The most recent McKinsey Global Survey on AI shows a 25% increase in use by companies over the prior year, a trend that shows no signs of slowing. At this pace, have we entered the Age of AI? Do we even need supply chain planners, or can we turn out the lights and go home, […]
As researchers around the world race to develop a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, pharma companies also face another daunting challenge: how to distribute hundreds of millions of highly sensitive vaccine doses, quickly and accurately, across the country and the world. Normal vaccine distribution was already inherently complex with a myriad of issues – including […]
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 is from Kinaxis. Outdated software isn’t just a headache to manage. It’s a business blocker. In a moment when unpredictable shifts in the flow of goods to […]
Companies like Amazon, Walmart, Alibaba, and Zara are leading the path in the use of technology and advanced analytics in managing supply chains. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are of the hot topics being discussed in the retail world. Across the globe, whether they are grocery, mass merchant, or fashion, retailers are looking […]
In December of 2019, the global grocery retailer Ahold Delhaize announced it was investing $480 million to transform and expand its U.S. supply chain operations in support of a new three-year strategy to move to self-distribution. In self distribution, the company insources many supply chain activities that were formerly outsourced. Ahold Delhaize was formed in […]
In today’s changing market dynamics, the retail business is getting more competitive by the day. Increasing competition by online marketplaces, along with evolving consumer expectations and shopping patterns are making the category management decisions more complex. As customers’ options increase, so do their expectations. Assortment planning decisions made by these teams need to be more dynamic and localized as manual analysis based on broad assumptions and averages do not suffice anymore. Here are the vital capabilities for surviving in the new world of retail.
Supply chain control towers have come of age. The concepts that allow modern control towers to support agility are easy to describe. The technology that empowers these concepts are quite complex.
Digitalization is accelerating the pace of business and transforming global supply chains. In a freewheeling discussion at the ARC Industry Forum in Orlando, I spoke with Richard Howells, Vice President Marketing Digital Supply Chain at SAP about the trends, customer expectations, the challenges, and imperatives of digital transformation in the supply chain. Supply Chain: Trends […]
As an analyst at ARC Advisory Group, this is normally my busy travel time of the year. Along with my colleagues Steve Banker and Clint Reiser, I am usually attending a number of industry and customer events across the country. However, this year things are very different; coronavirus is pushing these events to online virtual […]
Is your supply chain immature? Does it resemble a 14-year-old boy, as a planner I met at an Institute of Business Forecasting and Planning event described his company’s supply chain? Grown up beyond diapers but not yet making good decisions consistently. In an immature, disconnected supply chain, planners operate inefficiently and in reactive mode. Not […]