Supply Chain Brain - January 2010

led to Intel being named winner of the 2009 Supply Chain Innovation Award.

The Challenges of Multi-Channel Retailing Terrie O’Hanlon, Sr.VP & Chief Mktg. Officer, Manhattan Associates;Dec. 11, 2009 Today’s shopper wants access to physical stores, catalogs and internet ordering sites. Retailers must figure out how to combine those channels into a coherent customer experience, says Terrie O’Hanlon, senior vice president and chief marketing officer with Manhattan Associates.

Get Ready for the Food Safety Enhancement Act Tom Kozenski, VP Product Strategy, Distribution Products, RedPrairie;Dec. 4, 2009 Following a number of recalls due to tainted products, the government is getting involved in the process of ensuring food safety throughout the supply chain. Tom Kozenski, vice president of product strategy with RedPrairie Corp., discusses how companies should respond.

Secrets to Advanced Store Replenishment Kelly Thomas, SVP Product Strategy & Planning, i2 Technologies;Dec. 4, 2009 The ability to operationalize insights from point-of-sale data and collaboratively align measurements are helping manufacturers and retailers of brand-name consumer goods improve store replenishment at the floor and shelf levels. Kelly Thomas, senior vice president of product strategy and planning at i2 Technologies, details the keys to this strategy and offers examples.

In Appliances, Customers Know What They Want Brian Hancock, Vice President, Supply Chain, Whirlpool Corporation;Dec. 2, 2009 Forget that old white washing machine and dryer. Buyers of major appliances today want quality, aesthetics and value—and branded manufacturers had better be ready to deliver, says Brian Hancock, vice president of supply chain with Whirlpool.

Synchronizing Demand in the Consumer Electronics Industry Kedar Kulkarni, Director, Supply Chain Division, VTech Communications Inc.;Oct. 20, 2009 Consumer electronics makers are starting to do a better job of matching production with actual demand. Kedar Kulkarni of VTech talks about how far they’ve come.

How Nikon Precision Manages Quality Detection for Service Parts Sean McNamara, Vice President, Operations, Nikon Precision, Inc.;Aug. 5, 2009 Sean McNamara, vice president-operations for Nikon Precision, discusses how to apply quality-detection techniques to broad product lines, and a diverse array of critical parts.

An Outsourcing Success Story at Sun Microsystems Barbara Kish, Sr. Bus. Operations Mgr., Global Service Log., Sun Microsystems;Aug. 5, 2009 Barbara Kish, senior business operations manager for global service logistics at Sun Microsystems, shares the story of how the company outsourced eight master product lines at a manufacturing and repair facility in Puerto Rico.

Industry Consolidations, Regulations Impact Pharma Supply Chain

Bob Douglass, Director, Contract Manufacturing & Logistics, Abbott Laboratories;June 15, 2009 Consolidations in the pharmaceutical industry in recent years, both at the manufacturer and wholesale levels, have led to changes in the distribution of drugs and other medical products. Bob Douglass, director of contract manufacturing and logistics at Abbott Laboratories, discusses these changes.

Transforming Supply Chains in Canada Peter McMahon, Exec.VP., Supply Chain & Information Technology, Loblaw Cos.;June 15, 2009 A multi-year reengineering of the supply chain at the Loblaw Companies, Canada’s biggest food retailer, holds lessons for other companies, says Peter McMahon, executive vice president of supply chain and information technology.

Navistar Parts and Its Lean Journey Challenge Nate Jolliff, Dir., Worldwide Log.& Lean Oper. Support, Navistar Parts Group;May 5, 2009 You learn that change is inevitable, but growth is optional when you begin a lean initiative. Resistance often is great, and it has to be overcome if you’re going to “focus the operation forward.”An interview with Nate Jolliff, Director, Worldwide Logistics and Lean Operations Support, Navistar Parts Group.

Sustainability Touches Everything at Office Depot Yalmaz Siddiqui, Director, Environmental Strategy, Office Depot;April 6, 2009 Office Depot is committed to integrating sustainability throughout the organization, says Yalmaz Siddiqui, director of environmental strategy for the company. Siddiqui explains this approach, which is summarized in a strategic framework that Office Depot calls,“Buy Green, Be Green, Sell Green.”A number of supply chain initiatives fall under the “Be Green” heading. In addition, a “Why Green” category on the front end helps functional groups initiate projects and make the business case, and a “Tell Green” category on the back end celebrates and shares suc-cesses both within Office Depot and externally.

Cutting Energy Use Saves Dollars, and More Bill Haslett, Manager, Enterprise Sourcing and Logistics, Northrop Grumman;April 6, 2009 At Northrop Grumman, the effort is reduce waste and improve energy efficiency is ongoing and corporate-wide, says Bill Haslett, manager of enterprise sourcing and logistics. When making the business case for green initiatives, Northrop Grumman not only considers payback in dollars, but also such factors as reduced landfill contributions and future savings on carbon credits if a cap-and-trade system becomes law.

The Retail Supply Chain & Sourcing Strategies Nari Viswanathan, Vice President & Principal Analyst, Aberdeen Group;April 1, 2009 Supply chain managers have a large role to play in keeping retailers customer-focused, in determining sourcing strategies in China and other low-cost countries, and in balancing transportation, labor and other costs.

Logistics Challenges in Retail Derek Leathers, Chief Operating Officer, Werner Enterprises;April 1, 2009 With cost pressures greater than ever, communication and collaboration between retailers and their transportation providers are vitally important. With the poor economy likely to last some time, there are a number of things that transportation companies can do to help their retail partners survive.

The State of the Retail Supply Chain (2009) Brian J. Gibson, Ph.D., Professor, Supply Chain Management, Auburn University;April 1, 2009 A team comprising academics and retail executives in the U. S.and Canada fill in the information gaps that hinder a solid understanding of the challenges facing managers of the retail supply chain.

Reduce Costs in Retail, But Stay Flexible Randy Unger, Principal, Kurt Salmon;April 1, 2009 A one-size-fits-all approach won’t work for the retail supply chain. Each inventory segment, for instance, needs its own supply chain.And it’s not just about costs. Should you source from one country or many? An interview with Randy Unger, Principal, Kurt Salmon.

Poor Economy Isn’t the Sole Cause of Retail Slump John Champion, Vice President, Kurt Salmon; April 1, 2009

Retail is seeing a real shakeout, and the economy is only one thing that’s driving a change in shoppers’ behavior. An overabundance of look-alike stores and a fair amount of unpleasant retailer-customer interaction also pay a large part in the recent sales downturn.An interview with John Champion,Vice President, Kurt Salmon.

Riding A Fashion Trend: How Crocs Met Fast-Growing Demand

Edward Collins, Senior Director, Global Logistics, Crocs;March 11, 2009

Crocs, the popular seller of footwear, grew from $13m to $800m in revenue in just four years. Ed Collins, senior director of global logistics, tells how the company’s supply chain adjusted to that dizzying rate of expansion—and how it intends to manage the process in future.

A Real World Look at Recall Technology in Action RedPrairie;Feb. 20, 2009

Product recalls are growing in importance and frequency as consumers and government agencies are placing increased focus on improving public health and safety. With the media continuing to report (some might say over-report) each new recall announcement, the danger to your brand and future revenue is significant. In this video, we take a look at an everyday shopping experience, and how today’s recall technology can help protect the public, and your brand, before tragedy strikes.