In an Ever More Complex World, What Do You Really Know About Your Suppliers? | SupplyChainBrain

In an Ever More Complex World, What Do You Really Know About Your Suppliers?

September 24, 2009

Ask any procurement officer these days if supply chains are getting more complex and you're likely to get an earful in the affirmative. The number of suppliers, location of suppliers and regulations dealing with customs and security are all combining to make supply chains more difficult to manage. Faced with this complexity, information on suppliers and orders is vital to helping purchasing and operations officials manage cost-effectively and reduce supply chain risk.

Read Full Article

Related Content

Related Videos

Featured Product

Photo: iStock/Anastasiia Yanishevska

How a Leading U.S. Floral Distribution Company Reduced Warehouse Labor Costs by 45% with RFID

Recycled Tagging Fasteners: Small Changes Make a Big Impact

Mobile geolocation service for track delivery, cargo shipment and freight transportation. Logistic Import Export business (Elements of this image furnished by NASA)

Enhancing High-Value Electronics Shipment Security with Tive's Real-Time Tracking

Franchise business e-commerce online e-marketplace or digital marketing branch expansion for growth or use technology to analyze product consumer data website management plan for sale service concept.

Moving Robots Site-to-Site

Five Industry Shifts Transportation Leaders Can't Ignore

With transportation and logistics operations focused on delivering products and services to specific locations, parts of the industry will always be physical in nature. But what’s now disrupting the sector more than anything are digital forces, from AI-driven automation to increasingly volatile global trade networks.

Scb Q326 Aptean Top5 Thumb

LMI Index: Logistics Costs Are on the Rise

Growth is slowing, however, in inventory levels, warehousing utilization, and warehousing prices, and transportation capacity is contracting.

Lmi Chart

Orchestrating the Supply Chain for the Chief Operating Officer

For the chief operating officer (COO), the importance of an orchestrated supply chain cannot be overstated, particularly where speed and agility can mean the difference between strong and weak performance. Read the Spotlight from IDC based on recent research that explores the benefits of an orchestrated supply chain, as well as related challenges and obstacles.

Thumbnail Coo

Why Going Global Isn't Always the Right Call

For years, global sourcing has helped companies reduce production costs, access specialized suppliers, and achieve greater scale. But today’s supply chains face tariff uncertainty, geopolitical risk, transportation disruption, supplier concentration, inventory pressure, and rising customer expectations.

Supply Chain Brain Thumbnail

Staying Ahead of Cargo Theft: Building a More Secure Supply Chain

Cargo theft is becoming more organized, more sophisticated and more difficult to prevent. Criminals are increasingly using identity fraud, strategic deception and coordinated theft rings to target high-value shipments, forcing shippers, logistics providers and carriers to rethink how they protect freight.

Upcoming Webinar Tive Supply Chain Brain Webinar Tue Oct 27 2026 11a Et

Fireside Chat with Gartner Expert Beth Moller: Leading at the Intersection: Building High-Performing Supply Chain Teams in the Age of AI

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, Chief Supply Chain Officers face a critical challenge: building leadership teams that can break through functional silos, navigate competing priorities, and align around a shared purpose.

Upcoming Webinar Gartner Supply Chain Brain Webinar Ep4 Of 4 Tue Oct 10 2026 11a Et

Designing for Uncertainty: A Flexibility-First Approach to Warehouse Automation

Warehouse automation decisions are often based on assumptions about future volume, labor, SKU mix, workflows, and facility requirements. The challenge is that those assumptions rarely stay fixed over the life of an automation investment.

Upcoming Webinar Locus Robotics Thu Oct 15 2026 11a Et

The Hidden Cost-to-Serve in Packaged Goods

In packaged goods supply chains, some of the biggest threats to margin hide in everyday exceptions—repacking, relabeling, retailer-specific requirements, special handling, short-notice changes, and customer requests that require operational workarounds.

Upcoming Webinar G3 Logistics Supply Chain Brain Webinar Thu Oct 29 2026 2p Et

Understanding the U.S. DoT’s American Supply Chain Sovereignty Initiative

The cargo visibility program will need data-privacy protections to succeed, experts warn.

The Port of San Pedro at the Port of Los Angeles. Photo: iStock/Jorge Villalba

Orchestrating the End-to-End Supply Chain: Strategic Priority, Practical Reality

As technology, particularly agentic AI, is poised to change everything, the reality of “my supply chain is good enough” has faded. It has been the view of IDC for some years now that a truly end-to-end, orchestrated supply chain should be the ultimate goal to support the speed, agility, and efficiency of the overall business.

Thumbnail Idc White Paper

Shipowners Say Hormuz Tolls Would Lead to More Charges Elsewhere

The prospect of Iran imposing transit fees in Hormuz has focused attention on the fragility of global supply chains.

Ships anchored in the Strait of Hormuz near Larak Island, Iran. Photographer: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Five Ways AI is Transforming Fleet Safety and Operational Performance

Fleet managers are responsible for improving efficiency and maintaining service levels while managing increasing fleet complexity. As a result, fleet safety has become a more strategic initiative in many businesses. Developments in AI mean businesses are turning to artificial intelligence to proactively manage risk and improve operational outcomes.

W Desf21c8

Page 1 of 500