Insights

Supply Chain Edge frequently publishes insights on topics of greatest relevance to our clients. Read our latest point of view and white paper below:

Distribution Outsourcing: Creating and Executing an Effective Supply Chain Partnership

Today's uncertain global economy presents companies with several new challenges, and requires them to focus more sharply on what drives their differentiation and long-term growth. Not many count distribution as such a factor, which is why outsourcing this function is gaining importance and prevalence. Yet while the potential benefits include lower costs, better customer service, and greater scalability, distribution outsourcing also carries its share of risks and disruptive challenges. As we detail in this white paper, for the right companies the benefits of distribution outsourcing outweigh the risks, but firms must proceed with diligence and lay the right foundation to be successful.

Generating Maximum Value from Transportation Outsourcing

Managed well, the transportation function can deliver differentiated customer service and cost advantages, both of which are critical to success in today's uncertain environment. Yet companies face several challenges to deriving sustainable value from transportation, including volatile fuel costs, vendor consolidation, rising customer service demands, and increasingly complex supply networks. In this white paper, Supply Chain Edge explores these and other key challenges, as well as how outsourcing can help companies overcome them and generate greater value from their transportation operations.

The Supply Chain in the New World: Challenges and Opportunities for 2011 and Beyond

In this Executive Q&A, SCE Chief Executive Officer John DuBiel and Chief Operating Officer Mike Edie share their thoughts on the top supply chain challenges and some actions enterprises should consider taking to maximize the business value generated by their supply chains in an uncertain and dynamic economic environment.

From Insight to Improvement: A Powerful Approach to Supply Chain Alignment and Assessment

During the recession, the supply chain was an important source of cost savings for organizations around the world. However, many of the cost-control initiatives that were so instrumental to survival during the downturn no longer are generating substantial or sustainable profitability and efficiency improvements. In this paper, we describe how a comprehensive supply chain assessment can help companies quickly identify the next generation of improvements, prioritize them according to business impact and the needs of critical stakeholders, and build concrete plans for implementing the desired improvements.

"The Supply Chain: A Critical (and Often Overlooked) Dimension of Strategic Planning"

One of the most inconsistently executed elements of corporate strategic planning today involves the supply chain. The ability of the end-to-end supply chain to consistently deliver products and services at a competitive cost is fundamental to business success. Yet, in many companies, the supply chain receives little consideration in the strategic planning process. This article outlines a framework for addressing supply chain strategic planning as an integral component of the overall corporate strategic planning process, to enable the supply chain plan to fully contribute to the business’s annual operating plan development.

"The Supply Chain Effect: The Strategic Impact of Targeted Supply Chain Improvement on Financial Performance"
While primarily concerned with how the supply chain can support their company's growth initiatives, senior executives are equally focused on making sure that growth is profitable. And it has been proven that the ability to make targeted improvements to specific supply chain functions, such as distribution and transportation, can help boost a company's bottom line. The desire to improve performance does not automatically translate into bottom line benefits. In this paper, we examine the obstacles to improvement, identify the ways some companies have overcome those obstacles through the application of a variety of best practices and right behaviors, and describe the financial benefits that companies have reaped from better managing these increasingly complex and value–critical supply chains.