Zoltan Pekar, vice president of the Global Supply Chain Division of Roland DG Corp., discusses how the company is transforming itself from a maker of computer peripherals to a leading provider of digital solutions.
Paul Collier, supply chain senior manager of Amgen, talks about the major initiatives that the company has undertaken to improve supply-chain planning, collaboration and regulatory compliance.
Realizing that "the forecast is always wrong," Trinity Rail opts instead to focus on creating a "sense-and-respond" supply chain, to deal with real-world developments in demand for transportation equipment.
A wide-ranging SupplyChainBrain Roundtable discussion about how companies are meeting the challenge of big data, the Internet of Things and the need for change management - all with the goal of improving the planning function and achieving end-to-end supply-chain visibility. Featuring Trevor Miles, vice president of product innovation with Kinaxis; Mark Ramirez, chief technology officer with Trinity Rail; Josh Greenbaum, principal of Enterprise Applications Consulting; and Bob Bowman, managing editor of SupplyChainBrain.
Analyst Insight: S&OP is much more of a journey than a destination. After getting the supply/demand match process established, the question becomes "what is needed to move the process beyond the supply chain function and get ownership across the organization?" A good place to start is the front end of your business. - Bryan Ball, Vice President and Group Director, Supply Chain and Global Supply Management Practices, Aberdeen
Analyst Insight: Data analytics is playing a bigger role in supply chain analysis and consulting practices. According to a Deloitte study, "big data" and advanced analytics are being integrated into optimization tools, demand forecasting, integrated business planning, supplier collaboration and risk analytics at a rapid pace. - Traci Doenitz, Vice President of Information Systems, Spend Management Experts
Analyst Insight: Sales and operations planning is a fundamental process that all retail, manufacturing and consumer products companies should have in place. Surprisingly, many companies do not have a process to formally balance product supply with product demand. Many articles and books have already been written on the technical steps which outline a successful S&OP program. These resources describe the nuances of product rationalization, demand forecasting, supply forecasting, S&OP "True Up" and executive review. - Brewster Smith, Project Manager, Tompkins International
