Remember the Peter, Paul and Mary song, Puff the Magic Dragon? It was a song from my youth. While there is a raging debate on song intent—Was the goal of the song to celebrate a children’s story from Oliver Wilde about the loss of innocence or is it a statement about the use of drugs?—in this blog, I am going to rely on the account of the songwriter, that the…
Yawn. I spent time this week completing reference calls on the use of S&OP technologies. Seeking the next sequel in technology adoption, I want to write how the confluence of new technologies changed companies’ abilities to improve decisions. Based on the reference calls, I am not sure that this will be possible. What am I hearing? Eerily the case studies sound the same as the ones heard when I completed…
Over the last month, venture capitalists evaluating the supply chain planning market called 3x/week. I know of five companies for sale. Sharks are in the water. The calls follow a predictable pattern. The first is to identify the potential available market. I identify the size followed by a disclaimer, “The current market is smaller than the potential. Today, companies are waiting for the next evolution of planning software. The biggest…
My phone rang. Consultants, technologists and ex-analysts called to challenge my position in my last post focused on control towers. I love this type of debate. As I discussed my views of “visibility” and “control” with my many callers, I discovered that I was not clear in my post. <Sigh. This is not my favorite topic, but there is confusion in the market. The focus of this post is to drive…
We finished dinner. I pressed my neatly folded napkin to my lips. As we waited for coffee, silence hung heavy in the air. My client writhed in her seat and hung her head as she asked, “I read your article on control towers, but I am confused. What is an easy definition? I am embarrassed to ask, but we were discussing the topic at our board meeting yesterday, and I…
Yowza: Excitement or approval Get a cup of coffee. This is a long post. <Bear with me….> Here I share a nine-step process in an attempt to help companies unravel the process for buying supply chain planning software. The genesis for this post stems from frustration. I get the same questions over-and-over again, and see companies making the same mistakes. Let’s face a hard fact: the supply chain planning market…
This month, I traveled the globe helping companies understand the potential impact of technology innovation on the future of supply chain processes, I find the term “digital innovation” is a bit like tulip mania. How so? It is a fad sweeping across supply chain leadership teams. I am trying to help teams manage the hype and drive value. CIOs are rebranding as Digital Innovation Officers, and consultants are knocking down…
New technologies abound. In supply chain, right now, the rate of change is exciting. On the horizon, innovation opportunities are limitless through the confluence of technologies like cognitive learning, blockchain, streaming data architectures/sensors (Internet of Things), and mobility. Yet, I see companies make the same mistake over and over. What is it? Using new technologies to automate yesterday’s processes. Most companies I work with try to make their current processes…
The sun is shining brightly through the conference room windows as I listen to the consultants talk. It’s buzzword bingo at its finest. The air is thick. It is comical. The term ‘big data’ is all the rage. The market has dried up for large Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations, and the large consultants are prowling the market staking their claim for their next gig. For me, buzzword bingo on big…
It is the week before Thanksgiving in the United States, and as a good Yank, I am reflective. I am giving thanks. This blog was started in 2010. Today, 270 posts and five years later, I am thankful for the opportunity to sit at my kitchen table and communicate to almost 20,000 supply chain professionals globally (directly through this blog and through connections on Linkedin). I am in awe of…
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