Inventory costs are skyrocketing amid persistent supply chain disruptions including longer lead times for orders, delayed shipments, inflation, and material shortages. So how can companies achieve high service levels and revenue targets despite this latest round of volatility? In this guide, we take you behind the headlines, break down the inventory risks businesses should watch […]

If the term supply chain sustainability causes you to break out in hives, you’re not alone. With the number of challenges facing the supply chain (shortages, demand volatility, increased transportation costs, inflation), sustainability may not be at the top of your priority list. Additionally, you may not have the capital or resources needed to make […]

Will the supply chain ever catch a break? While the industry continues to be rocked by world events, uncertainty has become the new normal. With every link of the supply chain impacting businesses both large and small, keeping up with the globally disrupted supply chain evolution is a recipe for whiplash. In this blog post, […]

In a vacuum, we all know how supply chain planning works. You ensure supply meets demand across a multitude of factors, including market demand, internal and external forces, and your own ability to manage the chaos. But if life were that simple, thermodynamics could be boiled down to the phrase “ouch, fire hot.” Unfortunately, capacity […]

Effective communication is one of the keys to running a successful supply chain, yet it is often overlooked in importance until it becomes an issue. With evolving customer behaviors and buying patterns, increased competition, and a globally disrupted supply chain, the need for effective communication between businesses and their suppliers has never been more apparent. […]

By this stage in the pandemic, most of us have felt the effects of a globally disrupted supply chain and inventory shortages in some way or another. We all have that one item that keeps disappearing from our local market. For me, it’s Coke Zero and mango mochi. While these minor outages go unnoticed by […]

As the supply chain crisis enters yet another year, demand volatility continues to reach unprecedented heights. While many businesses are feverishly working to ensure their supply chains are agile and resilient with investments in digital supply chain planning technology, some supply chain managers may be thinking, ‘isn’t demand dictated by the market?’ The answer is, […]

On the surface, it seems like the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry performed better than most during the COVID pandemic. Consumer goods e-commerce sales for example increased 91% year over year according to a NielsenIQ analysis. But for this high SKU count industry where demand is as unpredictable as New England weather, the condition of […]

Every supply chain planner wants to deliver high customer service to support revenue growth, but balancing these goals with cost can often feel like a high wire act. Relying on forecast accuracy alone to set optimal inventory levels doesn’t get you there. Fortunately, AI-powered demand modeling systems provide a tried and proven way to get […]

Demand forecasting is tough. Demand forecasting over the entire product life cycle during the course of launch, maturation, and end-of-life is tougher still. This is true for any business with sizable turnover in the product portfolio, but product forecasting in industries like retail, electronics, and aftermarket parts is especially challenging. First, let’s define our terms […]

3 analytical approaches to salvage value and prevent waste Descriptive, predictive and prescriptive: the 3 approaches you can apply to solve any business problem using analytics. For example markdowns. Markdowns are big: what to do with excess inventory? Some statistics from my recent piece: over $2 trillion of inventory in the United States alone — $2,040 billion — $1.43 of inventory […]

The subway system is the lifeblood of New York City, pre-COVID carrying an average of 5.5 million people per day in 6,684 cars across 472 stations. Each station is part of a larger system and operates on a set schedule under one management umbrella. Imagine what would happen if each station optimized its schedule and […]