Retailers are in the midst of a data land grab. They are trying to collect all of the consumer data they can possibly get their hands on. Why? Because they're hoping that some of it will prove to be valuable.
Big data is providing supplier networks with greater data accuracy, clarity and insights, leading to more contextual intelligence shared across supply chains.
Dow Chemical is investing $6bn to enlarge its manufacturing facilities in the United States by 40 percent, based on a wager that low natural gas prices here will persist into the middle of the next decade, a Dow executive said recently.
The buzz about the threat of mobile/e-commerce to physical stores has at times echoed "All About Eve," with "thumb shopping" playing the role of the ingénue poised to outshine those brick-and-mortar has-beens. But mobile shopping will actually have the opposite effect, according to Matt Moog, CEO of PowerReviews, which bills itself as a "Consumer Engagement Engine" that helps companies connect shoppers at the moment of purchase to drive sales.
In the world of supply chains, signing on a new partner or trading partner has typically marked the beginning of a marathon. Whether by electronic data interchange, EDIFACT, cXML, ebXML, value added networks, portals or the rest of the alphabet soup of connectivity approaches, a great deal of time and effort is required to get trading partners’ systems aligned - even if trading hubs are involved. Every company has a different system, and different processes for getting things done. For a company with thousands of trading partners, imagine how much in resources it gobbles up just to manage and keep every partnership aligned. Of course, cloud changes all that right?
You walk into the local supermarket, list in hand. Eggs, milk, bread, some pork chops and steaks, cereal, potatoes, fruit, and what the heck, maybe a bag of chips. You know the routine: with basic meat, bread and dairy necessities strategically set up around the perimeter, you'll have to pass by a host of other items on the way there and back.
Sometimes city governments issue zoning requirements prohibiting the construction of giant retail stores. The latest: Swansboro, North Carolina, where town residents are hotly debating an ordinance that, in effect, would ban construction of a Walmart.
The recent occurrence of faulty ignition switches in General Motors cars should serve as a wakeup call to companies that lack good visibility into their global supply chains. But most have failed to implement adequate supply-chain risk-management programs that could head off such problems.
Think hybrids that go 60 miles on a gallon are efficient? Trains can go eight times as far with 2,000 pounds in their backseat. And they're only getting smarter.
