by John Sucich | Apr 16, 2026 | Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Reading Time: 4 minutesIf there’s been one constant in the supply chain industry over the past half-decade it is the likelihood of disruption. Dating back to the pandemic, when supply chain woes became front-page news rather than just industry news, the disruptions have come regularly. They include a shipping route closed due to operator error, other shipping routes closed due to global conflicts, and price fluctuations for a variety of reasons, all forcing companies to adjust.
If organizations did not take steps pre-2020 to make sure they could navigate disruptions, they have since discovered the importance of supply chain transparency and flexibility. Analytics can provide the answers, whether an organization is looking to act proactively or reactively. One big area companies may not be looking at carefully enough is the financial health of vendors in their supply chain. Here’s how data can help organizations make sure their supply chains are in good shape – financially and otherwise.
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by John Sucich | Mar 19, 2026 | Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Reading Time: 4 minutesMany organizations have learned important lessons over the past few years about how to adjust their supply chain routines when a disruption occurs. Among the many negative impacts of the latest conflict in the Middle East is a rise in fuel costs, coupled with the fact that shipping vessels need to change their routes.
While organizations might not have prepared for this exact scenario, the ones that use data to put themselves in the best position to handle disruptions are ahead of the game. They can make quick decisions based on the information they’ve gathered over the years to pivot where they can, whether in this case that involves finding more efficient routes or using different transportation and shipping options altogether. Analytics solutions can save organizations time and money when they are used correctly. Here are a couple more instances where organizations can use analytics to be more efficient.
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by John Sucich | Feb 18, 2026 | Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Reading Time: 4 minutesThe automotive supply chain may not orbit around Detroit the way it once did, but the city, or at least the state of Michigan, still plays a big role in the industry. According to the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, 98 of the top 100 automotive suppliers to North America have a presence in Michigan, with 65 headquartered there. The automotive and mobility industry contributes $304 billion annually to Michigan’s economy, and Michigan is tops in the nation when it comes to automotive manufacturing jobs as well as exporting transportation equipment.
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by John Sucich | Jan 22, 2026 | Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Reading Time: 4 minutesIn 2025, organizations in the supply chain industry were ringing in the new year as they tried to figure out how proposed new tariffs would impact their work. Many companies spent the early part of the year bringing in products ahead of tariff implementation dates in order to maintain inventory strength without being affected by extra costs.
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by John Sucich | Nov 26, 2025 | All, Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Reading Time: 4 minutesData is not an automatic fix. Some organizations hope simply implementing an analytics solution will solve all of their problems. In reality, it takes a lot of people and a lot of time to put in place a data plan that supports data-driven supply chain decisions, especially in an industry as complex as the supply chain.
Most organizations are looking to use data to help them save time and money. Here are some examples of companies that have developed plans around using data to do just that, and how your organization can learn from their work.
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by John Sucich | Oct 30, 2025 | Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Reading Time: 4 minutesIt used to be that end-to-end supply chain visibility was a luxury. Organizations could get by with a basic understanding of how products and materials were transported, diving deeper into their supply chains only when there was an issue that required more focus.
These days, though, full visibility into an organization’s supply chain is a necessity. Organizations have so much information they can access across their operations that they are missing opportunities if they aren’t tracking every piece of data that they can. Many organizations have set up control towers to ensure they don’t miss a beat. Here’s a look at how those organizations operate.
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by John Sucich | Oct 2, 2025 | Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Reading Time: 4 minutesThe United States Postal Service delivers 127 billion pieces of mail each year. Like any other organization, though, it faces competition from other companies that promise to get packages delivered safer or faster or with less hassle for the customer. In order to keep itself relevant and stay ahead of competitors, the USPS is relying heavily on data.
The USPS processes more than 110 petabytes of data per year. It is working to make better use of all of that data to better serve customers and continually evolve. Here’s a look at how the organization is using analytics, and the lessons other organizations in the supply chain can apply to their own work with data.
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by John Sucich | Jul 23, 2025 | Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Reading Time: 3 minutesOrganizations in the supply chain industry know that to make their way through these turbulent times they need to rely on data. The question many of them might be asking, though, is how can data predict anything during such unpredictable times?
Supply Chain Brain recently published the results of a study called “Resilience in Uncertainty: Understanding the Impact of Tariffs, Geopolitical Risk, and Lack of Data Quality in the Supply Chain.” Respondents to the survey said they recognize the value of maintaining high quality data to drive decision-making and item-level traceability to improve visibility, but not many are deploying those capabilities. And about 75% of respondents say they are significantly impacted by geopolitical or socioeconomic disruption, but only about 50% feel well-equipped to manage it. Here are some of the key insights into the supply chain industry that the discussion around the survey results provided.
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by Irina Nebosenko | May 1, 2025
← Back to Logistics stories Royal Lemkes grows to new heights. Transparency and insights help employees, customers,and partners flourish How does an organization improve transparency and insight of business processes that are intertwined with more than 700 suppliers...
by John Sucich | Feb 20, 2025 | Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Reading Time: 4 minutesWhen there is a disruption in the supply chain, organizations have some choices to make. The passive option is to take no action and wait to see how the situation resolves. Many companies cannot afford to wait, though, and they will try to do something to bypass the disruption and get their goods or materials where they need to be as soon as possible. Some companies use a disruption as an opportunity to take stock of their supply chain. They might make changes if they recognize a consistent weak link or if they find that they are working with an organization that doesn’t align with their values.
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