Category: SCM Insights

Blog posts

Industry 4.0, M2M and the Internet of Things and Services: What are the challenges?

Many studies have examined the opportunities afforded by Industry 4.0, M2M and the Internet of Things and Services. And all of them show that networking aspects of life that are completely independent at this time will yield opportunities that would have read like something from a science fiction novel just ten years ago.But, as I…
Industry 4.0, M2M and the Internet of Things and Services: What are the challenges?

Realizing savings potential for indirect purchases

In many organizations, the optimization of procurement processes and the resulting savings are primarily sought and found in the purchasing of direct materials. Some people still underestimate indirect purchasing and fail to appreciate its significance: “How can I possibly optimize buying a pencil?”But indirect materials involve much more than pencils, pens, and coffee machines. There…
Realizing savings potential for indirect purchases

Supply bottlenecks in the procurement of spare parts are a thing of the past

Especially in the procurement of spare parts, there are often shortages in the supply chain. The main reason is that ordering and delivery processes are usually manual – i.e., once orders are placed by fax or e-mail, they disappear in a black box until delivery. During that time, you can’t tell whether the supplier has…
Supply bottlenecks in the procurement of spare parts are a thing of the past

Are you collaborating already, or do you just exchange data?

In spite of the continuing spread of the Internet and the associated improvements to companies’ electronic networks, business processes are still largely based on the exchange of unstructured data by e-mail or even fax.This may well surprise us, particularly as the fourth industrial revolution, ‘Industry 4.0,’ was proclaimed some time ago,
Are you collaborating already, or do you just exchange data?

No more retyping of time sheets: Having your suppliers enter their services performed online reduces the cost of your purchasing process

Do you purchase services and find that entering the services performed is not organized consistently and cost-effectively? SupplyOn has developed a solution. The procurement of services is now common practice and offers many advantages, but often the administrative effort required prohibits the cost-effective organization of service provision processes.For example, suppose you have engaged a software…
No more retyping of time sheets: Having your suppliers enter their services performed online reduces the cost of your purchasing process

Transportation Control Tower: A powerful tool for industrial companies

The concept of a transportation control tower carries many positive connotations. A control tower has everything under control by maintaining an overview of all that’s going on—or, stated more precisely, a control tower makes it possible to intervene in transports at any time in order to adapt processes and steer them in the right direction.
Transportation Control Tower: A powerful tool for industrial companies

Has the aerospace industry outdistanced the automotive industry?

This seems to be a valid question: The figures reported by aerospace market analysts and managers can only seem a dream scenario for the automotive sector. Annual growth rates of approximately 7 per cent for commercial aircrafts with 150 seats – subsequently doubling the projected number for the next 10 years.The automotive sector, on the…
Has the aerospace industry outdistanced the automotive industry?

Volatility hinders logistics planning – more responsibility for forwarding companies?

In its survey entitled “Market volatility in transport and logistics”, the BME predictably noted at the end of 2013 that it is more and more difficult for forwarding and shipping companies to plan their warehouse and fleet capacities owing to the growing volatility resulting from increasing globalization.In my opinion, the most important findings of the…
Volatility hinders logistics planning – more responsibility for forwarding companies?

Increasing supply reliability for critical bottleneck parts

Given the increasing need for manufacturing companies to take on a global orientation, supply reliability is becoming ever more important. In this context, the term “supply reliability” refers to the sound, realistic planning and coordination of demands and capacities across the entire value added network.At the same time, it means the ability to identify and…
Increasing supply reliability for critical bottleneck parts