Jessica DePinto

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…

Supply Chain Now has been full of great conversations, key takeaways, and inspiring stories from some amazing business leaders this week. Make sure you catch all the latest episodes, interviews, conversations, and livestreams right here for all the hottest supply chain news! On Saturday, Steve Britt, senior manager for customs at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, joins us in partnership with AIAG – Automotive Industry Action Group’s 2020 Supply Chain Summit to talk about his role and thepartnership between industry and US Customs and Border Protection.     On Monday, Scott and the Vector Global Logistics team sat down with Steven Stirling from MAP International for an episode of our Logistics with Purpose series to hear Steven’s inspiring story that made him dedicate his life to bringing critical medicines and health supplies to some of the world’s poorest people.   On Tuesday, TEK TOK Digital Supply Chain Podcast with host Karin Bursa welcomed industry trailblazer Lora Cecere, CEO of Supply Chain Insights, to hear about Lora’s career path     On Wednesday, Scott and Greg sit down with Bob Bova from AccuSpeechMobile to the Supply Chain Buzz to talk about how voice automation in the warehouse is increasing producitivity and announcing na…