by John Sucich | Nov 19, 2020 | Manufacturing & Supply Chain
For some companies, 2020 exposed gaps in their supply chain that proved devastating. For others, the events of this year provided them with a chance to take a step back and figure out what worked and what needed to be changed moving forward. The supply chain has perhaps never been more transparent than it is right now. Customers who saw shortages of certain items in the spring have a better awareness of where products come from and how they reach their destinations. Here are some ways that companies are working to make sure their supply chain is scrutinized in a positive rather than a negative light. (more…)
by John Sucich | Aug 20, 2020 | Manufacturing & Supply Chain
For most of 2020, any news regarding the supply chain has been bad news. Even setting aside the COVID-19 pandemic, other stories that have dominated the news cycle, including the China-U.S. trade war and Brexit, have disrupted the way the world does business.
But it’s the pandemic that has left many industries reeling. The big difference is the fact that organizations were forced to react to something for which they had no plan. In an effort to prevent that from happening again – and to help them recover from the setback of the pandemic – organizations that rely on the supply chain are turning to technology. (more…)
by John Sucich | Jul 30, 2020 | Manufacturing & Supply Chain
About the only thing organizations were certain about when the pandemic hit was that the future of the supply chain was uncertain. Different government responses at different times around the world meant that companies needed to figure out where they would experience problems…and then anticipate what might become a problem next.
Reliable data that companies had culled for years became less reliable as the pandemic wore on, and companies needed to adjust. They began to look for any ways they could make their data usable again. Part of the solution for many organizations was turning to innovative technologies to get the information they needed to make sure their business could survive COVID-19. Here’s a look at some of those technologies and how they’ve been used effectively.
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by John Sucich | Jul 2, 2020 | All, Manufacturing & Supply Chain
As states and countries re-open in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hope is that everything will get back to normal. There are certainly aspects of life that will never quite get back to what they were like before the pandemic. The supply chain could very well end up being one aspect that is forever changed.
In a recent survey by BSI, about half of the respondents said that they will be making changes to their supply chain going forward. Just what those changes might look like for these organizations and many others is hard to imagine at this point. Here are a couple of possible approaches businesses could take, and how the supply chain of the future might shape up.
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by John Sucich | May 28, 2020 | General BI, Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Whether or not they are in a part of the country that is slowly opening back up and resuming day-to-day activities, everyone is grappling with the adoption of a “new normal” post COVID-19. That applies to most industries as well.
Though supermarket shelves are better stocked and it appears the supply chain is recovering, it is possible the global supply chain will never look the same. Here are some changes that have already been put in place, as well as more changes that are on the way. (more…)
by John Sucich | May 14, 2020 | Manufacturing & Supply Chain
There are certain products that have seen an increase in demand in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canned goods, for example, have been flying off store shelves, meaning that the companies that produce the cans for those goods have been ramping up production.
Just as important as the places producing the cans are the trucks getting them from the plants to the food companies, and then from there to the grocery stores to be sold. Here’s a look at some of the adjustments the transportation industry has had to make in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. (more…)
by John Sucich | May 7, 2020 | Manufacturing & Supply Chain
With some states lifting stay-at-home orders and allowing certain businesses to reopen, focus has shifted to the supply chain. What will be available and what will be missing because of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic?
The meat processing industry has been one of the industries most affected by the coronavirus. In a late-April full-page ad in the New York Times, the chairman of Tyson Foods Inc. warned that the United States “food supply is breaking” due to plant closures. That same week, President Trump declared meat processing plants “critical infrastructure.” But it will take more than that government order for the industry to stay ahead of demand. (more…)
by John Sucich | Apr 23, 2020 | Manufacturing & Supply Chain
FREJA’s story might sound familiar to any number of organizations in any number of industries: for a long time, the company had a business intelligence solution in place, but it wasn’t using it to its full potential. When FREJA took steps to develop a clearer business intelligence strategy, the benefits of Dimensional Insight Platform with Measure Factory became increasingly clear to many of its employees.
FREJA is a privately-owned transportation company specializing in road transport, but offering sea and air freight as well. The company owns 2,600 trailers and handles two million shipments a year with the trailers driving 270 direct routes every day or every other day. Here’s a look at how it’s using analytics and the power of Measure Factory in its business. (more…)
by John Sucich | Apr 9, 2020 | Manufacturing & Supply Chain
In the best of times, a disruption to the supply chain can cost an organization valuable time and money. In the current climate, the repercussions are not only clear to the organization, but also to people who may have never heard the term “supply chain” before.
The sight of empty shelves where common items like toilet paper are usually stocked, or news video showing a shortage of medical supplies makes everyone aware of what is and what is not available because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some companies took steps after previous supply chain disruptions to prepare themselves for a situation like this. Others were not so prescient. Here’s a look at both sides of that coin, and how everyone can prepare themselves for the next major disruption.
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by Rachel Donais | Jan 13, 2020 | General BI, Manufacturing & Supply Chain, Wine & Spirits
Everyone has his or her unique way of analyzing data to find the right answers. This is why self-service in a business intelligence tool is so important. It’s also why drag-and-drop dashboards are so appealing. I am not stuck with what someone else decided is a good way to look at the data. I can focus on what is important to me. Still, in the end, I need to share my findings with other people in a way they like if I want to get my point across.
Dimensional Insight’s “Stamps” are pre-designed charts that can be updated with different data and filters with a few clicks. Users can build dashboards in minutes. Let’s examine a hypothetical scenario to see how you can use these Stamps to optimize your analytics experience. (more…)
