Supplier network - Articles - Page 2

B2B Procurement Begins to Feel Emergence of Millennials

March 18, 2015

Millennial influence within business-to-business buying decision groups is growing rapidly, according to a study by Google and the research house Millward Brown Digital.

Auto Suppliers in Financial Squeeze as Automakers Demand Deep Cost Cuts, Local Production

March 6, 2015

The Boston Consulting Group

Automotive suppliers are under mounting pressure to satisfy two conflicting customer demands: to cut costs and to open more factories in fast-growing emerging markets so that they can be closer to their customers' production plants. Striking the right balance between cost and proximity in global manufacturing networks will be one of the industry's greatest challenges, according to a report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), conducted in partnership with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA. The report is titled The Proximity Paradox: Balancing Auto Suppliers' Manufacturing Networks.

Break the Chain: Optimize With Smart Supply Network 3.0

March 2, 2015

SupplyChainBrain

Analyst Insight: Supply chain problems result from the uncertainty, time delay and amplification of variability based on demand changes from one function to another and from one organization to another. The parts of the chain don't work together! They often work against one another. The supply chain is a dysfunctional system that increases the cost of all participants in the system. Today's optimization and network technology provides the capability transform to a Smart Supply Network 3.0. – Rich Sherman, author and founder at Gold & Domas Research

Internal and External Misalignment

February 19, 2015

SupplyChainBrain

Analyst Insight: A major reason the majority of start-ups and mergers are destined to fail is that companies are not aligned when it comes to determining the nature of their business, what they want to achieve and how they will achieve it. Misalignment can happen both internally and externally and almost always translates into frustration and failure. – Kate Vitasek, Faculty, University of Tennessee's Center for Graduate Executive Education programs.

If Collaboration Is So Essential to Success, Why Aren't More Companies Practicing It?

February 4, 2015

Progressive Grocer

By now, most people know that collaboration is key to success in any line of business. This holds true in the private label industry where retailers, manufacturers and suppliers are constantly competing with premier brand names. In fact, in a recent Nielsen report, "The State of Private Label Around the World," a Nielsen consultant says that a collaborative mindset is essential to compete in the private label space.

What Threat, If Any, Does AmazonSupply Pose to Industrial Distributors?

January 30, 2015

Industrial Supply

With any discussion regarding the future of industrial distribution, the impact of AmazonSupply is sure to come up. Distributors seem to have differing views on this impact, ranging from fear of ArmageddonSupply to a shrug indicating "this too, shall pass."

Suppliers in U.S., Brazil, China Said Least Able to Deal with Climate Change Risks

January 30, 2015

CDP

Lack of preparation leaves supply chains in Brazil, China, India and the United States more vulnerable to climate risks than those in Europe and Japan, according to research released by CDP and Accenture. However, suppliers in China and India deliver the greatest financial return on investment to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and demonstrate the strongest appetite for collaboration across the value chain.

Supply Chains Are Only as Sustainable as Their Worst Supplier Participants

November 6, 2014

Industry Week

The road to creating user-friendly, science-backed, technology-enabled supply chains is paved with good sustainability intentions that get foiled by today's dynamic, global complexities. Achieving sustainability of scale requires involvement of the entire supply chain. To meet the needs of customers and markets, manufacturers need up-to-date and accurate information about their suppliers' materials and components.

Stressing Cost Reduction Too Much, Car Makers Wreck Relations with Suppliers, Study Finds

October 29, 2014

IHS Automotive

OEMs' insistence on more and more cost reductions has caused painful friction in the relationship, according to the annual Global OEM-Supplier Relations Study conducted by IHS Automotive. The survey allows automotive suppliers to rate car makers on a variety of matters, including technology sourcing, profit-impacting factors, quality management and intellectual property protection matters.