Global supply chain management - Articles - Page 675

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Cloud

April 9, 2012

What is this thing called "cloud computing"? It's nothing new - that much is certain. Software vendors have been offering applications "hosted" off-site for years. The idea of computer services as a kind of managed utility dates back to the 1960s at least. Salesforce.com, founded in 1999, based its entire business model on the cloud, even if it didn't use the word at the time. Since then, we've seen a variety of takes on what came to be known as Software as a Service, or SaaS. That's now been supplanted by "the cloud," a term which refers to any number of apps that reside in huge banks of servers located far from the client.

You DON'T Have a Mobile Strategy Because Mobility Differs from Anything You've Seen Before

April 9, 2012

Chief Executive

Mobile is completely different from anything you've done before, and you need to throw conventional wisdom onto the dust heap of out-of-date thinking. You may have a bunch of people in business and IT that are telling you how you should approach mobile, but beware. They might not even recognize that mobile is different in every way from previous technology waves.

Is 'Big Data' to Blame for Sales Forecasts Not Being Realized?

April 9, 2012

CIO

At the end of any quarter, the last thing CFOs want to hear is that more than half of forecasted sales did not close. Unfortunately, this scenario is quite common. CFOs blame sales staffs for faulty forecasts, while sales teams try to shift the blame to IT for not giving them the right tools to turn fuzzy forecasts into actionable data.

Few Users Seem Happy with Their Sales Force Automation Analytics Software, Study Finds

April 9, 2012

Birst Inc.

A mere 19 percent of users are "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their current solution for sales force automation (SFA) analytics and more than four-fifths must augment the built-in analytic capabilities with additional tools to address their analytic needs, according to a survey conducted for Birst Inc., provider of business analytics.

The S&OP Journey of PG&E

April 9, 2012

SupplyChainBrain

Gas and electric utilities may have a number of unique operating characteristics, but they share with other industries the need to emphasize customer service, operate safely, create a reliable supply chain and reward shareholders. PG&E's pursuit of those goals led it to integrate formal sales and operations planning (S&OP) into the organization.

Supply Chains in Asia Run High Risk of Water Shortages, Study Finds

April 5, 2012

KPMG, Trucost

The growing dependence of Japanese companies on manufacturing in parts of Asia is increasing their exposure to water shortages, according to research from KPMG AZSA Sustainability and data and insight company Trucost. Though the study dealt only with Japanese companies, the findings that outsourcing to water-stressed countries, including China, can increase business risks from water scarcity have implications for companies globally.

Here's Why Most Linear Barcode Coupons on Smartphones Just Don't Work

April 5, 2012

ChainLink Research

There has been enough hype about mobile shopping in general and mobile coupons in particular that you could easily be forgiven if you thought coupons and loyalty cards on mobile phones were a done deal, already available and in use today. The elephant in the room is that the bright clean crisp barcode image you see displayed on your smartphone's screen cannot be read by the majority of barcode scanners used in retail today.

New York, London, Paris and Tokyo are 'Top Global Cities' in 2012, Though Beijing and Shanghai on the Rise

April 5, 2012

A.T. Kearney

New York and London remain the world's most global cities, while major emerging-market cities strengthened their ability to challenge global leaders in the next 10 to 20 years, according to the 2012 A.T. Kearney Global Cities Index.

Half of Suppliers, Buyers Optimistic About Economy; Pessimism Remains Among Larger Companies

April 5, 2012

Panjiva

Half of global trade professionals are optimistic about the global economy in 2012 and nearly three quarters plan to spend at or above 2011 levels, according to The State of Global Trade in 2012, a joint report from global trade intelligence company Panjiva and The Global Sourcing Council, a non-profit organization that fosters dialog on critical issues in global sourcing and supply chain management.

Plan, Source, Make & Deliver Using the Theory of Constraints

April 5, 2012

SupplyChainBrain

Misalignments in the many linkages of the supply chain lead to variability in delivery performance or in demand, says Dale Houle, chief technology officer at AGI-Goldratt Institute. The theory of constraints can help nullify the effects of that variability.