Articles

Demand Planning

Beyond the Rack:  Retail Supply Chain Strategies That Work

Beyond the Rack: Retail Supply Chain Strategies That Work

In the challenging retail sector, supply chain efficiency can be the difference between succeeding and just barely hanging on. From weaving together disparate systems into a single information flow, to ensuring products appear effortlessly on shelves, to fulfilling online orders with lightning speed, here’s how thriving retailers rack and roll.

Read More
Taking a Peek  at Peak Season 

Taking a Peek at Peak Season 

It’s never too early to prepare for the holiday peak season, especially with disruptions mounting amid solid consumer spending. Shippers and carriers are employing automation, data-based decision making, and smart inventory management strategies—and tapping into lessons learned from last year—to get into position for 2024.

Read More
Demand Planning vs. Supply Planning: Key Differences and Value

Demand Planning vs. Supply Planning: Key Differences and Value

Demand planning vs. supply planning remains a cornerstone debate in the logistics sector. Both concepts are integral to supply chain management, determining many businesses’ efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and overall success. Recent studies indicate that organizations that effectively balance demand planning and supply planning see up to a 15% increase in forecast accuracy and a 35% reduction […]

Read More
Demand Planning: Process, Significance, and Components

Demand Planning: Process, Significance, and Components

Demand planning is pivotal in today’s shipping and customer service industry. This strategic process predicts future demand, optimizes inventory levels, and boosts customer satisfaction. In an era where supply chain efficiency is paramount, understanding demand planning is the difference between a thriving business and one that struggles.  Here, we’ll explore this critical component of the […]

Read More
Maureen Sullivan

Managing Working Capital Amid Product Shortages

Distributors can’t seem to catch a break. First they faced a liquidity squeeze when COVID-19 raged onto the scene, triggering a dislocation in the supply and demand for products. Now, as they enter the third year of the pandemic, distributors are grappling with wide-ranging shortages of goods and commodities across the supply chain that show no sign of abating.

Read More
5 Tips for Finding the Right Retail Consolidation Solution

5 Tips for Finding the Right Retail Consolidation Solution

Using multiple vendors can leave you vulnerable to inefficiencies and higher transportation spend. Here’s how to find the right consolidator for your business. The planning and management that go into multivendor supply chains are an orchestration of many complex parts. The process for new and existing brands trying to get into big box retail requires […]

Read More
Tim Motter

Digital Transformation: The Experience is King

Over the holidays, my wife and I decided to give ourselves the gift of a new couch. Because I work in transportation and logistics, I knew that constraints up and down the supply chain easily could result in a long delivery lead time. So it was a pleasant surprise when the home furnishings company said to expect the couch in about three weeks.

Read More