In addition to running LogicTools, Simchi-Levi is a professor of engineering systems at MIT and the author of two books, including the prize-winning Designing and Managing the Supply […]
Read MoreLogic Tools Addresses Network Design, Decision Support
The key to doing good business when providing supply chain solutions is to have a handle on network design and decision support. This means having support systems in place that have the functional clout and services required to sustain these applications. Network design and decision support are strategic components of any company’s long-term and tactical […]
Read MoreThe Search for e-Business Enlightenment
A zen approach to logistics? It’s not as far-fetched as you might think. In an industry where the quest for perfection is persistent, if fleeting, an enlightened approach to e-business and supply chain management has some merit. In their book The Seven Steps to Nirvana (McGraw-Hill, 2001) Mohan Sawhney and Jeff Zabin draw on this […]
Read MoreWeb Portal Delivers Ocean Freight Connectivity
Despite some wavering in the e-commerce industry, web portals are not only here to stay, they have great potential to be a B2B growth area, and for good reason. Portals allow companies to take advantage of immediate, online access to trading partners, suppliers, and service providers. This access can lead to greater levels of collaboration, […]
Read MoreEnsuring Security Through Visibility
We have all become more security conscious in the last few months. Keeping tabs on processes has never been a bad idea, but under today’s circumstances better visibility, closer attention to procedures, and tight recordkeeping make the flow of information about personnel and goods all the more useful within the supply chain. Supply chain video […]
Read MoreMany Happy Returns
Recent events have compelled many businesses to narrow their focus on specific components within the supply chain. But in terms of product recalls, the potential impact a product defect might have on other manufacturing, distribution, and transportation processes demands that companies take a broader view of the supply chain. This past year, several widely publicized, […]
Read MoreVMI: Managing Supply Based on Demand
Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) is not a new application, but its role in today’s supply chain is attracting more and more interest. Driven by a need for greater competence in supply chain processes, the roles some supply chain partners play are shifting away from traditional inventory management. Now, the vendor tracks the quantity of products […]
Read MoreInventory Trendspotting: Qualifying Suppliers Online
One common way to identify emerging technology trends is to follow the trails of strategic partnerships between companies. While these agreements often result in the implementation of a new technology, at the very least they can enhance a technology that in turn augments a service to some customer within the supply chain. One such partnership […]
Read MoreSCM Software: An Intelligent Response to a Complex Need
Our current set of ERP applications grew out of an array of MRP and MRP II applications and their extensions. ERP took its cast from MRP and therefore was created first and foremost for transaction processing, data collection, and reporting of that data. Its motivation and structure came out of the financial world and naturally […]
Read MoreSCEM: Managing Problems Before They Happen
The recent advent of trading communities, trading partners, and the resulting issue of collaboration strategies has placed a new emphasis on supply chain web applications. As if the supply chain market needs additional heat, the economics of the time call for increased monitoring of business processes. Supply chain managers want that monitoring to anticipate problems […]
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