Supply Chain Visibility Best Practices » Supply Chain Visibility

Expert eBook: Improving Supply Chain Visibility via Technology

SCVBestPractices — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:32:04 +0000

There are many vendors claiming to enhance supply chain visibility, but not all products will advance an organization’s goals. This expert e-book from TechTarget & Management Dynamics defines the supply chain visibility challenge and provides an overview of the different types SCM technologies and solutions available.

Receive this independent e-book, Improving Supply Chain Visibility via Technology, designed for SCM, IT and business professionals, and:

Gain a full overview of the many kinds of SCM technology available today
Solve the supply chain visibility challenge
Justify and make the case for SCM technology investments
Understand how compliance is driving the need for greater supply chain visibility

Download our complimentary eBook today, and gain a better foundation for managing your supply chain and improving visibility with suppliers as well as within your organization.

Abercrombie & Fitch Establishes Transparency, Reliability & Control in its Global Supply Chain with Management Dynamics

SCVBestPractices — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:17:47 +0000

Leading Apparel Retailer Implements Supply Chain Visibility Solution to Improve Vendor Collaboration and Proactively Manage In-Transit Delivery Issues

Management Dynamics, a leading provider of Global Trade Management solutions, today announced that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF), a specialty retailer of casual apparel for men, women, and kids, implemented its Supply Chain Visibility solution to provide real-time visibility into the status of orders, shipments and in-transit inventory. The global, multimode visibility solution will allow its logistics team to streamline its supply chain process from vendor to distribution center and collaborate with merchants and service providers to reduce costs, shipment delays and improve customer service.

Abercrombie & Fitch selected Management Dynamics for its industry experience in delivering supply chain visibility solutions as well as its advanced data quality management capabilities. With 30 trading partners and multiple international business units, Abercrombie & Fitch’s logistics team needed a single, detailed level view of shipments and orders in-transit to track, manage exceptions, proactively pinpoint in-transit delays and respond to any potential logistics crisis. Integrating with its Oracle Retail Merchandising System, Management Dynamics’ Supply Chin Visibility solution allows merchants to monitor the delivery status of key orders and for the logistics team to proactively manage inbound shipments by milestones. And, with accurate shipment information earlier in the supply chain, Abercrombie & Fitch is able to improve store-level inventory allocations to reduce cycle time and achieve higher levels of availability.

“We needed to create reliability in our global supply chain with the ability respond to actual and potential issues and tightly collaborate with our merchants, distribution centers and service providers,” said Lois Davis, Vice President Global Trade & Transportation, Abercrombie & Fitch. “We chose Management Dynamics for their supply chain experience, ability to ensure data quality and problem resolution focused approach. Their hosted solution saves valuable time and effort, provides meaningful cost reductions, optimizes our shipping options, and improves our customer service.”

Management Dynamics’ Supply Chain Visibility solution supports the key requirements of the logistics operations at Abercrombie & Fitch including:

One central location for tracking critical shipment information across multiple sources, providing visibility to inventory in-transit and speeding the flow of goods from distribution to merchants.
Advance notice of shipment information to improve cross-border logistics decisions.
Proprietary Data Quality Management (DQM) technologies and business methodologies to ensure best-in-class information accuracy, completeness and timeliness for all messages exchanged between trading partners.
Event alerting capabilities that anticipate potential inventory receipt and fulfillment issues and prompt rapid resolution before they impact availability.
Robust functionality for measuring, analyzing and improving the performance of suppliers, carriers and service providers with user-defined reports, scorecards and KPIs based on frontline data.

“In high fashion with ever-changing seasons and consumer tastes by region, it is critical for specialty retailers to tightly manage the inbound supply chain from vendor to distribution center and ultimately to improve store-level fulfillment metrics,” said Jim Preuninger, CEO of Management Dynamics. “Abercrombie & Fitch understands the importance of building a strong infrastructure to support collaborative logistics processes and selected our Supply Chain Visibility solution based on a track record of delivery in this area. We look forward to helping this leading apparel retailer to establish transparency across its global supply chain and realize their operational objectives.”

About Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch Co., through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of casual sportswear apparel for men, women, and kids. The company’s stores offer knit and woven shirts, graphic t-shirts, fleece, jeans and woven pants, shorts, sweaters, and outerwear, as well as personal care products and accessories under the Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie, and Hollister. It also offers bras, underwear, personal care products, sleepwear, and at-home products for women under the Gilly Hicks brand. As of December 16, 2009, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. operated over 1,100 stores in the United States, Canada, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. It also sells its products through Web-based stores, as well as through a catalogue. The company was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in New Albany, Ohio

Trade Professionals Turn to GTM Technologies to Reduce Supply Chain Risk

SCVBestPractices — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:31:01 +0000

In a recent AMR Research study, 53% of 160 global trade professionals surveyed claimed that they would be increasing their investment on global trade management (GTM) software in 2010. Some of the main reasons cited in the study for the increase include: to improve coordination of GTM functions internally; to meet government mandates; to meet security requirements; to protect the brand; and to control various costs.

As companies become more global, increasing and expanding operations all over the world, it becomes very difficult to manually manage supply chain processes. Especially when employees are spread out across multiple locations. GTM technologies allow users to seamlessly communicate with trading partners, manage suppliers, optimize global transportation, ensure trade compliance, automate key aspects of trade finance, and develop timely resolutions of operational issues.

To be more specific, a supply chain visibility solution can provide shippers with near-real time visibility to the status of orders, shipments and in-transit inventory to optimize their network. Without a system in place, companies may be handcuffed with longer lead times, higher inventory levels, budget overruns, and continued supply-demand imbalances. Furthermore, with regulations such as the Importer Security Filing (aka 10+2), it is more important than ever to have more visibility and control over what happens at origin. (And speaking of ISF, check out how Bunzl Distribution integrated a supply chain visibility solution with a trade import solution to establish a transparent and compliant import supply chain.)

The bottom line is that we are moving into an era where manual supply chain processes are becoming inept for companies who import or export. To learn more about how different types of GTM technologies can benefit your organization, please download one of Management Dynamics’ GTM Success eKits.

Fiesta Gas Grills Keeps on Cooking with Management Dynamics’ Supply Chain Visibility

SCVBestPractices — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:17:00 +0000

Leading Manufacturer Streamlines Inbound Supply Chain to Efficiently Manage Growth

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ, January 13, 2010 — Management Dynamics, a leading provider of global trade management solutions, today announced that Fiesta Gas Grills, one of the largest North American grill manufacturers, has implemented its Supply Chain Visibility solution to support its expanded global procurement operations. Integrating its sourcing which is primarily from China to its operations in the United States and Canada, the global multi-mode solution has enabled Fiesta to improve customer service, reduce cycle times, better manage suppliers and proactively identify in-transit delivery issues.

“We needed a solution that provided visibility into our manufacturing and distribution process at the supplier level, the ability to generate commercial documents and a platform on which to coordinate all of our global operations. We found the ideal solution with Management Dynamics,” said Peter Perley, COO, Fiesta Gas Grills. “The Supply Chain Visibility solution could help us to double our business this year without having to add additional staff to our procurement organization.”

Management Dynamics’ Supply Chain Visibility (SCV) solution connects Fiesta Gas Grills with its multiple overseas suppliers, logistics providers, brokers and carriers on a single global platform to communicate critical purchase order, shipment and inventory information and to support collaborative logistics processes. With real-time shipment visibility, Fiesta can offer its national retail customers, order tracking with visibility into nine stages of the manufacturing process for better inventory management with less frequency of stock-outs. In addition, armed with essential information on each shipment from its suppliers, Fiesta’s procurement operations can make accurate decisions relating to diverting inventory or resolving bottlenecks.

“Global supply chain teams need real-time visibility to their supply network, yet the realities of today’s global supply chain – multiple trading partners with varying information systems and data definitions – can create major operational challenges for companies,”said Nathan Pieri, SVP Marketing and Product Management for Management Dynamics. “By moving from a largely manual manufacturing and logistics process to one that is automated infrastructure with Supply Chain Visibility, Fiesta Gas Grills has the control and decision support tools they need to reduce lead times, enhance customer service and increase sales in this difficult economy.”

About Fiesta Gas Grills LLC

Through quality craftsmanship and innovative designs Fiesta has become one of the largest North American grill manufacturers. Fiesta grills are cooking great outdoor meals in over 30 countries around the world.. Whether its our award winning Blue Ember brand, our Fiesta brand or our Grillrite brand our dedication to quality permeates our company. From the design teams through the manufacturing team to the in-house customer service representatives, every member of the Fiesta family is committed to providing each owner of a Fiesta grill “the best grill under the sun” and the ultimate in outdoor cooking experience.

Ocean World Lines Sails Ahead with New Order Tracking Portal Powered by Management Dynamics’ Supply Chain Visibility Solution

SCVBestPractices — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:52:22 +0000

Leading NVOCC Launches OWL360° to Offer Comprehensive Value-added Service to Customers

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ, December 17, 2009 — Management Dynamics, a leading provider of global trade management solutions, today announced that Ocean World Lines (OWL), a leading non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC), has launched OWL360°, an order, shipment and inventory tracking portal powered by Management Dynamics’ Supply Chain Visibility solution. This robust and flexible web-based solution allows OWL to provide comprehensive and timely data on purchase orders and shipments across all modes and trade lanes, enabling customers to analyze and improve their supply chain efficiency.

“The highly flexible nature of the OWL360° system allows us to easily adapt to market conditions and our clients’ changing needs as we continue to differentiate, provide added value to our customers and stay ahead of our competitors,” said Alan Baer, President, Ocean World Lines. “We truly value our partnership with Management Dynamics as we work together to continuously create enhancements to the system and additional benefits to the user which has significantly improved our customer loyalty and retention.”

Prior to integrating Management Dynamics’ Supply Chain Visibility solution, OWL’s tracking system was a highly manual process whereas operations personnel input data received from carriers and performed manual queries. With EDI connectivity, automated alerts and reports, the new OWL360° portal automates this process and has significantly improved internal productivity. Today, over 200 customers have seamlessly integrated OWL360° within their supply chain operations. OWL uses analysis and reporting tools to help clients improve their supply chain performance with accurate and timely visibility into the status of their orders across all U.S. and international trade lanes.

“While many companies lack critical supply chain visibility due to highly manual processes or first generation visibility solutions that lack the sophistication to accurately manage inventory in-transit, best-in-class companies such as OWL are adopting advanced technologies that help streamline the supply chain,” said Nathan Pieri, SVP Marketing & Product Management, Management Dynamics. “OWL fully exploits the power of our Supply Chain Visibility solution and delivers a highly differentiated service to its customers.”

In addition to Supply Chain Visibility, OWL utilizes Management Dynamics’ Transportation Management solution to automate ocean pricing and manage service contracts as well as Management Dynamics’ on-demand trade compliance tools to help customers classify goods, calculate landed costs and screen for restricted parties.

About Ocean World Lines

Ocean World Lines is a leading global transportation company providing full-service ocean/air freight, NVOCC, customs brokerage, cargo management and supply chain visibility solutions, with 100,000+ TEUs shipped annually. Established in 1979, OWL’s long-standing relationships with leading ocean carriers enable the company to provide the most competitive pricing, daily sailing schedules and equipment availability for a diverse list of import and export clients. Ocean World Lines operates 12 offices throughout the U.S. and international offices in Germany, United Kingdom and Asia. For more information, please visit www.owlusa.com or call (888) 747-4685.

Please follow this link to learn more about the benefits of Supply Chain Visibility.

The Benefits of Software as a Service

SCVBestPractices — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:09:28 +0000

Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions have been something that organizations have been turning to for a while, to manage various IT and operational functions in their organization. In a recent Logistics Management article, Software as a Service (SaaS): The versatile supply chain option, Adrian Gonzalez of ARC Advisory Group discusses some of the benefits of using SaaS.

Boasting shorter implementation times than “purchase and install” options, and less upfront investment, SaaS solutions are particularly useful for shippers that are in the process of “upgrading existing solutions, or in need of new solutions.”

…According to Gonzalez, SaaS appeals to companies of all sizes, and across most industries. He also discussed pricing options, noting that they range from upfront license fees to payments-per-transaction. Most common, he says, is a one-year to three-year subscription model with monthly payments.

In the article, Gonzalez names Transportation Management Systems (TMS) and Global Trade Management (GTM) systemsas the two software packages that are most applicable for SaaS. Using a Transportation Management solution can help shippers manage global airfreight and sea freight contracts, optimize booking decisions by finding the best combination of cost and service, and automate the freight audit process to identify and eliminate invoice overcharges. Logistics providers can see benefits as well – TMS can help them manage buy-side costs, automate quote and proposal generation, comply with tariff filing requirements, and improve sales effectiveness.

Some other GTM solutions, such as Supply Chain Visibility and Trade Portals, address the challenge managing multiple trading partners, all with different information systems and data definitions, and information that can flow at unpredictable times.

You Might Need Night Vision Goggles to See This Supply Chain!

SCVBestPractices — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:14:02 +0000

Britannia may rule the waves, but it’s fallen behind on its supply chain. An article, MoD given two years to improve army logistics systems, found on computing.co.uk, discusses the drab condition of the United Kingdom’s army supply chain. In the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Defense has given the army two years to improve its logistics system. Many MPs are furious over the delay in getting troops supplies in Afghanistan, and even through a great deal of urging, the army is still using manual supply chain systems. The department is lacking complete supply chain visibility as well as an inventory management system. The army has elected a committee to deal with this problem, yet the outlook looks grim. Committee chairman, Edward Leigh, said “The process of getting equipment and supplies out to our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan is undeniably an extremely demanding one. But the fact that the MoD continues to fail to meet its own supply chain targets is of concern.”

Perhaps they should take a look at Management Dynamics’ solution for Supply Chain Visibility.

The Good News: Recession’s Almost Over! The Bad News: The Recovery Could be Just as Risky.

SCVBestPractices — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:31:58 +0000

Although analysts are reporting that economic recovery is just around the corner, there are still significant risks associated with this recovery. Companies who have laid off employees and reduced spending in areas such as IT investment will face a tough road ahead. In a recent study done by AMR Research, 44 percent of executives surveyed believe the biggest risk in 2010 will be recovering from the recession.

According to the study:

Respondents said they believe the recovery cycle is the biggest risk in 2010 because of potential commodity price increases, limited internal skills after workforce reductions, and problems meeting new demand with constrained capacity, low inventory and transportation constraints.

This re-enforces a point we’ve been trying to make here over the past few months – although many organizations may be facing major budget cuts across the board, IT spending, specifically in the supply chain, is one area that you cannot afford to make cuts in. Using a technology solution to ensure near real-time visibility into the status of orders, shipments and in-transit inventory can help save you money by avoiding expensive expedited shipments, reducing fees associated with detention, demurrage and per diem.

Free Analyst Report: For more tips on how technology can help you achieve optimal supply chain performance, please read this Global Supply Chain Benchmark report from the AberdeenGroup.

Study: Companies Are Relying on Supply Chains to Cut Costs

SCVBestPractices — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:00:35 +0000

In an era where cost-cutting is a common trend you probably hear about at least once a day, many companies have started turning to their supply chains, specifically sourcing and procurement functions, as a main area to help with boosting revenue and reducing costs. According to the 2009 Global Survey of Supply Chain Progress from CSC, Supply Chain Management Review, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and Michigan State University, 88% of respondents reported that objectives are in place for purchasing departments to produce cost-savings in the next year.

According to Chuck Poirier, a supply chain expert who was quoted in the SupplyChainBrain.com summary of the findings:

“We see this trend as evidence of the fact that supply chain is finally becoming entrenched as a company-wide improvement effort. Leaders are implementing strategic supply chain efforts to transform business processes to achieve near-optimum operating conditions. At the same time, most firms identified as followers and laggards have not reached the limit of what can be done to enhance financial performance with their supply chains.”

With this new reliance on supply chain functions, it becomes more important to ensure maximum visibility into the supply chain so that all operations are running as smoothly as possible. Using a Supply Chain Visibility solution such as Management Dynamics can help you ensure visibility, communicate efficiently with carriers and suppliers, and make accurate decisions relating to diverting inventory or resolving bottlenecks.

Bunzl Implements a Supply Chain Visibility Solution from Management Dynamics

SCVBestPractices — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:27:57 +0000

According to a press release today, Bunzl Distribution, USA, a supplier of disposable paper and plastic packaging supplies, has employed a Supply Chain Visibility solution from Management Dynamics, in order to streamline it’s inbound supply chain.

“With increased international scrutiny being placed on security, safety and compliance, we needed to enhance our existing import compliance program and establish a comprehensive track-and-trace system for real-time visibility to our import shipments in-transit,” said Jerry Foley, Import Export Compliance Officer at Bunzl. “We selected Management Dynamics for its ability to provide supply chain visibility and compliance solutions on a single platform as well as its depth of international trade content, its long standing history in the marketplace, and strong presence in other countries.”

Please follow this link to read the full press release: Bunzl Distribution USA Implements Global Trade Management Platform from Management Dynamics to Streamline its Inbound Supply Chain.

For more information on Management Dynamics’ SCV solution, please click here.