Procurement
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Hospitals waste $27.5B on bad supply chain management, Navigant says
Between 2017 and 2018, wasteful spending on supplies rose 11.8%, or $2.7 billion according to the study of 2,127 hospitals.
By Ron Shinkman • Nov. 15, 2019 -
Should procurement break up with Excel?
Half of procurement organizations use spreadsheets for data analysis, but exclusive reliance on these tools, however familiar, can create inaccurate forecasting.
By Craig Guillot • Nov. 14, 2019 -
Less than 8% of forestry suppliers have a plan for keeping forced labor out of supply chains
Though 59% of the 39 companies Know the Chain surveyed had a supplier code of conduct in place, only 5% had a process in place to deal with violations.
By Emma Cosgrove • Nov. 14, 2019 -
Deep DiveWhere is the new China?
As the trade war carries on and labor costs rise, supply chains seek a new home for manufacturing and sourcing. But each alternative location comes with pros and cons.
By Deborah Abrams Kaplan • Nov. 14, 2019 -
Tyson: Current market makes accurate forecast impossible
A deadly disease affecting the global hog supply, unpredictable trade policy shifts and a fire in Kansas all made executives wary of predicting next year's earnings — but it's not all bad news.
By Emma Cosgrove • Nov. 13, 2019 -
This map is the first step to understanding risk in the food supply chain
Understanding weather and infrastructure risks can help inform supply chain decisions in states that are home to major freight hubs and agricultural production centers.
By Matt Leonard • Nov. 12, 2019 -
Dean Foods files for bankruptcy as consumer demand for milk declines
Last year, Dean Foods laid off 207 workers with the closure of two milk processing factories, ended more than 100 dairy contracts with the company to curtail how much milk it was buying and closed three other facilities.
By Lillianna Byington • Nov. 12, 2019 -
Q&AWhat are the most important supply chain ethics? 3 experts weigh in
Consumer awareness of sustainability and forced labor in the supply chain is driving organizations to take the next step beyond compliance into ethics.
By Shefali Kapadia • Nov. 11, 2019 -
UPS creates digital tools to deliver blockchain-verified beef
The beef traveled from Kansas to a steakhouse in Japan in temperature-controlled UPS packaging and UPS developed a "customized integrated visibility tool" to track the shipment.
By Emma Cosgrove • Nov. 11, 2019 -
A great supply risk lies in the Uighur crisis of China's Xinjiang Province
If you don't know the specific origin within China of your raw materials, "you should assume that you're at risk," said Ryan Lynch of the British Standards Institution.
By Emma Cosgrove • Nov. 08, 2019 -
ColumnPatent Pending: FedEx eyes easier returns, Amazon marries drones and intermodal
Supply chain innovators apply to patent what they see as important tools for the future of supply chains. Sometimes they're brilliant. Sometimes they're funny. Every week, we'll share a few.
By Matt Leonard • Nov. 08, 2019 -
OpinionSupply chains must take the lead in origin stories
As consumer interest grows in products' sources and production, supply chains have a responsibility to plan and execute company-wide initiatives on origin stories, Gartner's Pam Fitzpatrick writes in an op-ed.
By Pam Fitzpatrick, Senior Director Analyst, Gartner Supply Chain Practice • Nov. 08, 2019 -
ColumnManaging procurement's new and evolving workforce
As employees from transportation, planning and operations join procurement, the department must educate the new workforce on critical supplier relationships, ethics and communication and use generational differences as an advantage, not a stereotype.
By Rich Weissman • Nov. 07, 2019 -
Workday to acquire procurement platform Scout RFP for $540M
Workday says the acquisition will help it to build out a modern source-to-pay solution to add visibility to the procurement process.
By Matt Leonard • Nov. 07, 2019 -
How zero-based budgeting improves operations
Switching from traditional budgeting is neither cheap nor easy, but it makes for more efficient and better aligned spending.
By Robert Freedman • Nov. 05, 2019 -
Caterpillar lays off 120 amid economic uncertainty, trade war
On a recent earnings call, the OEM's executives said they are adjusting production to meet reduced demand resulting from economic uncertainty and trade tensions.
By Shefali Kapadia • Nov. 05, 2019 -
Owner-operator truck drivers in California plan protests over AB5
The law has gained attention due to the impact on the gig economy, but owner-operator truck drivers could be equally affected.
By Matt Leonard • Nov. 05, 2019 -
Q&AWhat makes a successful shipper of choice? 4 experts weigh in
A tight trucking market drove shippers to adjust their operating models and position themselves as good customers to carriers.
By Shefali Kapadia • Nov. 04, 2019 -
Tyson will assess its deforestation risks
Sustainability-focused nonprofit Proforest will help the company look at its cattle, palm oil, soy, timber, pulp and paper sourcing to develop a forest protection policy.
By Cathy Siegner • Nov. 04, 2019 -
Kraft Heinz tackles excess complexity with SKU-by-SKU review
Fewer but bolder product innovations will be the way forward after the company eliminates low or negative margin SKUs, explained CEO Miguel Patricio.
By Emma Cosgrove • Nov. 01, 2019 -
When procurement and supply chain butt heads on KPIs
Conflicting metrics that pit one department against another often stem from the top down.
By Jen A. Miller • Oct. 31, 2019 -
Major chocolate brands fail to address child labor, sustainability in their supply chains: report
Green America's Chocolate Scorecard gave Mondelez, Ferrero and Godiva two D's and an F, respectively, for the quality of their measures to ensure human rights, fair wages, sustainability and transparency in their supply chains.
By Morgan Forde • Oct. 31, 2019 -
Zebra Technologies leaves China as tariffs take $10M bite out of profits
"We've already moved all the products that were impacted by list one, two and three," Zebra Technologies CEO Anders Gustafsson told CNBC this week. "We're now in the middle of moving our list four products out."
By Matt Leonard • Oct. 31, 2019 -
Q&AWhich financial KPIs are worth tracking?
These measures include inventory outstanding, sales outstanding and days payable outstanding, which is how many days a company takes to pay its bills and invoices to suppliers, vendors or other companies.
By Jane Thier • Oct. 30, 2019 -
Beyond Meat to triple pea protein sourcing in 2020 to avoid past bottlenecks
CEO Ethan Brown said the company has "dramatically" increased its protein supply and diversified it's supplier base to keep up with exploding demand.
By Emma Cosgrove • Oct. 29, 2019
