The vast majority of chief supply chain officers and others with similar top-level titles report that their management teams want reviews leading to improved supply chain planning processes. Some 86 percent of respondents told that to Aberdeen Group in a recent survey. Seventy-one percent report their teams demand improved supply chain technology as well.

Supply chain planning has the potential to provide market differentiation for companies, says Nari Viswanathan, vice president and principal analyst of supply chain management at Aberdeen.

He says the report, Strategic Supply Chain Planning: Three Key Priorities of the Chief Supply Chain Officer, considers best practices in supply chain network design, demand forecasting, inventory optimization, supply planning, and sales and operations planning.

"Time and speed are critical to today's planning processes. The reason for the increased frequency of planning is due to the increase in uncertainty and lack of visibility due to outsourcing. Outsourcing results in an increase in variability and increased lead-times. In order to manage these variables, companies are trying to perform constant planning and re-planning," Viswanathan says.

A complimentary copy of the report is made available due in part by JDA Software and John Galt Solutions. For a copy, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=6660&camp=2.

Source: Aberdeen Group