Manufacturing is expected to yield approximately 700,000 new jobs in 2015, according to a report from APICS Supply Chain Council, which urges the industry to recruit women for those positions.
At 29 years of age, Katy Conrad, site lead at Shell's Geismar Chemical Plant, is a terrific ambassador for her profession. She loves everything about supply management - working with smart engineering and business professionals, solving tough problems, and making a bottom-line impact. At Shell, she has delivered significant savings, built a regional B2B sourcing strategy, and held an overseas assignment.
Tom Enright, research director with Gartner, talks about his recently completed survey on the challenges that are confronting multichannel retailers today, with a particular focus on the issue of returns. He offers his view on what constitutes excellence in the returns process.
For most of the past three decades, private equity firms and other investors have relied on two simple questions to assess the supply chains of the companies in which they've invested: Are our companies leveraging low-cost country supply sources and are they keeping supply chain costs in check? Deeper inquiries have always seemed unnecessary, so private equity firms and investors have focused on other aspects of the businesses they own to drive value.
Diebold CEO Andy Mattes can't just stroll down the hall at his company's headquarters in Canton, Ohio, to confer with his top executives over coffee. That's because many don't work there. His chief strategist works and lives 2,100 miles away in San Jose; his chief marketing officer is in Boston.
A report from APICS Supply Chain Council examines critical success factors of a supply chain leader, including his or her attributes, leadership style and ability to formally and informally influence a multitude of stakeholders.
Lately, it's almost impossible to talk about business strategy without mentioning the transformative potential of big data. Many companies are actively using advanced data analytics, and others are just getting started. But as the beginners are finding out, it's not as simple as just buying some new technology and hiring some statisticians.
With so many channels to juggle, merchandisers today are finding it difficult to manage multiple pockets of inventory, and satisfy customers regardless of how they order product. Burton White, vice president of industry supply chains with Chainalytics, shares some tips on how this goal can be met.
The term "digital supply chain" describes the integration of advanced technology, big data, and analytics to better manage and execute the physical supply chain, says Frederick Hartung of Jabil. He explains how this is playing out today and what it means for the future.
