The invisible thread between conveyors, barcodes, and lights-out operation. ©vanitjan via Canva.com The first application of steam-powered machinery to reduce the burden on human workers and improve efficiency marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution over 200 years ago. With the addition of computer technology, robotics, and wireless communication, the warehouse and factory automation we […]
Effective partnerships benefit retailers as well as suppliers. ©alvarez via Canva.com Inventory management can be complex, labor intensive, and costly for companies of all types and sizes. What if there was a way to minimize this burden by outsourcing inventory management to someone else? And who better to assume this responsibility than the suppliers who […]
Technology and best practices give you an unobstructed view. Image source Visibility has always been one of the primary objectives of inventory management. Before computers and barcode scanners arrived on the scene half a century ago, locating items in the warehouse or pulling work orders often involved tedious searches that were frustrating for retailers and […]
Taking online business-to-business sales to the next level Image source The term E-commerce usually brings to mind familiar business to consumer (B2C) websites that have revolutionized the way we shop over the past 20 years. Business to business (B2B) E-commerce arrived on the scene decades earlier, with pioneering companies utilizing pre-internet technologies like Electronic Data […]
Why the greenest practices are also the most profitable. Image source Almost 80 years ago, the concept of sustainability was described as a harmonious combination of environmental and social factors in the decisions and activities of a business. Sustainability goals in industries like forestry, transportation, and agriculture are often tied directly to their carbon footprint, […]
Reviewing the benefits and pitfalls of advanced forecasting methods ©Africa images via Canva.com Crystal balls and tarot cards may not have been part of the original demand forecasting toolkit, but it wasn’t long ago that intuition and personal experience were the pillars of forecasting for both production and procurement. As statistical methods and software tools […]
