Technology

Few Companies Are Prepared for Effective Product Recall

March 12, 2013

Analyst Insight: Software has become extremely effective in tracking and tracing the smallest detail. In actuality, enterprise software vendors have incorporated recall management and best practices into their software. Organizations often lack the necessary policies and procedures to facilitate reverse logistics processes, but software is not one of the deficiencies. -- Keean Persaud, Managing Director, Eval-Source

Retailers Must Adjust to New Realities or Disappear

March 12, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

Analyst Insight: Retail has reached a number of crucial tipping points. The economy, online shopping, technology, store relevance and other factors are driving companies to the crossroads where business strategy meets the supply chain. Traditional thinking around customer satisfaction, distribution networks and operations is obsolete given the huge impact of these tipping points on all supply chains. Going beyond the crossroads means having the right business strategy and having the right supply chains. - Jim Tompkins, CEO & President, Tompkins International

Short-Range Wireless Technology IC Market to Reach Almost 5 Billion Units Shipped in 2013

March 12, 2013

ABI Research

The total market for open short-range wireless (SRW) technology-based ICs, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, NFC and GPS, is expected to reach almost 5 billion units in 2013 and grow to nearly 8 billion by 2018. This includes stand-alone wireless connectivity ICs, wireless connectivity combo ICs, and also platforms with integrated wireless connectivity.

IT to See Small Budget Hike in 2013 Despite Operational Cutbacks, Survey Says

March 12, 2013

The Hackett Group

IT organizations can expect to see small increases in operating budgets for 2013, even as cutbacks continue across other parts of business services, including finance, HR and procurement, according to new IT key issues research from The Hackett Group Inc.

U.S. Consumers Value Low Prices More than Same-Day Delivery, Survey Finds

March 12, 2013

Boston Consulting Group

Consumers are much more interested in free delivery and lower prices than in the same-day delivery of goods ordered online, according to a survey conducted by The Boston Consulting Group. Only 9 percent of the 1,500 U.S. consumers surveyed cited same-day delivery as a top factor that would improve their online shopping experience, while 74 percent cited free delivery and 50 percent cited lower prices.

Greater Adoption of Standards Needed in Consumer Goods, Retail Industries, Report Finds

March 12, 2013

Capgemini Consulting

Wider adoption of standards is key to supply chain efficiency and meeting new consumer needs, according to a report entitled The Future of Standards in the Consumer Goods & Retail Industry: Cut Costs and Meet New Consumer Needs. The authors call on the industry to introduce simplified programs to help users embrace and deploy standards while enabling provision of standardized product data to consumers.

Damco Enhanced Origins Cargo Planning Case Study

March 11, 2013

Challenge: The client had a lack of control at their origins; they needed better visibility of purchase orders and volumes. They looked to Damco for an integrated supply chain management solution.

Supply Chain Takes Its Power Position in the Retail Industry!

March 11, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

Analyst Insight: Retail is in a dramatic transformative phase. Consumers' multichannel access and shopping and web commerce vs. in-store shopping have retailers experimenting with many new approaches and technologies. Multi-merged channel expectations put fulfillment front and center as a major concern - no more relegating supply chain to the backwaters of retail management! - Ann Grackin, CEO, ChainLink Research

Multichannel Fulfillment Is The New Normal

March 11, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

Analyst Insight: Multichannel fulfillment can be defined as optimizing the supply chain's capabilities to simultaneously receive and process orders from multiple ordering channels and fulfill them from the source that provides the highest level of consumer satisfaction and lowest fulfillment cost to the retailer. This model for fulfillment is both customer - and cost-driven and, therefore, the new de facto standard for the retail supply chain. - Joe Vernon, Manager of North America Supply Chain Technologies, Capgemini

Enterprise IT Spending to Grow by 6 Percent in 2013, Research Finds

March 11, 2013

IDC

Total IT spending on hardware, software and IT services across 15 enterprise industries is forecasted to grow by 6 percent in 2013, to approximately $474bn, according to research by International Data Corporation (IDC).