Articles
Supply Chain Management
What’s the Difference?
Does an LLP perform the same service as a 4PL? Can you run a just-in-time operation without being lean? When push comes to pull, are logistics and supply chain management interchangeable? Industry experts explain the source of some common misperceptions regarding supply chain and logistics lexicon.
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Ready for the Rebound
One good thing about difficult times is they drive people to take action. It’s easy to be nonchalant about counting pennies when dollar bills are everywhere. But when things get tight, lip service surrounding efficiency and automation just won’t do. Tomorrow’s leaders are using the recession to address manual processes, paper and other inefficiencies. Using […]
Read MoreSeven Deadly Supply Chain Sins
If there is one IT system that provides the greatest immediate benefits to a company, yet also poses the greatest challenges to implement, it has to be supply chain management. It is also the most risky to work with because failure and success are so visible to your trading partners. Supply chain management (SCM) has […]
Read MoreScale-Ability
Can being proficient in supply chain practices position you to benefit when the economy picks up and your sales take off? Matching demand signals to your supply line will help you save money, but it’s only half the story. It is a very big half, considering our never-ending quest to be cost effective or to […]
Read MoreOutsmarting Scope Creep
Scope creep. What is it? Will it hurt you? How can you avoid it? Scope creep occurs when the boundaries of an original project agreement begin to wander. It’s not uncommon to venture outside the lines and consider new ideas and approaches, but if scope creep is not effectively managed it can lead to budget […]
Read MoreFujifilm: A Matter of Perspective
Seeking a carrier to serve its LTL customers in the west, Fujifilm sought a partner that could see the larger supply chain picture.
Read MoreVendor Compliance: What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger
You just landed your first big customer. No more selling to mom-and-pops. You alert your suppliers and increase your raw materials inventory. You step up production and increase your finished goods inventory, anxiously awaiting the purchase order. Then suddenly it hits you: in order to get the purchase order you have to comply with a […]
Read MoreOptimizing Your Supply Chain: A Model Approach
A wide array of technological tools are just the do-it-yourself kit companies can use to model, then optimize, their supply chains.
Read MoreSCM & Logistics: What’s the Difference
Are logistics and supply chain management the same thing? How are they alike? How do they differ? IL readers weigh in with their opinion, and Dr. Edward J. Marien tries to make sense of it all.
Read MoreWinning Supply Chain Strategies: Adversity Breeds Creativity
While a slow economy drives many companies to wait out the siege, others do everything but. These winning companies look to the future, building supply chains based on creativity, velocity, collaboration, and speed. Here are their strategies for success.
Read MoreTapping Into SRM for Supply Strategy and Procurement Execution
Manufacturers today have an opportunity to leverage their supply base for competitive advantage. Unfortunately, most do not have the tools required to tap this value. For the last decade they have focused mainly on growth issues such as supply chain planning and customer relationship management. As the engine of growth has stalled, manufacturers are casting […]
Read MoreSelecting A Supply Chain Management System
Choosing supply chain management (SCM) software can be the single most important decision a logistics manager can make. This solution can be one that drives your business to 99.8-percent fulfillment levels or drives it into the ground. Blinco Systems Inc. (www.blinco.com) offers this 10-point checklist to use when interviewing vendors and evaluating SCM software packages. […]
Read MoreIs Your Supply Chain Achieving Customer Loyalty?
Business logistics executives face four major challenges: Achieving dramatic reductions in time-to-market. Creating value for shareholders. Marketing their supply chain as a competitive edge. Earning customer loyalty. Organizations must focus time, attention, and dollars on these areas. While many companies have plans to achieve challenges one through three, market leaders know that without true customer […]
Read MoreReaching the Pinnacle of SCM Success
Leading supply chain software developers are taking a more creative and inventive view of intelligent practice in applying their solutions. The idea of one company doing it all is usually dismissed; many SCM providers are now carving out niches of specialization. But one company is taking a different approach—many companies under one parent offering an […]
Read MoreOptum Inc: SCM Execution Solution
We used to talk about warehousing as a place; now we talk about it as a process. New supply chain strategies and technologies are capturing this process. The architecture of logistics information systems is changing as different software applications take possession. For example, MRP II’s replacement, ERP, functionally provides a suite of applications that handles […]
Read MoreJD Edwards: The Fourth Wave of Supply Chain Management
The dynamics of the supply chain as a strategy, as a market, and as a set of technologies are creating a tidal wave of change. One company riding the crest of the wave is J.D. Edwards, Denver, Colo. Best known for its very strong position in the ERP market and recent phenomenal growth surge, J.D. […]
Read MoreGot Milk?
What did you have for breakfast this morning? A bowl of Wheaties at your kitchen table? No? You stopped at McDonald’s for an Egg McMuffin, or you upscaled your way to Starbucks for coffee and a croissant, didn’t you? I know, I know. Who has time to sit down for breakfast anymore? If you actually […]
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