Resource Center

Featured White Papers & Reports

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  Don’t Let Your Supply Chain Control Your Business
  

  Harvard Business Review

  Manufacturers are delegating too much power to top-tier suppliers, undermining their own ability to innovate, cut costs, and manage risk. A heavy reliance on first-tier suppliers is dangerous for OEMs.…
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  Real-Time S&OP: Working to Make the Plan, Then Making the Plan Work
  

  E2open

  What really makes a sales and operations planning (S&OP) process successful? This white paper outlines the business processes and technologies that supply chain organizations need for world-class S&OP.…
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• Predicts 2012: Supply Chain Predictions: Talent, Risk and Analytics Dominate

  November 18, 2011 | Gartner Inc.
  

  2011 has proved to be a challenging year for supply chain executives as they dealt with volatile market dynamics, a shortage of talent and natural disasters. In this research, Gartner highlights key predictions from 2012 to 2016 that span talent, analytics and global sourcing developments. The audience for these predictions is supply chain business leaders. Key finding, market implications, and recommendations are outlined for each strategic planning assumption. View Now  »

• Agility Is More Than a Supply Chain Design Strategy

  November 11, 2011 | Gartner Inc.
  

  Increased market volatility and demand variability have made the need for supply chain agility undeniable. Natural catastrophes and man-made events have only increased the urgency for agility as part of supply chain resiliency strategies that help mitigate and recover from the effects of disruptions. But what is agility, and how is it different from responsiveness?
  
  To better understand agility and other aspects of designing the supply chain response to demand, Gartner conducted a survey of 297 industrial companies in the discrete, high-tech and process sectors. This research provides insights and initial findings from the study. View Now  »

• Collaborative Execution: Closing the Loop on Supply Chain Planning and Execution

  October 31, 2011 | Aberdeen Group
  

  This Aberdeen Group research shows that companies with closed-loop integration between supply chain planning and execution deliver significant advantages in both supply-side and demand-side processes. Download your copy today, and learn how leading companies are embracing the complexities of the multi-tier supply chain to deliver superior performance results. View Now  »

• Don’t Re-Plan, Just Execute: Making Supply Chain Plans Work with Collaborative Execution

  September 1, 2011 | E2open
  

  We plan in an atmosphere of volatility and uncertainty, with data that is often incomplete and untimely. We then release our plans into a dynamic and unpredictable world that has already moved away from our embedded assumptions. This white paper compares two approaches to answering the questions, "How do we execute supply chain plans once they are made, and how do we respond to the exceptions that inevitably arise when our plans meet reality?"
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• Multitier Supply Chain Visibility Improves Supply Chain Relationships and Reduces Risk

  August 12, 2011 | Gartner Inc.
  

  Only when companies are faced with an availability or lead-time crisis, or when they're dealing with a significant, upstream supply chain risk, do they think about multitier supply chain visibility (MTSCV). Supply chain leaders, however, don't wait for a crisis to happen to account for the upstream status they need from each tier in their supply networks. In this research, learn how leading organizations are undertaking collaborative initiatives with their suppliers and technology providers to obtain near-real-time visibility for functional stakeholders. View Now  »

• Vendor Managed Inventory: A Win-Win Proposition

  July 8, 2011 | E2open
  

  The increased risks and pressures of today's outsourced global supply chains are driving renewed interest in vendor managed inventory programs, which aim to reduce costs and improve customer service levels. This white paper describes the basics of VMI and helps you determine whether or not your organization would benefit from a VMI program. It also offers a checklist outlining what it takes to set up and maintain a successful VMI program - and how to avoid potential pitfalls. View Now  »

• Supply Chain in the Cloud: A Primer for Networked Trading Communities

  June 3, 2011 | E2open
  

  Most of us use cloud applications every day and just don’t think about it: on-demand movies, Google Docs, online banking, WebEx. But in the world of business applications, people are still concerned that this is just marketing hype and wonder if it’s really secure and reliable. Fear of the unfamiliar, fear of unknown vendors, and fear of an unstable economy are probably the biggest factors standing in the way of broader adoption. This white paper presents E2open’s unique, flexible cloud computing approach to multi-enterprise supply chain management and demonstrates the business and IT benefits companies can realize quickly with a cloud solution. View Now  »

• The Chief Supply Chain Officer Report 2011

  May 24, 2011 | SCM World and E2open
  

  Based on a survey of more than 750 senior supply chain professionals, the Chief Supply Chain Officer Report 2011 highlights the priorities and strategies supply chain executives are undertaking in 2011 and beyond, and uncovers how companies are positioning their supply chain organizations to deliver growth.
  
  The 2011 CSCO Report is a collaboration between Dr. Hau Lee, the Thoma Professor of Operations, Information and Technology at Stanford Graduate School of Business and Chairman, SCM World, and Kevin O’Marah, Faculty Member, SCM World. It includes an executive summary by Pier Luigi Sigismondi, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Unilever. View Now  »

• Order Out of Chaos: The Case for Building a Supply Chain Control Tower

  May 5, 2011 | E2open
  

  The extended nature of today's trading partner networks requires a more agile, flexible control structure to provide a centralized view of supply chain operations while enabling faster response to frequent change.
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• Supply Chain Segmentation: The Next Step in Supply Chain Excellence

  March 2, 2011 | E2open
  

  With the rise of globalization and outsourcing, it is becoming more difficult for single-supply chain companies to meet the requirements of all their major customers. But to many, supply chain segmentation sounds like a complicated process in an already complex global marketplace. If you had multiple supply chains, each tuned to meet different customer expectations, what bottom-line benefits could you expect to see? What steps and technologies are required to begin the process of segmentation? This paper will attempt to answer these questions, leveraging research, case studies, and information on the latest enabling technologies. View Now  »