Global Supply Chain Management

50 Percent of UK Businesses Vet Suppliers for Bribery Act Compliance

March 13, 2013

A study that polled procurement managers and directors from a range of firms across the UK found that while mid-market firms are often less likely to have robust processes and systems in place to counter bribery risk, companies at both ends of the spectrum appeared complacent when it came to vetting their suppliers for compliance with the Bribery Act.

Companies Falling Short on Supply Chain Risk Management

March 13, 2013

Logistics Viewpoint

According to a survey of 600 manufacturing and retail executives conducted by Deloitte, 71 percent of the executives surveyed view supply chain risk as "an important factor in their companies' strategic decision making, including 20 percent who view it as extremely important." Yet, 42 percent of the executives from large companies said their supply chain risk management programs are only somewhat or not effective.

India Initiates Movement for Direct Sea, Air Connections to Latin America

March 13, 2013

Trans Reporter

India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is moving to set up a direct sea and air link between India and Latin America, as Indian corporations line up significant investments in the oil, mining, IT and pharmaceutical sectors there.

New Shipping Lane Through North Pole Possible

March 13, 2013

Supply Chain Digital

Melting polar ice could create a new shipping lane through the North Pole by 2050, according to research by the University Of California at Los Angeles. In the future, melting sea ice could mean that ordinary shipping vessels will be able to navigate parts of the Arctic Ocean which were previously inaccessible, without the use of icebreakers to clear their route.

Turning a Good Job Into a Great Career

March 13, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

How do you go from good to great when pursuing a career in supply-chain management? James Masotti, continuous replenishment analyst with Campbell Soup, has some answers.

Big Data Is Becoming a Big Deal for Agile S&OP

March 13, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

Analyst Insight: Based on a survey of 160 supply chain leaders in a recent webinar conducted by Steelwedge, we found that companies captured a whopping 70 percent more data (product, supply, demand and finance) to manage their organizations in 2012. Yet, 77 percent of these businesses are not actually leveraging this data in their S&OP processes, thereby leaving "blind spots" in their decision making processes around critical supply/demand trade-offs. - Nari Viswanathan, Vice President of Product Management, Steelwedge

The Demand for On Demand Is Growing

March 13, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

Analyst Insight: Neither a lack of cogent definitions re: what these services and technologies are nor confusion in pricing models is slowing down interest in cloud, SaaS and on-demand solutions. Our research shows a consistent increase in buyer adoption of enterprise and consumer applications - cloud-accessible - from desk top, smartphones and tablets of all size companies in all industries. - Ann Grackin, CEO, ChainLink Research

Sales & Operations Is Only the Tip of the Iceberg

March 13, 2013

SupplyChainBrain

Analyst Insight: For the past 30 years, sales and operations planning (S&OP) has been espoused by the Oliver Wight organization based on its founder's concepts. It has manifested itself to include inventory (SIOP) and has morphed into integrated business planning (IBP). However, only within the last five years, has it been heralded and crossed the chasm to mainstream business practice. We think it may only be the tip of the iceberg though, not the core solution to step-change improved performance. - Rich Sherman, Supply Chain Discipline Expert at Trissential

Closing the Supply Chain Door After the Horse Has Bolted

March 13, 2013

Lorcan Sheehan, Senior Vice President of Marketing, ModusLink Global Solutions

Recent issues in the European food supply have resulted in supply chains making the news for all the wrong reasons. Consumers have been shocked at revelations that products labeled as beef also contained significant quantities of horsemeat, up to 100 percent in some cases. More than a month after the Food Safety Authority in Ireland published its findings of traces of horse DNA in burgers, we are still seeing daily announcements of new product withdrawals by retailers across Europe.

Small, Mid-sized Manufacturers Project Strong Revenues for 2013

March 13, 2013

Prime Advantage

Small and mid-sized manufacturers are optimistic about revenues as spring approaches, and plan to retain or even grow their labor forces, according to buying consortium Prime Advantage's 11th semi-annual Group Outlook Survey.