Technology: Page 2

Column

Patent Pending: IBM floats process for computers to make bidding decisions

Supply chain innovators apply to patent what they see as important tools for the future. Sometimes they're brilliant. Sometimes they're funny.

By Matt Leonard • April 02, 2020

How the CARES Act will affect supply chains

The law offers financial relief to businesses weathering COVID-19 disruption and attempts to keep freight and last-mile cargo moving.

By Morgan Forde • April 01, 2020

Lululemon leverages RFID, supplier relationships to manage inventory amid coronavirus demand drop

On top of advantageous technology investments, Lululemon has several inherent qualities that give it a somewhat easier path through the COVID-19 crisis most non-essential retailers are facing, executives described. 

By Emma Cosgrove • March 30, 2020

Digital procurement marketplace connects hospitals responding to coronavirus outbreak

The Exchange tosses out standard allocation models in favor of connecting procurement professionals through a global network.

By S.L. Fuller • March 26, 2020

Nike optimizing supply and demand daily to weather coronavirus storm

Previous investments in digital tools will allow the company to snap back whenever consumer demand returns while keeping and paying employees, executives said Tuesday. 

By Emma Cosgrove • March 25, 2020

So only 12% of supply chain pros are using AI? Apparently.

Low-level AI implementation could be the result of the difficulty hiring technology talent and the inability to properly manage enterprise data streams, according to experts.

By Matt Leonard • March 24, 2020

Opinion

Gartner: What supply chain managers should know about control towers

Control towers are like the artificial intelligence of supply chain: Everyone wants to have it, but nobody quite knows how it works, writes Gartner VP Analyst Christian Titze.

By Christian Titze • March 13, 2020

Column

Patent Pending: Walmart's plan for reducing empty miles

Supply chain innovators apply to patent what they see as important tools for the future. Sometimes they're brilliant. Sometimes they're funny.

By Matt Leonard • March 13, 2020

The changing face of warehouse change management

New technologies can completely alter a worker's daily job, requiring operations executives to take a strategic approach to managing labor through the change.

By Shefali Kapadia • March 10, 2020

What tech and metrics do you need for omnichannel?

A modern order management system will have most of the data needed to measure omnichannel success. However, some operations will require more creativity.

By Matt Leonard • March 09, 2020

Hy-Vee brings online order fulfillment back to stores

The grocer will shut down its four Aisles Online fulfillment centers the week of March 23, according to a company spokesperson.

By Jessica Dumont • March 09, 2020

Target's tech for store-based fulfillment operations is ready to scale

Machine learning and robotics will allow Target to fulfill digital orders from stores and avoid stockouts, executives detailed in an investor presentation.

By Emma Cosgrove • March 04, 2020

Do more robots mean a safer warehouse?

Fulfillment robotics pledge to make workers' jobs easier, but whether those jobs are safer is open for debate — even among those making and selling the technology.

By Emma Cosgrove • March 03, 2020

Each industrial robot displaces 1.6 workers: report

China has seen the greatest decline in its manufacturing workforce since 2000, with 550,000 fewer people working in the sector as of 2016.

By Matt Leonard • March 03, 2020

FedEx adds on-demand customs brokerage to Freightos

The partnership includes new digital services for multi-modal rate management and sales; air pricing, quoting and ebooking; and customs brokerage.

By S.L. Fuller • Feb. 28, 2020

TQL cyber breach is latest example of the industry's vulnerability to hacking

The cyberattack compromised its carrier portal, potentially granting access to, "carrier accounts, including, in many instances, tax ID numbers and bank account numbers," according to the company's website.

By Morgan Forde • Feb. 28, 2020

Shake Shack takes on procure-to-pay, supplier management in tech upgrade

A digital transformation and new ERP systems give Shake Shack a more granular picture of its procurement operations and frees up in-restaurant teams from administrative tasks.

By Emma Cosgrove • Feb. 27, 2020

Internal actors account for 30% of cyberattacks in manufacturing

Proper network segmentation can minimize the threat from internal actors by limiting access to applications or databases to specific employees. 

By Matt Leonard • Feb. 25, 2020

From legacy systems to connected tech, manufacturers face cyber risks

The potential for damage in an operations environment can dramatically affect revenue, if not shut businesses down completely.

By Deborah Abrams Kaplan • Feb. 25, 2020

How to trust tech vendors

They can sell a bevy of products to a variety of customers. With so many options, sales require customization.

By Jen A. Miller • Feb. 21, 2020

Opinion

Spend per buyer is reaching critical levels: time to sound the alarm?

It's easy to empathize with overloaded buyers in this new, ultra-lean procurement era. But procurement professionals must adapt or risk going the way of the dodo bird, writes Rich Ham, CEO of Fine Tune. 

By Rich Ham • Feb. 20, 2020

Coronavirus could reduce electronics and automobiles output by millions of units, research finds

While automotive or computer manufacturers are more likely to have risk management teams in place to pre-identify points of failure in a supply chain, they are still expected to take a hit.

By Matt Leonard • Feb. 20, 2020

Advance Auto Parts credits WMS, distribution upgrades for Q4 margin boost

The upgrades are part of a long-term supply chain and IT strategy where the majority of potential margin growth in the near future won't be dependent on sales but on internal optimization, executives said. 

By Morgan Forde • Feb. 19, 2020

With shrinking budgets, finance spending goes to new tech

As companies attempt to curb spending in advance of an unpredictable economy, finance teams continue pooling resources to implement the newest tech, a Hackett Group study found.

By Jane Thier • Feb. 18, 2020

Machine learning is nearly ubiquitous in accounting operations, ERPs

The technology is mainly used to set up touch-free processes for repetitive functions such as accounts payable and receivable.

By Robert Freedman • Feb. 13, 2020