Articles
Supply Chain Management
5 Operational Actions Shippers Can Take to Build Resilience
As the COVID-19 crisis and focus spreads, specifically in the United States—leading the world in reported confirmed cases north of 124,000 as of March 29, 2020—businesses and supply chains continue to come under increased pressure and are put to the test on a daily basis. As shippers apply current lessons learned from the pandemic to […]
Read MoreReplenishing the Fuel Supply Chain During COVID-19
When we head to the gas station, we rarely think twice about whether there will be fuel at the pump. Fuel supply management is never really a concern for consumers until there is a shortage or a pandemic, such as COVID-19. But for supply chain managers, the coordination and smart replenishment of fuel are monitored […]
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Accounting for Lean
While it’s one thing to have a lean supply chain, it’s another thing to properly account for it.
Read MoreIs Your Supply Chain Resilient? How Manufacturers Can Map Dependencies and Minimize Risk During COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically disrupted many global supply chains, and there is no way of knowing when the disruptions will peak or begin to return “normal.” Presently, the focus on public health and welfare is paramount—the ability of nations to contain the pandemic comes first. But the health of the global economy is also […]
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Plan B: 5 Ways to Weatherproof Your Supply Chain
From establishing secondary suppliers to setting up alternative routes, here’s how Plan B strategies can keep you up and running, even during extreme weather events.
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How Supply Chain Drives Business Value
World-class companies such as Apple, Cisco, Amazon, and Unilever have found a way to foster strong collaboration between their supply chain and commercial teams to execute business strategy, and this is a key driver in their success.
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VERTICAL FOCUS | Fast-Moving Consumer Goods
4 Things FMCG Retailers Need to Know FMCG retailers need to be aware of four key areas as they build their future omnichannel supply chains, finds RSR Research’s Supply Chain Management 2018 report. 1. Change signals. Retailers are increasingly aware that new digitally enabled consumer behaviors are challenging a key operational assumption—that consumers will start […]
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Logistics Leaders Into Outsourcing
Outsourcing logistics services has become common—85% of logistics leaders expect their outsourcing budget to increase by more than 5% in 2020; 85% reported a similar budget increase in 2019, finds Gartner’s 2019 Logistics Outsourcing Strategy survey. One reason leaders expect budgets to increase is that logistics outsourcing supports their business objectives. About 70% of respondents […]
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The Secret Behind the Best Supply Chain Transformations
Even the most well-oiled supply chains have room for improvement. But what if you want to do more than just improve; what if you want to transform? Data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) can disrupt—and, yes, transform—your supply chain.
Read MoreTaking a Dip Into Supply Chain Management
Frank Armetta is global vice president of supply chain with Sabra Dipping Company, a division of PepsiCo. Responsibilities: Leads procurement, strategic sourcing, manufacturing, warehousing, distribution reports, global engineering, and global quality. Also oversees the Australian and Western Europe businesses. Experience: Vice president, global manufacturing with Sabra; global manufacturing vice president for PepsiCo Worldwide Flavors in […]
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Ten Minutes From Now—Do You Have a Plan?
While the publisher is focused on planning for a far-off future, I’m focused on providing practical information that you can use in the here and now. Leaf through this edition for the next 10 minutes, and you’ll find plenty of practical examples to help you navigate 2020. The content we provide is specialized because the […]
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Stop, Thief! Five Ways to Protect Your Supply Chain
Today’s supply chain ecosystem is increasingly complicated. We rely on suppliers and buyers across the globe and use multiple transport modes, languages, currencies, and laws across borders.
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Good Question: Will the Supply Chain Management Function Be Obsolete in 10 Years? Why or Why Not?
Zero chance. Supply chain success is dependent upon human relationships, collaboration, partnerships, leading and influencing, servicing customers, and the like. Robots, algorithms, and other new technologies will make certain jobs obsolete, but not the function of supply chain itself.
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Reshaping the Supply Chain: How New Strategies, Goals & Technologies are Altering Supply Chain Operations
Picture trucking in the United States minus interstate highways. Global trade without shipping containers. Supply chain management with no internet.
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A Hire Purpose: 11 Strategies to Recruit Supply Chain Talent
Competition has never been tougher to obtain supply chain talent, forcing companies to rethink recruitment tactics.
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What’s the Word?
We asked the experts in our audience for the hot supply chain words or phrases you and your colleagues will be talking about next year. Here goes. Door to floor. Given e-commerce deliveries of larger consumer products, door to floor is a thing, explains Bob Hitt, industry go to market manager for Salesforce. Some call […]
Read More5 Actions to Optimize Logistics Costs
Logistics leaders face pressure from their stakeholders to optimize logistics costs while maintaining service and performance levels. Gartner Inc. identifies the following five actions to help you optimize costs from within your organization. 1. Eliminate costly errors. In logistics, errors occur regularly and often come at a cost. For example, shipments may be non-deliverable due […]
Read MoreEnsuring Supply Chain Visibility
In today’s increasingly omnichannel marketplace, good visibility is vital throughout the supply chain. Here’s how to maintain optimal visibility at 10 key touchpoints.
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The Death of Your Profession?
In a few short years you won’t be employed. That’s right, if you work in the supply chain management field, and have a decade or so until you retire, it’s time to dust off your resume and consider other career paths. That’s according to commentary authors Allan Lyall, Pierre Mercier, and Stefan Gstettner in a […]
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GOOD QUESTION | Popeyes chicken sandwich shortage: Supply chain fail or marketing savvy?
All marketing strategy in my humble opinion. Like a limited release of Jordan sneakers and then a re-release at a later date. Milton O’Quinn III National Operations Manager, RPM It’s a great lesson—companies should do more data analytics to better understand how consumers respond to social media marketing and build up supply chain agility and […]
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