Dr. Karen Hannel

Global trade practitioners face waves of uncertainty with the possibilities of slews of international tariffs and work stoppages at ports on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts. There are other weighty challenges as well, including conflicts in Russia-Ukraine and the Middle East, increasingly dangerous storms, and seasonal capacity strains and congestion. Technology plays an increasingly important role in overcoming the many challenges in the global supply chain. “The evolution of supply chain technology has allowed the shipping industry to enhance its operational capabilities. Automation, real-time tracking, and improved throughput have helped manage the heavy volume growth experienced during the pandemic, but recent challenges have highlighted the need for even more robust strategies,” Karim Jumma, e2open’s vice president of product management, wrote in a contributed SupplyChainBrain article. Jumma cited geopolitical conflicts, extreme weather events, and logistical bottlenecks as examples of challenges that have tested the industry and “increased the need for innovative solutions that prioritize flexibility and data-driven decision-making to mitigate against ongoing disruptions.” Supply Chain Now is highlighting E2open, WCAworld, and DP World, three companies continually working on innovative solutions to global trade’s most pressing challenges. DP World Takes Collaborative Approach to Global Challenges DP World’s marketing material says the…

At the Gartner Supply Chain Planning Summit in Denver, Scott Luton sat down with Sean Elliott, CEO of ToolsGroup, to discuss why uncertainty is no longer something supply chain leaders should fear—and how the right technology can turn volatility into advantage. Elliott brings decades of experience across supply chain execution and planning, a background that shapes his pragmatic leadership philosophy. As he noted, bad plans can cripple even the best execution environments, just as poor execution can undermine well-crafted plans. ToolsGroup’s mission sits squarely at that intersection.   What Makes ToolsGroup Different Elliott described ToolsGroup as one of the few truly probabilistic planning providers in the market. While many vendors claim probabilistic capabilities, most stop at probabilistic forecasting. ToolsGroup goes further by embedding probabilistic thinking across the full breadth of its planning technology. The company’s belief is simple but powerful: uncertainty is not the enemy—it’s an asset. Rather than chasing forecast accuracy for its own sake, ToolsGroup focuses on business outcomes. What planning organizations really care about, Elliott argued, is having the right inventory in the right place at the right time to satisfy customers. Customer satisfaction—driven by availability, pricing, and service—is the ultimate goal. Probabilistic planning enables organizations to…