This week, after ten years, I am test-driving cars. I have not owned a car for a decade. City living has come to an end and it is time for me to get some wheels. Buying a car is overwhelming. I just want one that works. I find the process of negotiation, and comparison shopping tiring. My goal is safety and comfortability. It is hard to sort through the options. As…
In Greek mythology, there is a difference between a Titan and a God. A Titan was a primordial god born of Uranus and Gaea and ruled the earth until overthrown by the next generation, younger Olympian gods. The evolution sprung from chaos. Titans were born through brute strength and Gods drove more refined outcomes. Supply chain leaders are competitive. The field of supply chain management—combining source, make and deliver into…
Ten calls. They are all starting to sound the same. Here is the storyline: “We implemented SAP APO, and we now know its limitations. We have tried SAP IBP and are not impressed. Since SAP is not investing in improving the depth of their solutions for planning, we are looking for a new solution. Can you help us select a new approach? Which of these vendors do you suggest?” They…
This week I spoke at an SAS Global Analytics Summit on the connected supply chain. In my view, the connected supply chain is very, very different from the integrated supply chain. Here, in this blog post, I want to provoke teams to think through the differences, and really question what they are asking for. Some History In 2002 I worked for Gartner Group in the business applications practice. This was in…
Cloud. Descriptive analytics. Prescriptive analytics. Machine learning. Collaborative workflow. What-if analysis. I find, as I attend conferences, that the word ‘planning’ is bandied about, but few technologists dive into the details. We have lost the ability to have a discussion on the fundamentals. It drives a supply chain planning gal like me crazy. Here I share some insights on planning. For everyone trying to navigate new technology options, this is an…
Recently, I spoke on the future of supply chain management at the University of Tennessee Supply Chain Forum. At the end of the presentation, Ed Hamlin of Logility stopped me and engaged me in a conversation on a recent Logility implementation at Glen Raven. He was proud of the implementation and asked if I had heard of Glen Raven. As he talked, I smiled. I find Glen Raven to be…
Mine sweeping is essential to warfare. Soldiers use special devices to detect underground mines and disarm them, keeping them from exploding before they cause harm. At Supply Chain Insights we have been actively working on our own mine sweeping project. Over the course of the last quarter, with help from Cloudera, we built a data lake with information from 1449 public companies (these are mainly North American-based manufacturers, distributors…
Let me start this blog post with a story. I believe that supply chains build economies and save the planet. It is about value creation. I also believe that finance is the art of money changing hands until there is nothing left. Supply chain processes and financial flows often run in counter currents. Two years ago I completed a research study on supply chain visibility. When the report published it…
Supply chain excellence. It is easier to say than define. Getting it clear is important. Why? The answer makes or breaks a supply chain leader’s career and defines corporate value. Let’s take an example. When we look at the relative progress of industries within the Technology Value Networks in Table 1, you see a lot of red. The first number in a cell represents the average value for a specific…
Imagine driving down a dusty road for years. One without any towns, road signs, billboards, or rest stops. Sounds boring, right? I agree. This is the world of the supply chain leader driving process improvement. The road to supply chain excellence takes time and patience. There are no clear landmarks or directional signage. Today, in organizations, there is a large gap between technology and process effectiveness. Here we examine some…
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