Technology

A Bit Too Much Spice in McCormick's Supply Chain

October 8, 2012

For McCormick & Company, the ubiquitous producer of spices and flavorings, 2011 was one tough year. I'm not talking about financials; McCormick's net sales for the year were up 10.8 percent over 2010, to $3.7bn, while net income rose 5 percent, to $374.2m - not a bad performance in a sluggish economy. I'm referring to the anti-trifecta of disasters and disruptions that severely challenged the company's ability to service its customers.

Maker of Cold-Chain Packaging for Pharma Finds a Fulfillment Partner

October 8, 2012

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

How France's Sofrigam SA came to trust an outside logistics provider, ModusLink, to provide fulfillment and warehousing duties for its highly sensitive line of products for protecting temperature-controlled bio-pharmaceutical shipments.

Is WMS Ready for the Cloud?

October 8, 2012

SupplyChainBrain

Why has it taken so long for warehouse-management and warehouse-control systems to move to the cloud? And which of the two is more likely to survive in the years ahead? Kevin Reader, chief marketing officer of Invata Intralogistics, has some answers.

A Bit Too Much Spice in McCormick's Supply Chain

October 8, 2012

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

SMBs Generally Positive About Economy, Survey Finds

October 5, 2012

Technology Evaluation Centers

Sage North America say the results of a snapshot survey of small to medium-sized business manufacturers indicate the general health of their businesses is pretty good, and use of their enterprise resource planning systems has benefited them.

The Definition of 'Supply Chain' Is Wide. It's Too Important Not to Be.

October 4, 2012

Supply Chain Insights

Supply chain overlays the sales and marketing organizations and the procurement function - which have defined their roles too narrowly. Too few are focused on the role of the organization in driving value networks to improve value-based outcomes. Most lack the understanding, and they are just not incented to build value networks. The focus has to be market to market. The supply chain team can make a difference, but it requires reschooling. It is about much more than trucks and sheds. Or pumps and valves. Or contracts and negotiations. It is the end-to-end process: from the customer's customer to the supplier's supplier.

RFID Helps Track Baskets of Small But Extremely Costly Parts

October 4, 2012

RFID Journal

For businesses that manufacture aerospace, pharmaceutical or other high-value items, even a single component built into a product can be worth tens of thousands of dollars. Losing track of a basket filled with parts can thus be extremely costly, due not only to each component's cost but the potential loss of production time if assembly is delayed. The solution may be RFID technology, according to Marlin Steel Wire Products, a producer of custom wire baskets and other metal products.

Qualcomm Integrates With TMW Suite; McLeod Software

October 4, 2012

Qualcomm Inc.

Qualcomm Inc. has integrated its Services Portal with the TMWSuite of TMW Systems Inc., a provider of transportation-management system (TMS) software.

Panjiva Debuts B2B Search Engine for Global Traders

October 4, 2012

Panjiva

Panjiva, provider of a business-to-business platform for managing global trade, has made available a new search engine.

'Big Data' Can Help Minimize Customer Churn

October 3, 2012

CIO

Your customer service representative answers a call from an irate customer. "This darn thing I bought just doesn't work!" he exclaims. "I've tried and tried to get help from your service folks, but they're always late and they can't fix it either. I've had it with you guys. I want my money back!" Big Data can help you retain that customer.

Technology

The latest news, analysis and trends regarding technology solutions and their impact on supply chain management. New technologies in forecasting and demand planning, supply chain visibility, big data analytics, the internet of things (IoT), cloud and software as a service (SaaS), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and transportation management systems (TMS) and WMS are transforming the way companies do business - and allowing them to stay ahead of the competition in their industries. As these solutions continue to evolve, businesses are discovering new ways to increase efficiency and cut costs. Learn how companies around the world are improving operations through their strategic use of supply chain technology solutions.