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. 1, 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

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from Supply Chain Dive

Here’s how companies are navigating evolving global trade and tariff policies, rising costs and operational uncertainty across supply chain networks.

By Supply Chain Dive staff

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

Which 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

Topco pilots Mastercard blockchain for seafood traceability

The grocer will use Envisible's Wholechain to gain visibility into the ethical sourcing and environmental compliance of its seafood offerings.

By Morgan Forde • Oct. 29, 2019

Black & Decker finds the upside to list 4 tariffs

Black & Decker executives are planning to mitigate a higher percentage of tariff costs in 2020 and build a "very significant cushion" in case of an economic downturn. 

By Emma Cosgrove • Oct. 28, 2019

With the right foundation, procurement can turn visibility into action

Procurement departments must create a roadmap for the insights they want to attain through data and ensure a continuous flow of information with suppliers.

By Craig Guillot • Oct. 24, 2019

50% of procurement organizations use Excel for data analysis: study

"Procurement as a function is lagging behind the pattern of innovation in other parts of the enterprise, particularly in supply chain," LevaData's Richard Barnett said. 

By Morgan Forde • Oct. 24, 2019

China tariffs cut margins for 70% of US electronics manufacturers

The U.S.-China trade war has impacted overall industry sentiment to the extent that one in five firms in IPC's study reported reduced investment in the U.S. 

By Shefali Kapadia • Oct. 24, 2019

Wholesalers concur: Retailers are not open to sharing the tariff burden

"Nobody wants to accept a price increase from the person below them in a supply chain," AAFA EVP Steve Lamar said at the Sourcing Journal Summit in New York City.

By Emma Cosgrove • Oct. 22, 2019

CMA CGM offers financing, extended payment deadlines for shippers

The French carrier seeks to offer financial relief in the form of improved cash flow to companies working to mitigate the instability of the current trade environment.

By Morgan Forde • Oct. 22, 2019

McKinsey: Sustainable supply chains are 5 years away

While the impetus for change is largely consumer-driven, the burden of the transition will fall squarely on CPOs who know sustainability is a necessity, not a luxury. 

By Deborah Barrington • Oct. 17, 2019

3 ways to fight the 21st century procurement paradox

While analytics improvements have helped organize data, they haven't always done much for the people buying, selling and managing inventory every day.

By Richard Lebovitz, CEO of LeanDNA • Oct. 17, 2019

IBM Food Trust partners with Raw Seafoods to tackle traceability with blockchain

Upstream visibility in the seafood supply chain is particularly challenging because the location and size of a catch can vary widely from day to day.

By Morgan Forde • Oct. 17, 2019

How rolling forecasts can offer greater control over spend

A rolling forecast can help companies grab savings mid-cycle if expenses or revenues change.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 16, 2019

Just-in-time manufacturing success requires the right KPIs and suppliers

Differentiation is critical in a world where JIT is no longer a novelty and margins are razor thin.

By Amanda Loudin • Oct. 15, 2019

Suppliers lay off thousands as GM strike cascades through supply chain

When the strike ends, General Motors will have to figure out dealerships' inventory needs and pass them along to suppliers.

By Matt Leonard • Oct. 14, 2019

Trump calls off Oct. 15 tariff increases

China has, in turn, agreed to buy between $40 billion and $50 billion in U.S. farm products, according to the Associated Press.

By Matt Leonard • Oct. 11, 2019

REI expands online selection with dropshipping

Danner, ECCO and Salomon are among the first brands to participate by shipping orders directly to customers.

By Lisa Rowan • Oct. 11, 2019

Fitbit to move 'effectively all' production out of China

CFO Ron Kisling said the company has been working on finding alternatives to China since 2018 in response to the U.S.-China trade war and tariffs. 

By Emma Cosgrove • Oct. 11, 2019

A buyer's guide to effective supplier visits

Plant tours help procurement professionals assess supplier performance and can offer an opportunity for cost reduction.

By Rich Weissman • Oct. 10, 2019

Importers ramp up cheese purchasing, stockpile ahead of EU tariffs

Stockpiling is one way to avoid tariffs and ensure there is enough supply to get through the months ahead, but the practice comes with drawbacks. 

By Emma Cosgrove • Oct. 10, 2019

Gartner: RPA can save finance teams 25K working hours each year

One of the key barriers to adoption of robotic process automation is a perception of low ROI.

By Jane Thier • Oct. 10, 2019