At this time last year, economists and business leaders were cautiously optimistic about 2024, hoping the economy could stage a ‘soft landing’ — cooling off from a period of surging inflation and rising interest rates without tipping into a recession. While many remain cautiously optimistic, there’s a growing sense of relief that the economy sidestepped […]

At the airport for an early flight, returning home after a speaking engagement, I was having a moment, feeling “tweepy” (my new word for tiredness that makes me weepy) as I stood in line to order breakfast. The trip had been a busy several days on top of a difficult year. The woman taking my […]

With the chaos of the 2024 holiday season descending, the National Retail Federation predicts U.S. ecommerce spending in November and December will increase 8%-9% over 2023, translating to $295.1-$297.9 billion in sales. In addition, the holiday shopping period between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year is 26 days—five days shorter than in 2023—potentially creating additional headaches […]

Over the last two decades, there has been a significant focus on increasing the speed of supply chain planning solutions. Technology advancements in hardware, cloud, and in-memory computing fueled this increase, followed by the boost from automation, machine learning, and AI. Additionally, software vendors continuously invest in tuning the performance of their algorithms and models. […]

The logistics landscape is constantly changing, and the debate between flexible and fixed warehouse automation is heating up. With the rise of e-commerce, omni-channel retail, and unpredictable consumer behavior, businesses face a pivotal choice: stick with rigid, fixed automation systems, or embrace the dynamic adaptability of flexible automation solutions, which can include autonomous mobile robots […]

Today’s supply chains are fraught with uncertainties across demand and supply yet are tasked with adding incremental value to their organizations while also meeting commercial, working capital and sustainability goals. This balancing act is a challenge even in the best of times. However, far too many companies are stuck because traditional planning methods that rely […]

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article comes from the team at Coupa and explores an agile and resilient supply chain. When it comes to supply chains, the last few years have exposed real […]