Topics & Trends for B2B / Supply-Chain Executives

How can reliable File Exchange improve Customer Satisfaction?

At the first glance it seems that there is no co-relation between the two. File exchanges are part of IT infrastructure and it is not very obvious how they can improve customer satisfaction. Before we explore this topic further, but take a peek at this video first.

Now lets take a deeper look and you will see that the relationship between the two is very obvious. File exchanges between two businesses form the foundation of the B2B relationship. The reliability and accuracy of file transmission is the single most critical factor impacting B2B relationship. Why, read on..

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Five Tips for Achieving True Supply Chain Transparency

A recent Supply Management article takes a tough look at whether companies are going far enough when it comes to managing unethical practices in their supply chains.

The problem boils down to a lack of real supply chain transparency beyond the first supplier tier, according to the article. In fact, the piece cites one survey finding that almost one in five businesses have no data about their second-tier suppliers (the suppliers’ suppliers).

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New B2B Standard Designed to Secure Supply Chains from Counterfeiting

Makers of commercial IT products have a new ally in the fight against counterfeit products: A security standard for B2B technology supply chains.

The Open Group, a global consortium, released the “Open Trusted Technology Provider Standard,” or O-TTPS, this spring in an effort to stop counterfeit IT products, as well as reduce the risks of tainted code and malware in off-the-shelf commercial products.

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Webinar on Securing Enterprise File Transfers

One of the most common ways to move bulk files between companies remains FTP (file transfer protocol). FTP is easy, and most IT departments already have the software on hand. But that simplicity comes at a cost: FTP is a huge security risk.

One way procurement and supply chain leaders can take advantage of the benefits of FTP without the risk is to adopt a managed file transfer (MFT) solution.

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Are Manufacturers Focusing on the Wrong Actions with Supply Chains?

When it comes to manufacturing supply chains, there seems to be a serious disconnect between their goals and their priorities.

Supply Chain Digest recently looked at the results of IDC Manufacturing Insights, a report based on a survey of 300 supply chain professionals in manufacturing.

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Find Hidden Supply Chain Value with B2B Integration

Retailers who rely on warehouse management systems alone are missing opportunities to dig up savings and cut costs in their supply chains, according to retail distribution consultant Kevin Harris.

In particular, Harris writes in a recent Supply Chain Digest article, retailers need to better capture and leverage the data found in purchase orders and core B2B documents and related data, such as:

• Advanced Ship Notifications (ASNs)
• Purchase orders
• Receiving documents
• Orders, such as flow-through, pick-from-stock and cross-dock
• Vendor non-compliance
• Storage and retrieval activity

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Unintended Customer Orders Influences

Over the labor day weekend I was traveling with my family and we stopped by a fast food restaurant for a quick meal.  Each person in line in front of me placed their order and was given the response, “that item will take five to ten minutes to prepare”.  When I placed my order I was given the same response and immediately changed my order.

While waiting for my order, I asked the four people who ordered before me what they initially ordered.  Amazingly enough, it was the exact same item that I ordered.  When I received my order I asked the Manager why the original item took so long to prepare.  The response: “No one orders that item so we don’t stock it and only prepare it on an order by order basis.”

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Follow Up: CEP & Big Data Usage Example

In a blog entry on 12/26, I stated I would present a use case for the combination of CEP & Big Data.  Happily, the state of Massachusetts has provided an outstanding opportunity.

On the 1st of January, 2013, retail stores will no longer be required to display tagged pricing.  Consumers will be able to utilize scanners to read a bar code to determine the price of that item.

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Are You Still Killing Trees to Do Business?

It’s amazing what technology can do: Share a thought across the globe in seconds, pin-point your location through your cell phone, even operate with a tiny laser incision.

But despite technologies many advances, it’s not always widely embraced. The B2B sector seems particularly slow to change: EDI has been around since the 1970s, and yet, paper and email still play a significant role in the day-to-day operations between businesses.

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Building a Competitive Supply Chain

More companies, particularly in the high-tech sector, now look to the supply chain to achieve a strategic advantage over competitors, according to EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo.

“Nowadays all segments of the high-tech sector try to fashion supply chain systems with the distinct characteristics needed to win,” he writes. “In recent interviews across the electronics landscape, component suppliers, distributors, OEMs, contract manufacturers, and even independent design firms have confirmed that internal supply chain organizations have been elevated to apex status as the secret sauce for companies like Apple Inc. has become clear.”

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Lean On Me: KPIs that Support Lean Six Sigma Efforts

I just got back from the Logistics and Supply Chain Forum in Miami.  It’s a great event that pairs up companies and vendors that are looking to jointly solve supply chain and logistics problems.  While I’m hesitant to use the term “speed dating”, the format allows attendees to have 1:1 conversations with over 25 supply chain practitioners in two days.  And there’s a lot we can learn from each other.

I had the opportunity to meet with the Vice President of Sourcing & Supply for Sealy Corporation.  As the world’s largest maker of bedding products, chances are you spend 1/3 of your life on one of their beds (although I can’t remember when I actually got 8 hours of sleep in one night…)

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Enterprise Architecture, Not Just For Techies

The supply chain management function of a company has long been classified as the tail of the dog that gets whipped back and forth at the whims of other departments and has to constantly change key operating processes based on the needs of the customer, operations, finance, and the limit of IT applications to support the process.  Has the time finally come when Management can create a resolution objective for a business issue, have a business process exactly tailored to meet that need and then have the information technology supporting the process enable rather than restrict the process?

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