Articles
The Lean Supply Chain
The View From the Control Tower
As discussed in my last column, Integrated Business Planning (IBP) is a process that uses “outside-in” thinking by integrating demand forecasts, supply plans, inventory projections, and financial plans into one medium-term strategic model. That’s a great starting point. But the leading-edge way to manage your short- to mid-term global supply chain in real time (or […]
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IBP and Lean: A Match Made in Heaven
Acknowledging that we are in a “whitewater rapids” phase of today’s global economy, and hence supply chain, leads us to the question: Who is steering the ship and how?
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Managing Change in Turbulent Times
We are now in a "white water rapids" phase in terms of the global economy, requiring flexibility from the processes, technology, and people in the supply chain to navigate these rough waters. Making the transition to a truly flexible and lean supply chain, especially during these turbulent times, involves changing the three elements necessary for […]
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Omnichannel Retail: 4 Rules for Success
While it’s not possible to be truly omniscient when it comes to omnichannel retail and your supply chain, it is possible to try to anticipate some of the challenges ahead.
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Riding Out the Rapids
It seems that we are moving from crisis to crisis—tariffs, a plummeting stock market, cyber-attacks, recalls—at an ever-increasing pace. While we can’t avoid these crises, we can minimize their impact with a lean, agile supply chain. While that’s easy to say, it’s hard to do. Some key components to focus on include: Supply chain visibility, […]
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Going Straight to the Sourcing
Strategic sourcing, which consultants popularized in the late 1980s/early 1990s, is a supply chain management approach that formalizes the way organizations gather and use information to leverage consolidated purchasing power and find the best values in the marketplace. Strategic sourcing involves developing supply channels at the lowest total cost, as opposed to the lowest purchase […]
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Store Delivery Keeps Retailers in the Game
Multi-channel retail and fulfillment is typically based on the assumption that customers choose a main way to connect, whether physical stores or a website. Many retailers manage each channel separately with different teams, budgets, processes, tools, reporting structures, and revenue goals. In multi-channel retail and fulfillment, stores have their own stock and sell directly to […]
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Are You Ready for Omnichannel Retail?
An omnichannel retail strategy provides a consistent shopping experience across different channels and devices, requiring your supply chain to offer a smooth, positive experience for customers—no matter where and how they interact with your brand. Some supply chain challenges to address when dealing with an omnichannel retail strategy include: Supply chain visibility. Consumer expectations are […]
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Don’t Let Your Office Go to Waste
When analyzing your supply chain for efficiency improvements, it can be easy to ignore administrative activities. But office activities can constitute approximately 50 percent of the order-to-shipment lead time, and about 60 to 80 percent of all cost pertaining to meeting your customers’ needs. Many companies treat office activities in the supply chain and elsewhere […]
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Internet of Things to Come
The Internet of Things (IoT) allows users to collect and make data visible at key points, improving customer satisfaction and optimizing supply chain responsiveness. It can also offer greater differentiation and innovation, leading to a competitive advantage. IoT is widely discussed, but what does it refer to and how does it relate to the lean […]
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