Analyst Insight: Supply chain complexity and turmoil is on the rise due to growing global markets, increasing customer expectations, rising costs and more intense competitive pressures. Progressive companies understand that supply chain performance has a significant impact on the bottom line and shareholder value, and they must reinvent their supply chain networks on a regular basis in order to remain competitive. However, the traditional way of designing supply chain networks with a focus on cost optimization is giving way to more progressive thinking. - John Spain, Executive Vice President, Tompkins International
Analyst Insight: Network planning suffers from an abundance of inappropriate technology, coupled with far too little pragmatic, common sense. Everyone is familiar with the optimization tools that are routinely applied; all are based on long-term shipment forecasts by SKU, by zip code or even finer measurement. Now wait a minute! We can't even forecast next month's demand; how in the world can we forecast demand detail five years in the future? The skills and skepticism of the millennials just may have the solution. - Robert Sabath, Principal Essentialist SCM, Trissential
Analyst Insight: Facility location planning is a six-dimensional balancing act encompassing long-term facility commitments with need for agility, predictable demand patterns with seasonal and spiky demand surprises, material handling investments with facility flexibility, return on investment with immediate operations effectiveness, cutting-edge technology with common sense, and operational efficiency and cost reduction with technology investment. Consequently, the best FLP results are those that design in the most needed capabilities, leaving space to accommodate the flexibility that drives location success. - Robert Sabath, Principal Essentialist SCM, TRISSENTIAL
Companies that successfully rode out the recession are now looking for better times ahead, but they should be cautious, says a report from Jones Lang LaSalle, which identified five operational issues that companies should remain focused on as the economy continues to strengthen.
With warehousing and logistics operations in numerous countries, Greg McKinley of InComm shares his experience and advice on how to select a reliable in-country vendor.
Industrial real estate is poised for a spike in demand, development and delivery according to research by Jones Lang LaSalle. Industrial markets nationwide have been recovering for more than four full years, with 15 consecutive quarters of positive net absorption. Last year marked a five-year high, with 168 million square feet of net absorption, and, with current forecasts, this figure could top 180 million square feet in 2014. So, what's behind this momentum?
After more than two decades of development, cross-strait economic and trade ties between Taiwan and the mainland are undergoing a transition. Likewise, China's economy has also entered a transitional phase.