SupplyChainBrainMore from SupplyChainBrainAll TechnologyCreate Differentiating Value in the Supply Network Through Supplier SegmentationAnalyst Insight: Supplier segmentation is a critical foundational component for executing on your supply management strategies and for understanding and building value in the supply network. Supplier segmentation supports an end-to-end supply chain segmentation strategy. However, it must be aligned with downstream processes to ultimately deliver value to customers. Unfortunately, Gartner Supply Chain research finds two-thirds of organizations take a one-size-fits-all view to supplier relationship management, resulting in misaligned resources and little delivered value. - Mickey North Rizza, Gartner Supply Chain ResearchMarch 22, 2012All LogisticsLogistics and Parts Just Can't Go Their Separate WaysAnalyst Insight: The top strategic action tied to improving parts management for service and support organizations in a recent Aberdeen research study on service parts logistics was to integrate service parts planning, forecasting and execution with overall logistics functions (i.e., procurement, supply chain management, inventory management) to ensure the delivery of the right part to the end customer when an asset goes down or is not operating at full efficiency. - Aly Pinder Jr., senior research associate, Aberdeen GroupMarch 21, 2012All TechnologyKeeping Tabs on Global Sourcing Is Full-Time EffortAnalyst Insight: The decision to initiate or continue global sourcing is not a simple one to make. Organizations have many factors to consider, both external and internal, and those factors can change. Organizations must revisit their sourcing strategy often to ensure that they are maintaining the best value. - Becky Partida, knowledge specialist, APQCMarch 21, 2012All TechnologyLet a Thousand Supplier Networks BloomAnalyst Insight: There are many flavors of supplier networks. And switching costs, especially on the buyers' side, can be high - because these are solutions, not just networks. For these reasons, we will not see the consolidation of supplier networks to nearly the same extent that we see for other types of networks. - Bill McBeath, chief research officer, ChainLink ResearchMarch 21, 2012All TechnologyThe Cloud and the Supply ChainThe "cloud" can be a difficult concept to grasp, given the various definitions it has been assigned by software vendors and users. Greg Johnsen, executive vice president of marketing and sales with GT Nexus, calls it "an information replica of the physical supply chain." Cloud-based technology provides one place where managers can go to monitor critical supply-chain events. When an element is updated, "everybody gets the information."March 21, 2012All TechnologySupply Chain Finance for Emerging MarketsAnalyst Insight: The awareness of supply chain finance (SCF) in emerging markets is growing. Most recently, foreign importers of goods manufactured in emerging markets, procure-to-pay software providers and financial institutions have been driving increased activity globally. Companies in emerging markets, especially in the small and medium-sized segment, stand to achieve business gains with better understanding of their end-to-end financial supply chains and proper application of available SCF strategies and solutions. - Viktoria Sadlovska, managing director and CRO, Prameya ResearchMarch 20, 2012Logistics OutsourcingBig Data Supply Chains: Sense, Plan, Learn - and then ActAnalyst Insight: Today's supply chains are efficient, and inflexible. Market conditions change, but planning continues based on historical information. Global supply chains need better planning, but traditional technologies are not up to the task. New technologies are emerging to help to fill the gap. We are entering the era of Big Data Supply Chains that will sense before responding and learn before acting. - Lora Cecere, partner, Altimeter GroupMarch 20, 2012All TechnologyNext Generation Moves Beyond Demand/Supply BalancingAnalyst Insight: It's been another year of exciting times within supply chain management, especially with regard to S&OP - as we continue to improve upon a 35-year-old process of balancing demand and supply. Approximately 85 percent of supply chain management professionals around the globe say they are exercising the S&OP process (informal polling of approximately1,000 execs over the past year). About 65 percent of those professionals are positioned in Stage I or II of AMR's (now Gartner) S&OP Maturity Model. While this is positive news, it's clear that globalization of our supply chains requires more than just S&OP basics. - Gregory L. Schlegel, adjunct professor, supply chain risk management, Lehigh University Graduate ProgramMarch 19, 2012All TechnologyDriving Business Value Through S&OP and IBPAnalyst Insight: Economic challenges have kept sales and operations planning at the forefront of the supply chain executive's mind. Research has successfully identified the financial benefits that S&OP and integrated business planning (IBP) bring to the table: for example, the Aberdeen Group points to best-in-class companies and the two- to six-times benefits they gained in several key metrics, especially gross margin, in comparison with other companies that did not employ S&OP. Nari Viswanathan, vice president, solutions architecture, Steelwedge SoftwareMarch 19, 2012All TechnologyThe On-Demand World: Bringing Supply Management Into the FutureAnalysts' Insights: As companies plan and strategize for long-term effectiveness in supply management, they must focus on one aspect to truly derive value out of their procurement and sourcing efforts: evolution. Organizations globally must look to the future and adapt their reliance on technology as solutions evolve for the better. Christopher J. Dwyer, senior research analyst, Aberdeen As organizations continue to adjust their technology footprint into the next decade, the question around SaaS is not if but how SaaS will be leveraged within the procurement enterprise. Constantine G. Limberakis, senior research analyst, AberdeenMarch 19, 2012Previous PagePage 537 of 590Next Page
