Supply Knowledge (tm)

The pitfalls of outsourcing

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Oracle to Revamp Sun Supply Chain

As Oracle looks to make Sun’s hardware business profitable again, a key part of the plan is reforming Sun’s supply chain, according to officials. Sun is moving from a build-to-stock model to a build-to-order strategy, reducing the number of systems it sells, cutting the number of component suppliers, and closing manufacturing and distribution centers. The moves will save money on transportation, distribution and inventory, Oracle and Sun officials said.

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CIOs Bolster Supply Chain With Visibility

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IBM Extends Green IT Offerings to Supply Chain Management | GreenBiz.com

IBM drew upon its IT expertise and work with its own massive supplier network to create a new consulting service aimed at helping companies improve the efficiency and environmental impacts of their supply chains. 

The Sustainable Supplier Information Management Consulting service will help companies collect supply chain data such as energy use, labor practices and greenhouse gas emissions at a time of increasing attention on greener supply chains.

Walmart, for example, just began collecting environmental data from some of its top-tier suppliers this month as part of a larger initiative that will one day lead to sustainability scores for consumer products. The world's largest retailer intends to eventually expand the data collection to include its 100,000 worldwide suppliers.

via www.greenbiz.com

Make or Break: How Manufacturers Can Leap from Decline to Revitalization

Make or Break: How Manufacturers Can Leap from Decline to Revitalization (Future of Business Series) Analysis of how manufacturers and their supply chains can modernize for a lucrative future.

How Successful Businesses Manage Data (Book)

The Data Asset: How Smart Companies Govern Their Data for Business Success. Published by John Wiley & Sons and part of the Wiley and SAS Business Series, the book provides guidance not only for building the business case for data quality and data governance but also for developing methodologies and processes that will enable organizations to treat their data as a strategic asset.

“Many organizations today are facing unprecedented challenges due to the economic climate, and many are just starting to realize the important ways that their data can and should be used to create new business opportunities and improve the profitability of their existing business,” Fisher said. “There is a clear relationship between the success of any business and the way they manage their data. Businesses already know they must do three things well to be successful: mitigate risks, increase revenue and control expenses. Data is the single, common thread across an organization that can help realize success in each of these areas.”

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IBM 2009 CIO Study

The 2009 CIO Study is part of the IBM C-Suite Study Series. Published by the IBM Institute for Business Value, the C-Suite Study Series publishes in-depth studies for Chief Executive Officers, Chief Finance Officers, Chief Human Resource Officers and most recently, Chief Supply Chain Officers. The CIO Study included more than 2,500 face-to-face interviews, conducted over four months from January to April 2009. In addition to the detailed personal feedback, IBM also incorporated financial metrics and detailed statistical analysis into the findings.

The report also highlights a number of recommendations ranging from strategic business actions and use of key technologies that IBM has identified that CIOs can implement, based on CIO feedback from the study. The full 2009 CIO Study and interviews about the study are available at http://www.ibm.com/ciostudy, and a video with IBM CIO Pat Toole is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AqSMCREXDE

BP: the challenges of strategic multi-sourcing

BP has reduced the number of IT suppliers it works with from 40 to five in a bid to lower costs and simplify its supplier relationship management.

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Strategic Sourcing Lifecycle

Your guide to strategic sourcing and IT outsourcing. The big question about sourcing is not whether to do it, but how soon.

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Microsoft Licensing: Bridge the gap between Operations and Sourcing

Whether or not to sign or renew an Enterprise Agreement with Microsoft is a sticky question that many organizations face.

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iPhone Supply Chain App

D.W. Morgan (Pleasanton, CA) develops iPhone application to communicate real–time data for customer shipments and deliveries.

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Supply Chain Logistics Management

Supply Chain Logistics Management: Donald Bowersox, David Closs, M. Bixby Cooper: Books ISBN: 0073377872 ISBN-13: 9780073377872

Tech & The Global Supply Chain

AMR Research study the question of applying technology to supply chain to make it work better. Lots of old-school Lean freaks like to ...

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Be Careful Negotiating SaaS Contracts

Above all else, make sure your company's sourcing group and legal team are involved in SaaS negotiations, she said. That's because SaaS contracts today are ...

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