Reasons, Debates and Stories

Demand Sensing Demand Sensing is a forecasting method that leverages new mathematical techniques and near real-time information to create an accurate forecast of demand, based on the current realities of the supply chain rather than past sales. Evolving customer behavior and rising market volatility have underscored the opportunity to sense and react in near real-time to changes to changes in the demand supply network.  Demand Sensing enables to incorporate downstream data with minimal latency to understand what is being sold, who is buying the product, and the impact of demand‐shaping programs.  These three demand elements are then translated into requirements to craft a profitable demand response through internal processes for demand translation. Why use Demand Sensing? Better forecasts translate directly into better business decisions, which can affect many Key Performance Indicators (KPI) closely monitored by management: Supply Chain KPI'...

DEMYSTIFYING ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION IN SUPPLY CHAIN Well, let's start with the definition of Robotic Process Automation [aka RPA] Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is defined as the application of technology that allows employees in a company to configure computer software or a “robot” to capture and interpret existing applications for processing a transaction, manipulating data, triggering responses and communicating with other digital systems. Warming up to RPA In optimizing their supply chains, companies across many industries — manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and more — have long relied on a range of technologies: WMS [warehouse management system], TMS [transportation management system], ERP [enterprise resource planning], CRM [customer relationship management], and RFID [radio frequency identification].  However, with continuing advancements in the evolution of the automation technology, the incorporation of cognitive and knowledge-based capabilit...