Analyst Insight: Complex executive priorities and deeply embedded functional tendencies present challenging organizational dynamics to the chemical supply chain leader. These challenges require a combination of operational effectiveness and leadership vision and influence to establish a hierarchy of layered and synchronized governance processes that connect differentiated execution to segmented demand fulfillment strategies. Features of this integrated capability will include supply and demand visibility with analytics that support agile decision making to manage and mitigate complex constraints. - Paul Lord, Research Director, Gartner

Analyst Insight: Theoretically, supply chain transformations deliver a different set of capabilities and outcomes that customers recognize. The reality is that a transformation may simply be a radical or rapid change to the supply chain organization and operations in response to changes in the marketplace. It could be a dramatic reduction in cost or improvement in service to remain competitive. In other words, the outcomes are not necessarily different, just better than the prior state. - Michael Dominy, Research Director, Gartner

With the advent of big data, faster computing and intuitive analysis tools, the promise of analytics has generated a renewed focus on improving operations through data-driven decisions. For supply chain organizations in particular, it is a powerful ally in driving cost reduction strategies and service level improvements. From public sector entities like Lincolnshire, which identified £24m in procurement savings, to retail giants like Tesco, which reduced £50m in excess inventory, organizations across the globe are achieving substantial impact by applying analytics to their operations. But what about emerging markets?

Is your company's new year resolution to be recognized for its top-of-the-line, cutting-edge accomplishments in the industry? Nominations for the 2014 Supply Chain Innovation Awards are open until March 10, 2014.

As an industry, global consumer products companies have historically underinvested in plants and manufacturing capabilities. In fact, a significant number of organizations may still be running their operations on equipment and processes that were last updated in the prior millennium. Under these circumstances, throughput can rarely keep pace with current needs. At the same time, many of these same companies have made one or more large acquisitions that slow the supply chain down even more: duplication and redundancy at the plant level; disparate operating and ERP systems that cloud visibility; and manual processes that consumed valuable resources.