Does it resemble hip-hop? Jazz? A cha-cha? The slide? No one knows, but in my discussions, business leaders agree that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here, and the projected impact on supply chain technology looms large sending the industry into very different gyrations. How fast will it transform work, no one knows, but excitement reigns. By … Read More
We’re not living in an era of change, but in a change of era. This has been the firmly held belief of Jan Rotmans, Professor of Transition Studies and Sustainability at Erasmus University Rotterdam, for years. I am currently halfway through his most recent book called ‘Embrace the Chaos’ about this inevitable transition. I was … Read More
Does investing in tech start-ups have a future right now? Alarm bells are ringing in the US financial media following a 25% drop in investment in Silicon Valley to US$7.2 billion in the last quarter of 2022, putting it back at the same level as in ‘Covid year’ 2020. Seed funding for start-ups has declined … Read More
As a company involved in supply chain, how do you find the right software vendor to support your necessary digitalization? That’s a question that comes up again and again during the many conversations I have with supply chain directors and executives. As I walked around the exhibition area at Gartner’s recent supply chain conference in … Read More
Digital planning is high on the agenda for many IT and supply chain directors. They often ask themselves ‘What’s the next step?’, ‘Which tooling should we use?’ and ‘How should we tackle the implementation?’ – and they usually consider those questions in that order. I would like to suggest reversing the order of the questions. … Read More
Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) is a tough nut to crack, according to renowned American analyst Lora Cecere of Supply Chain Insights. Recent research reveals disappointing results: only half of all S&OP projects recoup the investment in the business case, only one in three are delivered on time and only one in ten stay within budget. So … Read More
In view of the current global chaos in supply chains, what knobs are still left for companies to ‘twiddle’ right now? In the United Kingdom, there are reports of empty retail shelves and long queues at petrol stations due to the driver shortage exacerbated by Brexit. Meanwhile, the price of gas has risen to such … Read More
With numerous wildfires raging around the world while other areas are hit by extreme flooding, few people can now doubt that sustainability is a top priority. A recent survey by the renowned MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics in Boston shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a positive effect on companies’ commitment to supply … Read More
As far as forward-thinking companies are concerned, control towers are passé in 2021. There has been considerable confusion about the term ‘control tower’ in recent years. Does it refer to the global central procurement of raw materials and components, or the centralized control of transport (which may or may not be performed by a logistics … Read More
A digital twin – who wouldn’t want one of their own? A virtual copy of yourself that effortlessly takes care of the tax returns and other boring administrative activities. Then you could spend more time on the more interesting aspects of business, such as innovation and collaborative partnerships. The use of digital twins for supply … Read More
“Now, absolutely everyone’s convinced of the value of our new IBP process!” said the IBP manager at a client where we set up an Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process last year. The company is now gaining a competitive edge by making smart choices related to market segments, customer focus, production capacity and inventory management with … Read More
Nowadays, it’s as if every article about digitalization is casually peppered with the terms ‘artificial intelligence’ and ‘machine learning’. They are almost always used together and without any extra explanation. I’ve recently spent some time reading up on the subject to finally understand how the two differ. The term artificial intelligence (AI) originates from computer science and … Read More
For many companies, the most important supply chain process, Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), appears to be at a standstill. The cross-functional matching of supply and demand and its translation into the financial budget is crucial for producers, wholesalers and retailers. However, recent research among European manufacturers of a wide range of products has shown … Read More
I often get asked ‘Which software should my company use for sales & operations planning (S&OP) and integrated business planning (IBP)?’ Les Brookes, CEO of consultancy firm Oliver Wight EAME (who came up with S&OP in the 1980s and, more recently, IBP too), fittingly summed up the difference during a recent supply chain conference in … Read More