Dr. Madhav Durbha

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…

In today’s complex supply chain landscape, effective transportation management is less an ambition than a necessity. As the logistics industry attempts to keep pace with rapid technological advancements, a dynamic regulatory environment, and ever-shifting market dynamics, the field of transportation management is working to keep pace with the constantly changing demands of a complex transportation sector. In hopes of better understanding what transportation management means in 2024, Supply Chain Now is partnering with innovative TMS provider RateLinx on an interesting research project: the TM Tech Survey 2024, which focuses on transportation management technology. But before we get there, let’s talk about why shippers in record numbers are demanding effective transportation management solutions. Three Reasons Shippers Require Effective Transportation Management According to an analysis from Gartner, the global TMS industry is expected to reach $2.11B by the end of 2024, a 60% increase from the industry’s value in 2019. It’s clear that today’s shippers, operating in a world plagued by volatility and disruption, understand the value of transportation management. This section looks at three key reasons why today’s shippers require effective transportation management. 1: Enhanced Operational Efficiency In 2024, transportation technology is indispensable for optimizing logistics operations. Today’s leading transportation management…