Over the past 30 years, most companies have added new C-level roles in response to changing business environments. The chief financial officer role, which didn't exist at a majority of companies in the mid-1980s, rose to prominence as pressures for value management and more transparent investor relations gained traction. Adding a chief marketing officer became crucial as new channels and media raised the complexity of brand building and customer engagement. Chief strategy officers joined top teams to help companies address increasingly complex and fast-changing global markets. Today, the power of data and analytics is profoundly altering the business landscape, and once again companies may need more top-management muscle.
Shrink, consisting of shoplifting, employee or supplier fraud, organized retail crime and administrative errors, cost the retail industry more than $112bn globally last year, according to the 2012-2013 Global Retail Theft Barometer, and represented 1.4 percent of retail sales, on average.
Winning the game in demand management is a yard-by-yard gain. There may be some super long passes and some genius calls, but by and large, making progress requires granular visibility of the market, and software that can understand the data and, like a great quarterback, call the shots in a timely way.
Trucking companies say they're feeling the pinch from the new Hours of Service (HOS) restrictions imposed on them earlier this year. But the industry was already suffering from an acute driver shortage before it shouldered that additional burden.
Will Benton, chief executive officer with GAINSystems Inc., defines the term "optimization" as it relates to inventory management, and shows how companies can reap big benefits from applying the concept to their operations.
With almost 28 percent unemployment and a lingering recession that's wiped out one-fourth of their country's economic output, it makes sense that Greek consumers plan to trim their Christmas spending by 12.8 percent this year. What's more surprising is that the average Greek budget for holiday gifts, food, and drink is €451 ($608)"”more than the €399 average in Germany, the country that has borne much of the cost of a Greek bailout.
Surprisingly strong exports reported by China on Friday bolstered the view that the global economy is improving, just as Chinese leaders were set to hold an important policy meeting to flesh out their economic agenda for the coming years.
The latest supply-chain news, analysis, trends and tools for executives in the food and beverage industries. Learn how food and beverage companies and their suppliers around the world are managing the flow of products across all channels of the enterprise. Experts sound off on forecasting and demand planning, supply-chain visibility, logistics outsourcing, inventory optimization, transportation management, warehouse management, supply-chain security, corporate social responsibility and more.
Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!
Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.