All supply chains -- whether moving physical goods, delivering services or channeling money - are subject to increasingly extreme swings in volatility, says Richard Douglass, global industry executive for manufacturing at Sterling Commerce. Douglass contributed to a new book from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals on how companies can deal with this constant volatility: X-treme Supply Chains: Managing in Times of Upheaval.

When Intel decided to enter the low-cost chip market with its Atom microprocessor, a small form-factor product made for notebook computers and mobile internet devices, it needed a much lower-cost supply chain than the one that serviced its high-end products. The company achieved this goal by shortening its cycle time enough to enable a build-to-order strategy, explains Jim Kellso, senior supply chain master at Intel.

Two capabilities are helping manufacturers and retailers of brand-name consumer goods improve replenishment at the floor and shelf levels, says Kelly Thomas, senior vice president of product strategy and planning at i2 Technologies. These capabilities are the ability to operationally apply insights from demand signals and to collaboratively align measurements.