Karen Hogan, global director of operational excellence at Southco, discusses the challenges of multi-echelon inventory optimization and how Southco has used solutions from LLamasoft to integrate IO into a monthly planning process.

Big Heart Pet Brands is the parent company for many of the biggest selling pet foods, including Kibbles 'n Bits, Meow Mix, Milk Bone and 9Lives. Ryan Dimond, manager of supply chain optimization, discusses how Big Heart uses supply chain design to support its many brands and employs supply chain modeling to make better decisions.

Organizations need an agile supply network to be able to respond to unplanned events and continuing market volatility, says Jake Barr, CEO of BlueWorld Consulting. Barr explains what an agile supply network encompasses and outlines steps that companies can take to build agility into their supply chains.

Supply chain performance has a big impact on consumers' perception of a company and its brand, says Bill Tomasi of IBS. He suggests that companies need to more actively incorporate SCM into their brand protection strategies.

JDA Software recently formed a new global 3PL business unit to focus on sales and product development for this market sector. Unit leader Peter van Merode discusses the strategy behind this move and shares views on the global 3PL market.

Stage Stores, which operates 880 small-town department stores under such names as Beall's and Peebles, has learned the value of having products delivered floor ready. Tim Duvic, vice president of distribution, explains how the company educates its suppliers on packaging and preparing orders for fast processing on receipt.