Posts by Alexa Cheater

Breaking down doors for the marginalized in supply chain management. Highlights from Kinexions ’18 day two.

AlexaCheater

Megan Smith - Kinexions '18Less than 15 percent of supply chain executives are female. Even fewer are women of color. That’s a sad state of affairs, and desperately needs to change. So how is it that with so many strong, courageous, talented women, so few have found a way to break through the glass ceiling?

Kristen LeBaron, Director of Supply Chain at Lippert Components, Heather Mason, Inventory Program Manager at Applied Materials, Tonia Chu, Global Business Process Owner at Sanofi Genzyme and Pamela Passman, a member of the Kinaxis Board of Directors, shed some light during the Women in Supply Chain Breakfast on day two of Kinexions ’18, our annual user and training conference.

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What matters next for supply chain management? An insider’s look at day one of Kinexions ’18.

AlexaCheater

Kinexions '18It’s not about the future. It’s about what’s beyond it. And when it comes to what matters next for supply chains and supply chain management, it’s all about two things: digital, and the people enabling it.

Hundreds of supply chain managers, planners, executives and experts gathered in National Harbor, MD on October 16 for the kickoff of Kinexions ’18, our annual user and training conference, to learn how to digitize, transform and revolutionize their supply chains.

The opening keynote presentations didn’t disappoint.

“We’re well on the journey to digitization,” said Kinaxis CEO John Sicard. A poignant reminder that despite all the hype recently, many of the ‘latest innovations’ people are screaming about have actually been around and available in products like Kinaxis RapidResponse® for years. But despite the differences between us – country, industry, age, gender and role – we’re all asking the same question. What comes next?

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Building the foundation of your digital supply chain

AlexaCheater

Webinar | Building the foundation of your digital supply chainIt’s getting harder and harder to get ahead—and stay ahead—of the constantly shifting realities of today’s interconnected world. Unstable markets, growing customer demands, emerging competition and deep-rooted reliance on outdated, legacy systems are causing chaos and complexity.

Traditional supply chain issues are only getting compounded by all of these new and emerging data sources. Everyone’s turning to digital for the answers. And it’s no wonder when companies with digital supply chains are seeing enterprise-wide results like 25% faster response times, 30% working capital reductions and up to 110% higher operating margins.

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Don’t let incorrect design assumptions affect supply chain performance

AlexaCheater

Don’t let incorrect design assumptions affect supply chain performanceWouldn’t it be nice if your supply chain actually performed the way you designed it to? That doesn’t have to be a pipe dream. Supply chain perfection just got one step closer with the Self-Healing Supply Chain and its ability to improve supply chain design assumptions.

Supply chains are complex and full of inter-dependencies. A problem in one area can wreak widespread havoc on others. Suppliers who are always late or one market consuming all available supply for globally required parts can destroy your ability to meet customer demands.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

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Is your supply chain not performing the way you designed it to?

AlexaCheater

Is your supply chain data fake news?Garbage in, garbage out has never been more relevant

Data accuracy has always been an issue. But with the recent push toward building digital supply chains, it’s reaching a critical tipping point as companies integrate more and more data sources. Don’t let your supply chain make headlines for all the wrong reasons. When you improve your planning data accuracy, you’ll be able to:

  • More reliably model revenue and profit so you have a better picture of your company’s health
  • Spot performance degradation faster so you can take action before it impacts the bottom line
  • Empower your team to focus on exceptions and stop wasting time chasing down rogue data

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Is global complexity driving your automotive supply chain to the edge?

AlexaCheater

The solution to supply chain issues in the automotive industry

Don’t put your supply chain profits and productivity at risk. New technologies, emerging and shifting markets, disconnected regional processes, increasing volumes and added customer demands—these are just a few of the speed bumps automotive supply chains are facing. And not addressing all that mounting complexity could be putting your supply chain profits and productivity at risk.

But shining the headlights on these potential issues isn’t enough to solve them. To keep your automotive supply chain on the road to success, you’ll need to realign, consolidate and coordinate supply chain planning across all tiers and regions in your network, including suppliers. And that means connecting data, processes and people into a single supply chain planning platform—one that utilizes concurrent planning.

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An executive’s guide to AI in supply chain management

AlexaCheater

Artificial Intelligence in Supply Chain Management – KinaxisFaster, smarter, more profitable supply chain decisions

Transitioning from hype to reality, artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining momentum across industries thanks to an explosion in computing power and storage, the emergence of IoT (Internet of Things) and big data, and algorithmic advances. While there have been numerous examples of how AI can boost profits in supply chain execution—most notably in the form of autonomous vehicles and smart robotics—the benefits related to supply chain planning have largely been ignored.

But that’s starting to change as future-focused executives see the potential to improve profitability and productivity by making faster, smarter supply chain planning decisions. The first step in achieving those benefits is understanding AI and the other technologies associated with it, and where they can help improve your supply chain planning initiatives.

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What’s keeping you from realizing digital supply chain success?

AlexaCheater

Digital Supply Chain Strategy: Challenges and Next Steps – KinaxisGoing digital has become top of mind for most supply chain leaders these days. But finding success through digital transformation is still an elusive venture. According to recent research by the Korn Ferry Institute, all 100 senior supply chain executives the firm surveyed said digital supply chains have the potential to revolutionize businesses. Seventy-four percent admitted they still have a long way to go before that becomes reality. So, what’s standing in their way (and possibly yours as well)?

Lack of a clear digital supply chain strategy

Nearly half of respondents noted that while they have started on digitization, their strategy only considers the impact on the business, not how to implement digital in the supply chain. This could be due in part to lack of engagement at the executive and board level.

“The missing capability is understanding of supply chain at the board level. Supply chain is seen as cost down, whereas we should see it as a new revenue model generator. Everything comes back to the leadership challenge; why are we failing to get the right leadership at the top?” called out Janet Godsell, University of Warwick’s professor of operations and supply chain strategy at Warwick Manufacturing Group, in the report.

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