Outsourcing of Logistics Processes
Cost pressures reduce logistics budgets worldwide, with an average of 11 percent of company sales revenues devoted to logistics. 42 percent of that are directed to the outsourcing of logistics services, which is a decrease of 10 to 15 percentage points from recent years. Read more
New Panalpina Cargo Airfreight Services
The forwarding and logistics group Panalpina will commence additional own controlled regular airfreight services connecting Luxembourg with destinations such as South Africa, Dubai and Hong Kong. It will also cover the transpacific route to Huntsville, Alabama in the USA, complementing Panalpina’s existing transatlantic airfreight service, Dixie Jet. Read more
Third Suppliers’ Day at Carl Zeiss SMT
AGC Ltd. was awarded the Supplier Award 2009 on the 3rd Suppliers’ Day of Carl Zeiss SMT. The event’s theme was “Realizing Market Opportunities through Flexibility”. 42 suppliers from all over the globe accepted the invitation to Oberkochen in June. Read more
SCM Optimizes Inventories at G&D
Technology provider Giesecke & Devrient GmbH (G&D) successfully completed a supply chain management project with Wassermann AG to create inventory visibility across all sites. Read more
Supply Chain Management Increases Performance
The study “Global Supply Chain Management Excellence” by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, in collaboration with WHU (Otto Beisheim School of Management), Stanford University and ETH Zurich shows: supply chain management significantly impacts company performance. Read more
Warehouse Optimization as Top Priority
Two out of three supply chain managers currently feel their work to be strongly affected by the economic crisis, far more than by customer requirements (46 percent) or the pursuit of sustainability (37 percent). These are the findings of an international study conducted by Capgemini Consulting on the current situation in Supply Chain Management (SCM). 300 companies were questioned for the study.
„Although the total number of SCM projects for 2009 has not decreased by the crisis, changes in the goal setting have become visible,” says Dr Martin Raab (photo), Head of SCM at Capgemini Consulting.
Since the beginning of the crisis, managers have focussed on projects involving fast cost cutting or better contract terms. The top ten of current SCM projects are led by steps aimed at warehouse optimization (48 percent), followed closely by strategic SCM projects (45 percent) and projects for long-term planning and forecasting (44 percent).
“The study makes clear however that, for managers, a short term success through warehouse optimization or contract renogatiations has priority over those SCM projects with a long-term effect,” states Dr Martin Raab. A loss of 14 percentage points shows that strategic SCM projects are the clear loser of the crisis. This does not really surprise Dr Martin Raab who points out a considerable risk involved: “Now is the time for cost cutting to be combined with innovation and process optimization. This is the only way to achieve a competitive edge that will be of use right after the recession.”
The complete study „Crisis dominates the supply chain agenda in 2009“ can be downloaded at Capgemini.
Innovation Award for Ariba
Ariba, the spend management solutions provider, has been named Best Supply Chain Management Company by Financial-i Magazine. Read more
