Analyst Insight: Leading companies have a portfolio of true end-to-end supply chain metrics, use those metrics in key processes such as S&OP, supplement the metrics with customer and supplier dashboards, and have an open attitude and metrics culture that drives them through an upward spiral of increasingly higher levels of performance. Most importantly: they understand they cannot be good at everything, and they consciously manage tradeoffs.

Analyst Insight: Before investing in new programs for procurement or other functional areas, organizations must evaluate each program thoroughly as implementation can be a time-consuming and expensive process. However, in many cases the long-term benefits may compensate for the short-term pain.

Analyst Insight: No one could miss the continued consolidation of supply chain planning applications in the last few years. In spite of the more traditional player consolidations, new firms and new approaches have emerged that have caught buyers' eyes, from demand creation and merchandising planning to richer analytic engines to help fine-tune forecasting accuracy, as well as on-demand delivery platforms for these solutions.

Analyst Insight: The number one strategy for companies in the chemical and energy industries is to improve demand orchestration as the economy recovers. Planning processes must manage pricing, capacity allocation, and inventory positioning to manage margins. In addition, operational processes must have visibility and business rules to manage commitments and respond to volatility. These industries are more mature than others in their approach to asset management, energy management and compliance.