Archive for Inventory Management
I’ve been writing about the Demand Signal Repository (DSR) market a fair bit recently (see, for example, “How to Best Describe Demand Signal Repositories”). DSR solutions leverage a variety of different types of downstream data, including POS data, to power more robust and dynamic forms of replenishment.
As the saying goes, “everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about… Continue reading
Filling a Void in Shelf-level Collaboration
· CommentsI recently spoke with Mike Spindler, the CEO of ShelfSnap, about the company’s entry into the “shelf-level collaboration” arena.
(Quick aside: As I mentioned in a previous posting, I prefer the term “Shelf-level Collaboration Solutions” over Demand Signal Repository (DSR) products because I believe it’s both more accurate and evocative.)
ShelfSnap is in start-up mode, and although the company has conducted some interesting pilots for large… Continue reading
In my “What Causes Shelf Out-of-Stocks?” posting last week, I reviewed some research conducted by Walmart on the major causes of shelf-level out-of-stocks. One reason, occurring about 20 percent of the time, is phantom inventory. Phantom inventory occurs when the store system shows inventory available but none really exists. It also occurs when the system shows more inventory than what is actually available in the store; this can be… Continue reading
An Asian Supply Chain Success Story
· CommentsOnce upon a time there was a global, medical products company that was very unhappy with the way it was treating its customers in Asia. The company’s main customers are hospitals that use its products in emergency room surgeries. Not surprisingly, its customers wanted a high level of product availability. But this was a problem because the company’s factories are primarily located in North America and Europe, even though Asia… Continue reading
What Causes Shelf Out-of-Stocks?
· CommentsThe other day I received a package from Manhattan Associates (an ARC client) via Priority Mail. I had to use a knife to cut through the shipping tape, and when I opened the package there was a pretty little blue box, very Tiffany-like, inside with a white ribbon on it. I had to use scissors to cut the ribbon off, and after all that effort, when I finally opened the… Continue reading
Last month, I wrote a piece on explaining the value of logistics to the CEO. Earlier this week, as I was catching up on my reading, I came across this quote from Jeff Fettig, Chairman and Chief Executive of Whirlpool, in a Wall Street Journal article by Joe Barrett: “[Logistics] and investment in new product innovation are the only areas that we’re spending the same on as we… Continue reading
For the past five years Terrapinn has organized an event called SCM Logistics World in Singapore. The event, which is taking place this week, is focused on supply chain management in the Asia Pacific region. Although I could not attend this year, I served as one of the judges for their Supply Chain Excellence award.
One of the candidates was a company that has made wonderful improvements… Continue reading
A Front-End Approach to SKU Rationalization
· CommentsLast month, I wrote a posting on how Walmart is reducing its SKU selection to improve merchandising and reduce complexity. In response, Kate Vitasek, founder of Supply Chain Visions, sent me an article she wrote with Eric Tinker and Shawn Bhimani called “Rationalizing SKU Introductions.”
In her email to me, Kate commented that we should “step back and think of [an] alternative approach. What if companies… Continue reading
