The Five Building Blocks of B2B Visibility

Many companies see B2B systems as a black box for what’s happening in their supply chain: They’re not sure what’s going on, and they’re only willing to delve into the data when something goes wrong.

“Nobody looks at the black box until after the accident,” said Navdeep Sidhu, an integration expert, former Deloitte consultant and director of Product Marketing at Software AG. “The complexity of B2B systems is so high that business does not want to use them for anything other than exchanging documents.”

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How B2B Integration Supports Lean Supply Chains

Lean may be a broadly acknowledged as a useful approach to supply chain management, but a recent article contends many supply chains rely too much on paper and simple spreadsheets to really go lean.

John Hatton, writing for SupplyManagement.com, points to Aberdeen Group research showing that even though lean methods have been around for decades, they “remain grossly under used, with remarkable low awareness ratings.” In particular, he notes two findings by Aberdeen as further evidence:

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EU Horse Meat Scandal Highlights Need for Modernized Supply Chains

Europe’s horse meat scandal is raising concerns about supply chain complexity and the food industries ability to ensure consumer safety.

The problems first came to light Jan. 16, when tests by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland found that beefburgers sold to three different supermarkets chains contained horse meat and pig DNA. By mid-February, a French supplier revealed horsemeat had been used in beef lasagna products that are sold throughout EU, with some products containing as much as 100 percent horse meat, according to a detailed report by Retail Week.

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Top 2012 Supply Chain Stories and What They Mean for 2013

If you look at most New Year’s predictions, you’ll see they usually are just a continuation of the previous year’s trends. With that in mind, here’s a look at the top B2B stories from 2012 that we think will continue to grab headlines in 2013.

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