Dr. Karen Hannel

Special Guest Blog Post written by Jeff Echel and Steve Lykken with e2open   Supply chain planners in high-tech don’t just manage shipments; they’re crisis managers, data detectives, and sometimes, referees in a high-stakes game of inventory tug-of-war. Why do these planners find themselves huddled in “war rooms,” surrounded by spreadsheets and urgent emails? It starts with relentless pressure: customers expect rapid, reliable service, but the reality is a maze of long lead times, outsourced manufacturing, and unpredictable global logistics. Securing critical components can take months, and a single misstep, like overstocking or missing a shipment, can ripple through the business, impacting revenue and margins. The chaos: War rooms and spreadsheet battles Add to that, the complexity of forecasting demand. Planners reconcile noisy, inconsistent data from retailers and distributors, often with little visibility, into . Forecasts are built, torn down, and rebuilt, sometimes manually, as teams try to align bottom-up channel data with top-down financial targets. Meanwhile, supply plans are constantly threatened by shortages, excess inventory, and last-minute changes. When demand surges or supply is disrupted, channels compete for limited stock, sometimes “stealing” from each other, and sometimes winning simply by being the loudest voice in the room. All of…

Warehousing historically hasn’t been a particularly exciting topic. But times have changed. Thanks to technological innovations, warehouse automation has made the receiving, housing, and distributing of goods truly fascinating stuff. At Supply Chain Now, we spotlight companies doing exciting things throughout the industry. In modern warehousing, the innovations garnering attention include systems integrations involving robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI); the use of optical character recognition (OCR) technology in yard management; an “elegant” automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS); and a solution called Chuck. Warehousing at a Crossroads: Innovation for Efficiency “The warehousing industry is experiencing a technological revolution, with advancements in automation, robotics, IoT, AI, and data analytics transforming operations and driving efficiency. These innovations are not just enhancing operational capabilities but are also paving the way for smarter, more connected, and efficient warehouse environments,” an October report by Taiwan-based logistics property developer ALP said. ALP said AS/RSs, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and robotics “are at the forefront of the smart warehousing revolution. These systems enhance efficiency, reduce labor costs, and improve accuracy.” AI and Robotics: A New Frontier for Modern Warehousing A Forbes Council post in November said that “one of the most visible impacts of AI and…