Analyst Insight: As of 2010, the traditional relationship between supply chain and business is in full revolution, and global supply chain management has become more important than ever. The roles of supply chain and manufacturing within organizations continue to evolve, making it clear that manufacturing should be reporting to supply chain, instead of the other way around.
Analyst Insight: No one could miss the continued consolidation of supply chain planning applications in the last few years. In spite of the more traditional player consolidations, new firms and new approaches have emerged that have caught buyers' eyes, from demand creation and merchandising planning to richer analytic engines to help fine-tune forecasting accuracy, as well as on-demand delivery platforms for these solutions.
Analyst Insight: Companies no longer have the luxury of being able to expend significant resources to have a multi-phased demand management process and technology roll-out. They need to be laser-focused on the right mix of processes and tools suitable to their unique environment. The two key determinants are: type of supply chain and the planning window.
Analyst Insight: Companies should evaluate how to fix select visibility and control problems in the supply chain without having to rip and replace the entire infrastructure. They should look at ways by which they can expand collaboration with trading partners without adding significant costs of on-boarding, training and maintaining these partners. SaaS and managed services are approaches by which these companies can increase the utilization of their existing software assets.
Analyst Insight: The number one strategy for companies in the chemical and energy industries is to improve demand orchestration as the economy recovers. Planning processes must manage pricing, capacity allocation, and inventory positioning to manage margins. In addition, operational processes must have visibility and business rules to manage commitments and respond to volatility. These industries are more mature than others in their approach to asset management, energy management and compliance.
The latest news, analysis, trends and solutions regarding forecasting and demand planning and its impact on supply chain management. New technologies in predictive analytics and forecasting and demand planning are transforming the way companies are operating and performing ahead of 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 using forecasting and demand planning solutions for supply chain optimization.
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