Finding Focus in the Fight Against Inflation
The 1970s are known for a lot more than Star Wars and pet rocks. The era is also known for supply-side economic shocks, low growth and high inflation. The parallels with today’s situation are uncanny. Prolonged supply chain disruption and high energy costs have pushed…
Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) Has Served Its Duty and Should Now Retire
Executive summary According to Gartner (2018 Gartner Sales & Operations Planning Success Survey), the most popular evaluation metric for forecasts in Sales and Operations Planning is Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE). This needs to change. Modern forecasts concern small quantities on a disaggregated level such…
3 Ways Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” Will Disrupt the Supply Chain
Before you brush this off as a puff piece written by a geriatric millennial who has loved Beyoncé for 20+ years — none of which is a lie — let me assure you that Mrs. Carter-Knowles indeed has the accolades, the power and the influence…
How the Worker Shortage Might Affect Your Summer Vacation Plans
We’ve all been hearing about the worker shortage since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’ve seen it in action in our everyday lives — visiting the grocery store, the pharmacy, at school and even at our own jobs. But have you thought about how…
Forecasting Few Is Different, Part 2
This is a two-part story by Malte Tichy about dealing with sales forecasts that concern fast-moving as well as slow-moving items. Find Part 1 here. How precise can a sales forecast become? The mechanism of fluctuation cancellation ensures that granular low-scale-forecasts are more imprecise, noisy…
Fueling Career Success with Servant Leadership and Mentoring
Kristi Montgomery, VP, Innovation, Research & Development, at Kenco Group recently shared her thoughts on career growth and mentoring for women in our “Fearless Females of Supply Chain” Blue Yonder Live. Highlights from her conversation in this week’s DIVE blog. #FearlessFemalesSC There are many factors…
Willpower and Inclusivity: A Story of Setbacks to Comebacks
In today’s DIVE blog Naissa Von Pein, Director of Indirect Spend and Procurement Excellence at Dole Sunshine Group, discusses her personal experiences as a female in supply chain and shares her thoughts about accelerating diversity and inclusion as well as advice she has for other women looking…
Managing the Supply Chain in Times of Crisis
As we watch Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unfold, the real cost of this war is plain: lost lives, families that are forever altered, and destroyed communities. In her recent blog post, Anusha Shankar discussed this tragedy, as well as the need to help Blue Yonder…
Little Luxuries: A Surprising Demand Trend Impacting Category Managers
As I noted in my last blog, record inflation continues to be a significant concern for retailers — because it’s having an enormous and complicated impact on consumer behaviors. Even worse news for retailers? Stressed-out shoppers perceive inflation rates as higher than they actually are….
5 Weird Supply Chain Events We Only Wish Were a Joke
It’s April Fool’s Day, but the past couple of years have been no joke. So instead of a prank, we’re going to take a stroll down memory lane and share five weird supply chain events that seem unreal but actually happened. You can also catch…