In most companies, supply chain finance is seen as a narrow and limited tool rather than a strategic enabler of success. As a result, a lot of unrealized value is left on the table. Whether you are in finance, supply chain, or procurement, supply chain finance has the potential to help you provide more strategic value.
In order to keep up with major players UPS and FedEx in a hyper-competitive delivery market, the U.S. Postal Service is seeing a parcel-based future, including expansion of its grocery delivery business.
While numerous retailers have collected years of customer data, only 9 percent are leveraging the information in a structured, usable way, according to HRC Advisory (HRC), a strategic retail advisory firm and unit of Hilco Global.
Hedge funds are betting that the price of cocoa will rise on concern that the deadly Ebola disease will disrupt supplies from West Africa, which produces 70 percent of the global supply.
Achieving forecast accuracy is both an art and a science. Rahul Tyagi, associate director of retail and CPG with TCS, explains how the science part can help companies to solve this thorny problem.
Inefficient procurement tools are costing businesses in the United States and Canada more than $1.5 billion per year and wasting more than 32 million man hours, according to a survey conducted by The Topline Strategy Group.
"Planning for disruption" can seem like a contradiction in terms, but there are measures that food companies can take to protect themselves from the inevitable crises that threaten to derail their supply chains, however unpredictable they might be, says Brian Benjamin, senior director of strategic accounts with Havi Global Solutions.