The industrial internet of things (IIOT) is on the minds of many supply chain management professionals. The potential benefits are just too good to ignore, and companies large and small are feeling a true sense of urgency as competition and consumers continue to demand heightened efficiency and responsiveness from supply chains.......Read More

In the next five-to-10 years, global, autonomous supply chains will encompass parts, materials, products, services, information and funds that flow between and among organizations without any unnecessary human intervention. This will happen according to goals, objectives and rules established and agreed upon by the stakeholders and documented with smart contracts that are stored permanently and immutably with blockchain.......Read More

Staying competitive in today’s complex and dynamic automotive market requires automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to balance their demand-supply equation. This makes it possible to not only meet customer demand, but also optimize overhead and keep capital expenses under control.......Read More

Every supply chain function, process and system must be involved in the race to unlock the benefits of digitization. As this rapid disruption continues to displace traditional networks, the digital exhaust that is engulfing the sector, coupled with an ongoing data deluge, is affecting all supply chain elements and forcing organization leaders to rethink how they do business.......Read More

For thousands of years, technology evolved at a snail’s pace. Generation after generation lived essentially as their parents did, and, when innovation did occur, the rate of adoption depended on the speed of your horse. However, since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, we have jumped from a technology curve that was somewhat linear in nature to one that is on an exponential upswing.......Read More

Multinational toy manufacturer Mattel is a company of dreams and aspirations, but it also runs a supply chain of 40,000 people and 11 factories. To better manage its supply chain, the company recently shifted to a more data-driven culture. ......Read More

Today’s communication networks, air traffic control systems, national electrical grids, unmanned aircraft systems, and numerous other industries depend on complex systems or systems of systems—that require a delicate balance of component functionalities to achieve a greater common objective. It makes sense that these highly engineered and intricate tools dictate a correspondingly sophisticated level of support.......Read More

Supply chain and operations management professionals recognize the importance of inventory management to both customer satisfaction and cost control. They also understand the inherent tension between the goals of customer satisfaction and cost control: In short, doing better on one puts a strain on the other. Easing this tension relies on finding the optimal balance point where customer service goals can be met with the lowest possible inventory investment.......Read More

Countless articles in trade publications have bemoaned the lack of quantifiable results and diminishing returns derived from lean initiatives based on waste elimination. But few of these stories have suggested that having a micro-level focus on individual products and operations actually may be part of the problem. Perhaps it is time to look at the process from a macro level—a point of view that considers the variation to provide insights about which lean tools to use. ......Read More

In the March/April 2013 issue of APICS magazine, the “Relevant Research” department investigated recent developments in big data collection and related analytics. It was a look at the excitement surrounding the big data revolution and the potential for it to help solve many of today’s business, social, and environmental problems. Currently, big data is in the news constantly and certainly has become part of the supply chain and operations management lexicon. ......Read More

While looking at historic average demand is important, the average (mean) alone will not reveal variation in the system. Variation is key to a true understanding of past performance and future outcomes.......Read More

Strategic thinking is a critical business skill sought by organizations of all types and sizes, but particularly by those in highly competitive and fast-changing business landscapes. ......Read More

There have been significant advancements recently to the study of data, its mining techniques, and the myriad ways in which smart analysis and application can provide new and valuable insights. At the core of demand and supply alignment is an organization’s ability to acquire, interpret, and use this information to improve visibility into the supply chain and support company profitability and growth—particularly during times of economic volatility. ......Read More

Big data overwhelms traditional database technology, tools, processing, and storage capabilities. To handle the growth of data, software and cloud facilities are being created alongside it. ......Read More

For one tangible solution to a lack of good data, look no further than a tool from the quality engineer of yesteryear: the humble tally sheet. ......Read More

Big data can inspire organizations of any size. The result may not be big data in the strictest sense, but it can be a useful head start on business analytics that serves as a foundation for eventual big data adoption. ......Read More

It's estimated that more than 15 petabytes—about 15 million gigabytes—of new information is collected each day. Big data is here, but it is in the early stages of its life cycle. ......Read More

In the majority of operations, becoming leaner and faster than before directly increases competitiveness. This is the goal of every business, whether you work for a corporation or the government. ......Read More

Social networking presents opportunities to supply chain and operations management professionals in at least two critical areas: getting reports from field service professionals about products and sharing ideas on how to improve products and services.......Read More

I have introduced several companies to the concept of a data integrity group (DIG). This is a small team of people responsible for formatting engineering data so manufacturing staff can plan, manage, and measure parts and production.......Read More