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Blog Entries by Rob Schoenthaler

• You can get more value from VMI, even with imperfect forecasts

  Rob Schoenthaler, Senior Vice President, Deployment, E2open - Thursday, December 15, 2011 - 0 Comments
  

  A recent article in Supply Chain Quarterly suggests that some consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers are cutting back on their use of vendor-managed inventory (VMI) because accurate demand forecasts, upon which VMI depends, have proven elusive. This isn’t completely shocking, given that effective forecast collaboration is a cornerstone of any VMI program.  More »

• Creating value: It’s more than penny pinching

  Rob Schoenthaler, Senior Vice President, Deployment, E2open - Friday, October 14, 2011 - 0 Comments
  

  In today’s marketplace, it’s no wonder that supply chain executives are talking a lot about cutting costs. And cutting costs is important, but I think that some of us have become so preoccupied with cost cutting and efficiency gains that we’ve forgotten what good supply chain management is all about: creating value.  More »

• Risk roundup: What’s keeping your supply chain up at night?

  Rob Schoenthaler, Senior Vice President, Deployment, E2open - Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 0 Comments
  

  Last week in a new employee training session, a recently hired salesperson asked me: What are the biggest sources of business risk for our customers? How much risk does a supply chain really introduce to the business overall? I answered his questions, based on my own knowledge and experience, but then decided it may be time for a reality check. More »

• Mom, he’s not sharing! The growing (up) importance of supplier collaboration

  Rob Schoenthaler, Senior Vice President, Deployment, E2open - Thursday, May 05, 2011 - 0 Comments
  

  I spend the bulk of my professional life talking to successful international brand owners and manufacturers. Whether they’re producing computer chips or lipstick, their core supply chain problems are pretty much the same: complexity and loss of control – both as a result of increased outsourcing.  More »

• The ripple effect: Disaster recovery in a global marketplace

  Rob Schoenthaler, Senior Vice President, Deployment, E2open - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 1 Comments
  

  The massive earthquake and resulting tsunami that hit Japan are quickly rippling through supply chains worldwide. And with widespread factory damage and employee evacuations, the global supply chain effects are likely to be felt for months to come. Automotive and high technology companies are taking the largest hits, with massive operational disruptions across hundreds of Japanese suppliers and manufacturing sites.  More »

• Isn’t B2B integration only for big companies?

  Rob Schoenthaler, Senior Vice President, Deployment, E2open - Thursday, February 17, 2011 - 0 Comments
  

  In my conversations with small and mid-sized organizations, one issue consistently comes up, “Isn’t B2B integration only for big companies? Isn’t the reason they need it because they have to manage connections with trading partners across multiple products and customer segments? Since we have significantly less operational complexity, why do we need it?”  More »

• Intelligent logistics management: The missing link in SCM?

  Rob Schoenthaler, Senior Vice President, Deployment, E2open - Tuesday, February 08, 2011 - 2 Comments
  

  Cost cutting and customer service are about as “routine” as business drivers come, but it’s remarkable how few companies are able to accomplish both goals simultaneously. After all, ensuring that the right products arrive at the right locations at the right times costs money — right?  More »

• Do I really need to connect to my SMBs? In a word, yes.

  Rob Schoenthaler, Senior Vice President, Deployment, E2open - Wednesday, January 26, 2011 - 0 Comments
  

  So it may not be the most scintillating of topics, but B2B seems to be top of mind at just about every customer site I visit, so here goes. After all, there are few processes more critical to supply chain success than B2B integration. And as companies are quickly learning, it’s no longer good enough to connect merely to your top one or two suppliers.  More »