Analyst Insight: From humble beginnings at the machine control layer, warehouse systems have matured and expanded to allow visibility and control over what is happening at the machine, parcel, associate and order/wave level. When combined with data from wearables and other Internet of Things technologies, warehouse control software will drive new opportunities for distribution efficiency. – Nikko Pianetto, Group Vice President, Integrated Technology Solutions, Fortna Inc.

Analyst Insight: Delivering a seamless customer experience will demand a more comprehensive approach to inventory visibility across the entire supply chain. Gone are the days of "offline and online" inventories. Retailers must determine how they will create and leverage one view of all of their inventories, where any location now may become a source to fulfill a customer's order. – Melanie Nuce, Vice President of Apparel and General Merchandise, GS1 US

Analyst Insight: The term "supply chain visibility" is bandied about, but it lacks a consistent definition. There are many forms of visibility and companies use the term with many different definitions. The first step is getting clear on the definition, and the second is gaining clarity on the technology options. While most companies have made progress in supply chain visibility within the four walls of the enterprise, today, supply chain visibility in the extended supply chain is still in its infancy. – Lora Cecere, Founder of Supply Chain Insights

Analyst Insight: Richard Branson said, "Succeeding in business is about making connections." Our businesses today have thousands of connections with customers, suppliers, and within our own enterprises. The sheer magnitude of supplier connections can be complex in a global business: thousands of suppliers x hundreds of interactions per supplier x at least one element to be discussed between two of the parties equals many connections we must sort through to get to the heart of our relationships and manage them effectively. – Mickey North Rizza, VP Strategic Services, BravoSolution

Last year, I attended a thought-provoking supply chain conference hosted by an industry analyst organization. The agenda was packed with interesting supply chain topics - cost-to-serve strategies, supply network optimization, S&OP integration, demand shaping tactics, etc. However, the event gave almost no attention to the foundation upon which advanced supply chain planning and execution strategies rest: supply chain integration.

Analyst Insight: Supply chain management ... the words are a freely exchanged contemporary coin of the realm. Yet reality has fallen short of promise because of anachronistic functional silos, presided over by vice presidents who fiercely defend their worn-out turf with an endless stream of misguided initiatives. Sales and operations planning (S&OP) was designed to bash these barriers, but it, too, has fallen short because of overmatched implementation technology. Fortunately, there is a readily available solution. – Jeff Karrenbauer, president & co-founder, INSIGHT Inc.

Analyst Insight: Although sales and operations planning has been a formalized practice since the 1980s, companies still struggle to effectively implement S&OP as both sales and operations become more fragmented. Based on the successes of multiple multibillion-dollar organizations, Blue Hill provides the following recommendations for companies still finding it difficult to effectively start an S&OP program. – Hyoun Park, Chief Research Officer at Blue Hill Research

Analyst Insight: Sales and operations planning is almost sacred to those who have it, but still fuzzy to those who don't. Those who do, cannot imagine running their business without it, while those who don’t, are still debating the merits and are not clear about the value. Whether you have it and are looking for tips to improve, or are seriously considering but yet unsure, read on. - Bryan Ball, Vice President and Group Director, Supply Chain and Operations Practices, Aberdeen Group

Analyst Insight: The Internet of Things is really three interrelated phenomena. As a technology phenomenon and as an application phenomenon, IoT has been steadily evolving for several decades. It is the recent surge of IoT as a marketing phenomenon that is driving all the attention and excitement at this time. That attention thereby drives investments, accelerating the development and adoption of IoT technology and its applications. – Bill McBeath, Chief Research Officer, ChainLink Research