Painting a bigger picture
Supermodeling allows a company to take an end-to-end view of its supply chain and make adjustments in production, distribution, and inventory practices to meet changing market demands.
All for one and one for all
To ensure success when they outsource manufacturing, companies need to adopt a community approach with their partners and back it up with collaborative technology.
A rudder for course correction
"Sales and operations management" (S&OM) offers a strategy—plan-do-check-act—that allows companies to quickly get back on course when events deviate from plan.
A pet project pays off
A Web portal for communicating order and shipping information improved visibility, timeliness, and accuracy for a pet products company and its contract manufacturers.
The "Long Tail" of e-commerce standards
The Long Tail concept dictates that only 80 percent of a group will agree on using a particular standard. For electronic commerce, that's a problem given the emergence of competing formats for data transmissions. New technologies may offer a solution.
The software question: To buy or build?
Candy makers Just Born Inc. and The Hershey Company took different approaches to network optimization: One used a customized software package, while the other chose a commercially available solution. Here's why they made those decisions.
A model of independence
After Carestream Health was sold to a new owner, the medical imaging company had to design its own, stand-alone distribution network. Modeling software helped supply chain managers make the right decisions.
Why LSPs don't leverage innovations
Logistics service providers (LSPs) often struggle to extend customized solutions created for specific customers to a broader customer base. What they need is a new model for managing the innovation process.
How rapid manufacturing could transform supply chains
Rapid, or direct digital, manufacturing will move companies to adopt a globally distributed supply chain that supports economic, low-volume production.
Supply Chain Executive Insight E-Newsletter
Each month the Supply Chain Executive Insight e-newsletter will include brief articles about developments that are often overlooked by other supply chain publications. We will present you with summaries of the latest research as well as new ideas on how to make your supply chain operations more effective. And we'll offer commentary that sheds light on what's happening in supply chains today.Sign up now!
Free Articles From The Current Issue
ASICS keeps pace with growing demandASICS America's single distribution center couldn't keep up with surging demand for its athletic shoes and apparel. Changing its distribution pattern and adding another warehouse helped the company manage both current sales and future growth.
Supply chain versus the volcano
The disruption to air traffic caused by Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano is a reminder of why we should prepare for both expected and unexpected supply chain risks.
Dealing with our oil addiction
Will the Deepwater Horizon disaster spur us to develop new sources of energy?
There's more to performance management than metrics
Getting people to consistently perform at a high level requires more than implementing an incentive program.
Keeping it personal in a digital world
While electronic communication has become a permanent part of our daily lives, face-to-face communication is still important for supply chain success.
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Perspective
Commentary: Do-it-yourself diesel
Although diesel-powered trucks are our best option right now, it makes sense to develop other fuel sources—even if it means manufacturing it ourselves.
Forward ThinkingCommentary: Do-it-yourself diesel
Although diesel-powered trucks are our best option right now, it makes sense to develop other fuel sources—even if it means manufacturing it ourselves.
Higher oil prices call for flexible supply chains
As companies wrestle with rising energy costs, says MIT Professor David Simchi-Levi, they need to need to know their "tipping point"—the level at which higher prices will necessitate changes in their supply chain strategy.
Forward Thinking
Look to lean in bad times
Bad economic times should require more companies to incorporate lean principles into their supply chains to gain additional flexibility, says Gartner Research Vice President Dan Miklovic.
Forward Thinking
Should the CIO "own" the supply chain?
Merck CIO J. Chris Scalet says he knows of at least 25 CIOs of major companies who have taken on expanded roles in process management in their companies.
Forward Thinking
Manufacturing practices differ widely in North America
A recent survey by the Manufacturing Performance Institute and Industry Week found that when it comes to supply chain integration, Mexican plants are ahead of their counterparts in the United States and Canada.
Forward Thinking
Four with the power to transform
These four IT trends identified by Gartner could have important implications for supply chain information management.
Forward Thinking
Survival of the leanest
Companies need to speed up their adoption of "lean" practices in order to survive the global economic downturn, said one of the founders of the lean movement, Daniel T. Jones.
Forward Thinking
Wood or plastic? That is the pallet question
For years debate has raged in the pallet industry about which type of platform is better for the environment—wood or plastic.
Forward Thinking
Job hunters rely on referrals
Most job hunters, including those in the supply chain field, use personal connections or referrals to find work, according to a recent survey by executive recruiters TopGrading Solutions Inc.
Forward Thinking
Efficiency gains offset by rising fuel prices
The total cost of logistics remained about the same this year as last, as gains made from reduced inventory, costs savings, and greater efficiencies in the warehouse were negated by increases in fuel costs, according to supply chain consulting firm Establish Inc.
Departments
Dialogue: A Conversation With a CSCMP MemberLean leadership
NutriSystem is experiencing phenomenal growth. Customer-focused, "lean" supply chain management is fundamental to the company's success, says Chief Supply Chain Officer Lou Arace.
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