E-commerce, the ever-present risk of supply disruptions, volatile and unpredictable consumer demand - they're all combining to create global supply chains with more complexity than ever before. Valerie Bonebrake, senior vice president of Tompkins International, describes the challenge, and offers some solutions.
Backward-looking KPIs, especially those on safety stock, are a necessity in successful S&OP processes, says Erik Hjerpe of TreeHouse Foods, a private-brand food manufacturer. He explains why this is so and how TreeHouse employs a variety of safety stock strategies.
You think you've had bad customer service buying products online - how about the guy in India who ordered his wife a Samsung smartphone, and the package arrived with only a brick and a bar of soap in it!