Lowes Foods, a family-owned grocery chain with stores located throughout North and South Carolina, is one of the region’s largest
Author: Demand Clarity
Jeff Harrop and Mike Doherty are the founding partners of Demand Clarity Inc, which helps clients design and implement supply chain planning processes. They have worked with some of North America's largest retailers, distributors and CPG manufacturers. Together with Andre Martin they co-authored Flowcasting the Retail Supply Chain, a book that outlines a new approach for managing the retail supply chain (www.flowcastingbook.com).
Is Flowcasting the Supply Chain Only for the Few?
Flowcasting has often been referred to as ‘the Holy Grail’ of demand driven supply chain planning (and rightly so). Driving
Philosophy
Tony Dungy is a legendary NFL football coach and one of the most respected figures in professional sports. Dungy has
Brilliant Boredom (Supply Chain Management)
Are you bored? Chances are, you’re not and that’s a problem. As a society we’ve won the battle against boredom.
Bad habits in retail supply chain planning
Friedrich Nietsche said “Most bad habits are tools to help us through life.” This is especially true in the world
Theory & Practice (Demand Planning)
I think it was Yogi Berra who said, “In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice,
The Biggest Mistake You’ll Ever Make (Supply Chain Change Management Tips)
You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t possibly make them all yourself. – Sam Levenson ‘How does
Doing the math (Flowcasting)
I can still remember how excited and proud I was when I presented my Mom an autographed copy of our
In praise of a different kind of “collaboration” between retailers and suppliers
According to dictionary.com, the definition of ‘collaborate’ is: ‘to work, one with another; cooperate’. Recently, I received an email from
Why cognitive overload undermines planning solutions
In the mid 1950’s a series of simple experiments were held with various groups of people to get a handle
The Inkblot: Why Flowcasting really isn’t subject to interpretation
Philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it. – Karl Marx
Alcohol and Addicts: Do retail supply chain planners need a 12 step program?
“The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.” – Samuel
Cross Purposes: Does demand planning belong with merchandising or supply chain?
A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest
Uniquely Unqualified: Why ignoring your customers can be a good thing
Think back to the first microwave that your parents had and what are you likely to see? A rectangular box
Lost in Translation-Incorporating Consumer Demand into your Supply Chain
It’s interesting how a small mistranslation can drastically change the intended meaning of a word or phrase. While the result can
A shift in philosophy: basketball and your demand forecast
In January 1971, Fordham University Rams played an NCAA basketball game against the then mighty University of Massachusetts Redmen team.
Neat Little Bows—There’s a better way to manage your promotions
For decades, retailers have been managing two supply chains: one for when a product is selling at regular price and one for when a
Old Dogs, New Tricks in Supply Chain
There’s a saying, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. But if you were one of Susan Butcher’s dogs,
Repurposed: How old ideas can transform your supply chain
It’s 1946 and a young Lee Iacocca finishes engineering school and joins Ford Motor Company – at the time, one
The true nature of accountability in your supply chain
The word “accountability” is being thrown around quite a bit nowadays. Whether you’re working as a project team member, or involved in
An Unfair Advantage: The Power of Technology+People in Your Supply Chain
In February of 1996, for the first time ever, a computer defeated a reigning champion human player in a regulation game
Sticks and Ropes: Supply Chain Planning
Roy Hollister Williams is a consultant and author from Austin, Texas. He is a self-proclaimed ad man and is known within
The Power of Quiet in Your Supply Chain
The Subarctic Survival situation is a leadership assignment that every incoming class at Harvard Business School participates in designed to
Santa’s Supply Chain
Who has the best consumer products supply chain in the world? Is it Wal-Mart? Amazon.com? Apple? All good guesses, but
It Bears Repeating…How to Forecast Slow Selling Items
“It sells less than 10 units per store per year! Who cares?!?” Slow selling items is a topic we