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Quality & Metrics: Page 174

Why Your S&OP Strategy Is Still Lagging in 2015

Analyst Insight: Although sales and operations planning has been a formalized practice since the 1980s, companies still struggle to effectively implement S&OP as both sales and operations become more fragmented. Based on the successes of multiple multibillion-dollar organizations, Blue Hill provides the following recommendations for companies still finding it difficult to effectively start an S&OP program. – Hyoun Park, Chief Research Officer at Blue Hill Research

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3 Keys to Starting or Improving Your S&OP Initiative

Analyst Insight: Sales and operations planning is almost sacred to those who have it, but still fuzzy to those who don't. Those who do, cannot imagine running their business without it, while those who don’t, are still debating the merits and are not clear about the value. Whether you have it and are looking for tips to improve, or are seriously considering but yet unsure, read on. - Bryan Ball, Vice President and Group Director, Supply Chain and Operations Practices, Aberdeen Group

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Waking Up From the West Coast Port Nightmare: Where Do We Go From Here?

Assuming that the rank and file of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) ratifies the new five-year contract negotiated with terminal operators, West Coast ports can finally focus on getting container-handling operations back to normal. So is everyone happy?

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Six Challenges for Supply Chains in Emerging Markets

What does it take to overcome the logistics challenges of serving customers in emerging markets?

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How To Manage DC Talent

Analyst Insight: Keeping talent has risen to be a concern for managers, directors and CEOs across the country. It's even caught the attention of academics. What policies employed at the DC level gets the most out of the money spent on training, and gets the best results? Our 2014 study starts to answer that question. – Karl B. Manrodt, Professor of Logistics, and Donnie Williams, Assistant Professor of Logistics, Georgia College and State University

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How Will Pharma Industry Evolve in 2015?

Analyst Insight: The pharmaceutical industry is finally sharpening its focus on profitability and efficiency. 2014 saw continued mergers and acquisitions, but more importantly, the acceleration of business focus on core sectors. Now that the impacts of the Affordable Care Act are better understood, the ability to streamline operations into sectors is driving spin-offs, sell-offs and renewed operational pressures. Two key drivers this year involving supply chains will be inventory reduction and control and lean cost reduction. – Brian Hudock, Partner, Tompkins International

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Demand Planning at Coca-Cola: What's the Secret Formula?

The sign in the elevator banks at Coca-Cola Refreshments reads: "There is a person at the end of our supply chain." Well, that's a start.

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A Glimpse at the Factory of the Future

What will the typical factory look like five years from now?

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Procurement Leaders Should Let Up on Cost Reduction Already

For most business leaders, it's difficult to make any decision without letting bottom line bias come into play. Globalization, in addition to evolving social, economic and regulatory trends, has elevated corporate competition to a new playing field altogether. For procurement departments in particular, cutting costs, doing more with less, and running agile operations are the new standards for success.

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The Human Design Aspects of Demand Planning

Analyst Insight: Demand planning can be both a complex and demanding exercise to fully conduct. To get past the initial challenges, it is tempting to consolidate demand planning into a few simple metrics and goals to support adoption. Blue Hill believes that this approach will ultimately sabotage the best-intended intentions to support enterprise demand planning. – Hyoun Park, Chief Research Officer at Blue Hill Research

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Is Demand Planning the Most Misunderstood and Unappreciated Application, Ever?

Analyst Insight: The greatest gap between performance and satisfaction of supply chain applications is in the area of demand planning. The reasons are many, but many are rooted in organizational and processes issues causing many people to throw in the towel too early. – Lora Cecere, Founder of Supply Chain Insights

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Quit Saying 'Collaboration' and Start Practicing It

Analyst Insight: Collaboration is widely identified by supply chain analysts as a critical trend for supply chain execution. But it is one thing to "say" collaboration and quite another thing to get it right and garner real results from your efforts. For the best results, think of collaboration and integration together. And don't be afraid to contract for collaboration. - Kate Vitasek is a faculty member of the University of Tennessee's Graduate Center for Executive Education.

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