Technology

Global Electronics Manufacturing Provider Achieves High Levels Agility With Kinaxis

March 4, 2013

Challenge: To operate effectively amid a volatile environment and across different end markets and various products segments, this Global Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) Provider applies a customer focused supply chain strategy whereby every customer's supply chain solution is tailored to address that customer's unique requirements. This requires flexibility in both processes and the supporting systems.

Getting a Handle on Your Total Delivered Cost

March 4, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

Analyst Insight: It's no secret that companies in logistics-intensive industries are facing a variety of commercial and operational challenges. For example, consumer products and goods companies experience "margin squeeze," in which they pay more for commodity raw materials but typically are not able to pass along corresponding price increases to retail customers. High fuel prices, increasing wage rates in low-cost countries and concerns over supply chain disruption are causing manufacturers and retailers alike to rethink global sourcing strategies. - Ryan Godsil, Tony Ross, Alex Bajorinas and Jim Morton, all of Ernst & Young LLP

How Do I know If I Have a Profitable Supply Chain?

March 4, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

Analyst Insight: The lack of understanding of the supply chain by the financial team is the third-highest obstacle in achieving supply chain performance. The supply chain is a complex system with increasing complexity. Many unknowing financial leaders try to manage it through Excel spreadsheets which is inadequate to truly understand the trade-offs. - Lora Cecere, Founder of Supply Chain Insights

Factors to Consider When Determining If You Need an ERP System

March 4, 2013

Technology Evaluation Centers

To ERP, or not to ERP, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous ERP vendors, Or to take arms against a cloud of component solutions"¦

Sales Growth, Profit Margins Among Private U.S. Companies on Upward Swing, Report Finds

March 4, 2013

Sageworks

Nearly all employer firms in the U.S. are private (with listed companies representing less than 1 percent), so the performance of private manufacturers is a key barometer of the sector as a whole, according to a report from Sageworks, a provider of financial analysis solutions. In the six-month period ending in January 2013, private manufacturing companies were seeing 9.5 percent annual sales growth, up slightly from the six-month period ending in December 2012.

Collaborative Purchasing, Revisited

March 4, 2013

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

So collaborative purchasing appears feasible for the restaurant industry. But what about other business sectors? Can different companies - even direct competitors - really band together to get better deals from their suppliers?

Asian Supply Chain Optimization Improves On-time Delivery, Margin for European OEM Components

March 1, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

Analyst Insight: The automotive industry is an orchestration of marketing, logistics and product development. This orchestration, which leads to higher complexity and demand, requires that many parts be available in manufacturing and services. And this global and complex way of looking at a problem drives the European automotive industry to operate in Asia, as well as localize their supply chains for sales in Asia. However, the logistics for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) between these two continents sometimes become complex. - Thomas Wiedmann, Managing Director, Europe, Tompkins International

EDI Communication: The Language and Standard of Business

March 1, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

Analyst Insight: EDI continues to grow steadily each year. And with markets in growing economies yet to penetrate (Asia and South America), EDI has had a challenge making a firm beachhead in emerging markets, though EU and North American business partners from the retail, automotive, healthcare and financial services industries, to name a few, rely on and require EDI as their language of trade. - Ann Grackin, CEO, ChainLink Research

CEVA Opens Logistics Center in United States

February 28, 2013

TransReporter

CEVA Logistics has opened a logistics center in Jacksonville, Fla., where services will include solutions design and engineering, managed transportation, global supply chain solutions, transportation procurement, and rail fueling.

China Takes Control of Pakistan Port from Singapore

February 28, 2013

The Times of India

China has assumed control of a strategic Pakistani port on the Arabian Sea, as part of a drive to secure energy and maritime routes that also gives it a potential naval base, sparking Indian concern. The Pakistani cabinet approved the transfer of Gwadar, currently a commercial failure cut off from the national road network, from Singapore's PSA International to the state-owned China company on January 30.