Articles

Inventory Management

E-Commerce Commentary: Three Ways Shippers Can Improve Customer Satisfaction

The Amazon Effect continues to weigh heavily (pun intended) upon the supply chain. Consumers expect to receive packages at their homes within a few days—or within a day—of placing an order, and the demand for lightning-quick fulfillment coupled with the myriad of small-order additions has led to a complex operating environment for supply chain leaders. […]

Read More

Repositioning Inventory to Better Respond to Natural Disasters

Immediately following a natural disaster that outpaces a community’s ability to respond, various outside organizations rush to provide life-saving commodities to meet health, water, food, shelter, or other needs. That response is expedited by inventory prepositioned independently by governmental and non-governmental organizations.
 Research co-authored by Jason Acimovic, assistant professor of supply chain and information systems […]

Read More
Todd Miller

Solving the E-Commerce Puzzle

Inventory is now on-demand, and predicting what consumers will want on any given day is tricky. Add to that the already challenging scenario that consumers want to shop and purchase goods at any time and from anywhere—and supply chain logistics for e-commerce inventory gets even more complex and complicated. Many retailers and brands haven’t solved […]

Read More
John Lash

How Precise Forecasting Tames Item Proliferation

Accurate forecasts enable better planning, lower inventory and manufacturing costs, and improved service levels. By limiting line item proliferation, precise forecasting reduces errors significantly for new product launches. New products lack the history required for traditional demand planning methods. In the same way that the financial industry uses algorithms to sort through masses of market […]

Read More
Alan Sargent: A Sweet Confection Connection

Alan Sargent: A Sweet Confection Connection

Alan Sargent is supply chain and logistics director with Just Born Quality Confections, the Bethlehem, Pa.-based company behind PEEPS®, MIKE AND IKE®, and HOT TAMALES® candy brands. He has held this position since August 2005. Responsibilities: All logistics and transportation functions. Experience: Plant logistics and distribution manager, customer service facility manager, and logistics operations planner, […]

Read More
Neal Walters, Matthew Getz, and Mike Piccarreta

Reshape and Refresh Your Product Portfolio for a Streamlined Supply Chain

Organizations embrace periods of strategic portfolio expansion as a lever to improve top- and bottom-line growth. But in the wake of product proliferation, portfolio complexity emerges with unanticipated supply chain consequences that can significantly impact customer service, quality, and cost. The accumulation of products spanning multiple life-cycle stages may redirect the organization away from its […]

Read More