Analyst Insight: Radically changing market conditions in the global pharmaceuticals industry are creating volatility in supply and demand, as well as affecting customer service levels and costs. Pharma companies are also faced with impending margin pressure from generics. In this environment, pharma executives are looking to improve efficiencies, understand emerging market customers and be better prepared to meet financial objectives. Supply chain analytics provides pharma supply chain executives with powerful tools to maintain a competitive edge. – Jay Welsh, Principal, and Srihari Rangarajan, Manager, Ernst & Young LLP

Analyst Insight: When it comes to supply chain management, logistics has long been something of an afterthought. As companies look for more ways to win in the marketplace, and customers step up their demands for better service and delivery transparency, superior logistics is becoming a competitive differentiator. – Brett Cayot, Principal, PwC Advisory Practice; Sandra H Gosling, Director, PwC Advisory Practice; Thornton Hughes, Principal, Strategy&

Having established a solid presence on the East Coast, Neiman Marcus decided it was time to build its own dedicated distribution center. Steve Johnson, principal with Johnson Stephens Consulting Inc., relates how the project was successfully carried out.

Piyush Sampat, principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP, charts the maturity of retailers' efforts to adapt to the omnichannel. Integration of online and store fulfillment remains a challenge, he says.

Analyst Insight: Rapid urbanization is an unstoppable challenge for supply chains that must be reckoned with—and soon. As more cities swell into megacities, the fundamentals of last-mile delivery, in particular, will require a rethink. Businesses will need to consider urban delivery based on the point of demand—where the products are delivered—rather than point of supply. – Brad Householder, Principal, PwC's Advisory practice

Analyst Insight: Best-in-class companies are evolving to meet their customers' needs by reverse engineering their supply chains to align with overall sales strategies and customer desires. This process involves integrating and working various verticals within a company in order to achieve the desired outcome. Supply chain professionals are taking a different look at their companies' operations through the lens of customers' perspectives and expectations, and organizing the supply chains around those focal points. - Rodrigo Cambiaghi, Principal, Ernst & Young LLP and EY US Leader for E2E Supply Chain practice; and Dieter Bölzing, Principal, Ernst & Young LLP and EY Supply Chain Strategy & Planning, EMEIA

Analyst Insight: When it comes to supply chain management, "Big Data" has generated more in the way of buzz than it has real benefit. Awash in a rising sea of data, companies still struggle to use it to make better decisions. - Brad Householder, Principal, PwC's Advisory practice; Anand Rao, Principal, PwC's Financial Services Advisory practice; Syed Mukhtar, Director, PwC's Operations practice

Analyst Insight: Direct delivery of orders to the customer's doorstep is a hot topic for transportation and logistics executives"”from giants like Amazon to mom-and-pop specialty retailers. In particular, there is a lot of buzz around the direct-to-consumer cold chain. Free delivery and free returns, combined with the complexity and cost of cold chain distribution center (DC) and delivery assets, make for a chief marketing officer's dream and a chief financial officer's nightmare. How can you get this capability just right? - Don Anderson, Principal, Tompkins International