News & Media

Businesses and supply chains have witnessed unparalleled – and sometimes daunting – changes through the last two decades. Yet, a handful of resourceful companies have adapted to meet the challenges of operating successfully in an increasingly volatile, yet interdependent, digital economic environment. A recently released white paper studies these firms…

Supply chain disruptions can severely impair a company’s financial health. One well-known study analyzing more than 800 supply chain disruptions between 1989 and 2000 showed firms that suffered major supply chain disruptions experienced devastating consequences, such as sales declining by 93 percent and operating income dropping by 107 percent.[1] Companies…

The complexity of modern supply chains poses stern challenges to corporate sustainability commitments. A company’s environmental and social values are only as strong as the values of its supply chain partners and breaches of integrity are not uncommon, especially in times of stress. The pandemic has exposed this problem in…

Speedy home delivery isn’t just a nice-to-have proposition in today’s competitive marketplace – it’s what most consumers expect. Large retailers such as Amazon, Target and Best Buy now offer same-day delivery for many products, raising new questions about how to balance cost with quality of service in the persistently inefficient…

Once a nice-to-have proposition for companies, sustainability is quickly becoming a must-have for those seeking to stay ahead of the competition. Consumer demand, regulatory directives, investor pressure and workforce attitudes about sustainable products and practices are among the forces driving this seismic shift. Additionally, businesses increasingly realize that unsustainable practices…

The purchasing department holds the keys to organizational spending — in some industries, it accounts for more than 80 percent of the cost of sales. Purchasing meets its metrics by cutting costs, commonly recognized as spending less for an item this year than last. But purchasing also makes a significant…

Blockchain has been one of the most hyped technologies of the last decade, predicted to lead a revolutionary change in the way businesses operate. Gartner estimates it will generate $3.1 trillion in new business value by 2030, addressing the real, oft-discussed problems and opportunities of end-to-end information sharing. A new…

For almost 20 years, supply chains’ value to organizations centered on efficiency and cost minimization, which created complexity and – as COVID-19 has demonstrated in the extreme – left enterprises vulnerable to disruption. A new study from the Global Supply Chain Institute (GSCI) now quantifies the impact of supply chain…

Two irresistible forces soon will crash together in the Western world: the e-commerce boom and the accelerating population shift to urban areas. When these two trends collide, they’ll create a challenge that United States and European logistics systems currently can’t handle. Because Western systems were built around the needs of…

Organizations that want to remain competitive make controlling costs and growing profit margins top priorities. The pressure starts early in the product development process as teams collaborate to drive down launch costs, and it continues throughout the product life cycle as management sets benchmarks for ongoing cost reductions.  Purchasing departments…