The 10 best performing microsoft solution providers 2018

www.insightssuccess.com June 2018

THE

u pply

Chain SOLUTION PROVIDERS

2018

Editor’s Choice The Universality of IoT Technology

Sergio Retamal Business Buzz

CEO

The ‘Why’ and ‘How’ of Today’s Business Buzzword ‘Innovation’

Global4PL: Enabling Organizations to Expand and Win Globally

Supply Chain: Strengthening Internal Chains and Empowering Businesses

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he concept of supply chain management and its benefits are bespoken in the business world.

However, for many years the concept remained only a putative idea. Over the last decade or so, supply chain management has considerably gained significant traction amongst various industries; the reason for the same being quite interesting to decipher.

With the shifting focus from manufacturing to customer value, companies are not much concerned about manufacturing costs or producing high-quality products. On the contrary, the major challenge is to deliver the correct product, at the correct location, at the time the customers need, in the appropriate quantity, and at the lowest possible cost. It is quite impossible to meet up to these challenges without the help of a unit that develops comprehensive strategies and precisely strengthens business chains. This entails the need of supply chain management (SCM).

Supply chain management (SCM) is the perfect blend of business and technology discipline that refers to the ways of co-coordinating the activities involved in purchasing, designing, building and selling a product. The team of any supply chain management provider utilizes Information Technology to create a cross functional inter-enterprise system called SCM information systems.

These systems incorporate the business processes of suppliers, purchasing firms, distributors, and custom logistics in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of manufacturing and distribution. They maintain and streamline the flow of information between a company and its supply chain partners to optimize the sourcing, procurement, manufacturing and delivery of products or services.

A company can deploy a supply chain management system in-house or can even hire a special team of professionals dedicated to maintain the business chain. Most of the world’s leading brands have witnessed numerous benefits of hiring such team, and more and more companies from various industries are showing interest in employing the same.

However, supply chain management and its solutions vary from product to product and services to services. Hence it becomes prerequisite for potential customer to understand the difference between supply chain management solutions and their ability to channelize their business.

To shed light over the industry and recognize some of the best supply chain solution providers, Insights Success has curated a list of “The 10 Best Performing Supply Chain Solution Providers, 2018” that are excelling their provision of best-in-class supply chain solutions and playing a vital part in the success of associated organization.

Featuring as the Cover Story we have Global4PL is a leading supply chain solutions provider that specializes in helping hi-tech companies penetrate new regional markets, optimize their supply chain delivery models, and lower supply chain costs.

In this issue, we have also listed Adexa’s Attribute Based Planning allows user-defined dynamic constraints and significantly enhances the speed of runs by orders of magnitude; OnProcess Technology an award winning managed services provider specializing in complex, global service supply chain operations; Terso Solutions, Inc. is the leading provider of automated inventory management solutions for tracking high-value medical and scientific products in healthcare and life science; Source Intelligence is a market-leading SaaS management company, focused on supply chain compliance, data analytics, and risk management; ChainSequence is committed to helping enterprises identify challenges, create innovative solutions, and implement lasting improvements in Supply Chain processes to advance Sales & Operations goals; State of Flux is a leading procurement and supply chain consultancy providing contract lifecycle management, category management and strategic sourcing, and supplier management services; and RightChain offers supply chain analytics, consulting, research and education to large and medium-size corporations in all major industries and in all parts of the world.

Also don’t forget to flip through some insightful CXO’s written by industry leaders and articles penned by our in-house editorial team.

Happy Reading!

Kaustav Roy

CONTENTS Cover Story

Global4PL: Enabling Organizations to Expand and Win Globally

08

Expert's Advice

Industry Insights

How Technology is Simplifying Supply Chain for the Better

What Does Supply Chain Visibility Look Like?

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32

Article Editorʼs Choice The Universality of IoT Technology Business Buzz The ʻWhyʼ and ʻHowʼ of Todayʼs Business Buzzword ʻInnovationʼ

24 Mentor's Opinion

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How Technology is Changing Supply Chain Management for the Better

40

Adexa: Making Supply Chains EďŹƒcient since inception

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ChainSequence: Helping Enterprises Identify Challenges, Create Innovative Solutions

OnProcess Technology: Transforming the Service Supply Chain

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28

RightChain: Expert Supply Chain and Logistics Solutions

Source Intelligence: Disrupting Supplier Risk Assessment

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State of Flux: An Expert in Procurement and Supply Chain Practices

Terso Solutions,Inc.: Delivering Revolutionary Automated Inventory Management Solutions Globally

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Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Executive Editors Assistant Editors Contributing Editors Visualiser Art & Design Director Associate Designer Co-designer

Pooja M. Bansal Anish Miller Abhishaj Sajeev Jenny Fernandes Kaustav roy Kedar kulkarni Bhushan Kadam David King Amol Kamble Tejas Kulkarni Sapana Shinde

Art & Picture Editor Paul Belin Jayant Khanna Senior Sales Manager Passi D. Business Development Manager Peter Collins Marketing Manager John Matthew Business Development Executives Steve, Joe, Alan, Pranay Sales Executives David, Kevin, Mark, Ajinkya Technical Head Jacob Smile Technical Specialist Amar, Pratiksha Digital Marketing Manager Marry D’Souza Online Marketing Strategist Alina Sege, Shubham, Vaibhav K SME-SMO Executives Prashant Chevale, Uma Dhenge, Gemson, Irfan Research Analyst Chidiebere Moses Circulation Manager Robert, Tanaji Database Management Stella Andrew Technology Consultant David Stokes sales@insightssuccess.com

June, 2018 Corporate Ofces: Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com

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SOLUTION PROVIDERS 2018

Global4PL: Enabling Organizations to Expand and Win Globally

We enable our clients’ top-line global growth strategy as they enter new markets, region by region, country by country. Along the way, we help them avoid costly trade compliance errors and the associated penalties.

Cover Story

Sergio Retamal CEO

We are a team of high-performance, hands-on industry veterans that come to the table with proven experience. We deploy experts in import/export compliance, multi-mode transportation, partner negotiations, third party logistics, and general operations management to implement innovative solutions with immediate, measurable results.

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lobal4PL is a leading supply chain solutions provider that specializes in helping companies penetrate new regional markets, optimize their supply chain delivery models, and lower their supply chain costs. The organization delivers with quick payback innovative, software-backed solutions to its global customer base.

The company’s international team of industry veterans have an accomplished track record of delivering results.

Global4PL deploys on-site experts in import/export compliance and trade law, multi-mode transportation and 3PL negotiations, and global supply chain operations management.

It delivers best-in-class, end-to-end solutions backed by lean process improvement techniques and laser-focused software analytics.

The Dynamic Leader Sergio Retamal, whose career spans a massive 29 years in procurement and supply chain management, is the CEO of Global 4PL. Sergio’s professional experience includes management roles in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

He has been widely recognized for his accomplishments.

Some of these accolades include recognition in the Top 50 Most Admired CEOs of 2017 and inclusion on Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine’s Pros-To-Know from 2007 to 2011 and from 2013 to 2017.

Sergio has also been profiled on the covers of Technology Headlines Magazine and Logistics Tech Magazine in 2017, and by Hispanic Magazine Executive in 2015.

Most recently, Global4PL was awarded with the President’s “E” Award for Export Service at a ceremony in Washington,

D.C. Much of this can be owed to the unwavering contributions of Sergio and his team of professionals.

Additionally, Sergio is the CEO of POHorizon, a global trade compliance SaaS company that helps small to midsize companies improve compliance and navigate complex global customs and regulatory environment. Prior to Global4PL and POHorizon, Sergio gained considerable experience managing logistics and import/export teams in both established and early-stage companies.

He has led global logistics for several Fortune 100 companies and even taught logistics and held board positions in the California State University system. Sergio is frequently invited to speak at domestic and international logistics forums, and has shared his perspective at the World Development Congress in Hong Kong.

He holds a Master’s Degree in Change Management from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business. He earned both a Master’s Degree in Business Administration in International Business and a Bachelor of Science in International Business from California State University, Northridge.

Extensive Range of Services Global4PL’s array of services set it apart from the competition. They are offered in a plug-and-play model to help companies grow internationally, and include consulting, complete supply chain management, customs brokerage, transportation management, and trade law services.

The company’s software ensures trade compliance as well as the visibility of orders and raw supply. On-site personnel are available to support and run operations, in addition to in-country support needed to be successful beyond national borders.

Clients benefit from an array of different skills and resources working simultaneously that keep costs low while maintaining compliance.

Global4L’s services include: Ÿ IOR/EOR: A global program that enables U.S.-based companies to export non-revenue international shipments to other countries without paying the taxes and duties associated with a Temporary Import License. Acting as the client’s in-country legal entity, Global 4PL can support the client’s sales and customer service departments with pre-sale marketing material and demo product shipments while also allowing the company to keep spares inventory near end-customer sites to support quick-turn repairs. Ÿ Consulting: Global4PL’s Supply Chain Consulting services are flexible to the requirements of small and large organizations, high-tech and non-high-tech. It can create, implement or simply conduct a review of a client’s Supply Chain organization in benchmarking, cost analysis, operations, etc. Ÿ Trade Compliance: Global4PL is an award-winning consulting firm that has developed its own SaaS tool.

Trade Compliance services are at the core of what it does, and it helps businesses of all sizes implement and improve their import and export compliance programs. Ÿ Trade Law: Global4PL’s Legal Division helps clients manage risks and maximize opportunities associated with the CBP/BIS audit of their international trade in goods and services. The organization’s practice, centered in Silicon Valley and extending across the globe, provides a wide range of services designed to match the scope of global trade regulation and answer the needs of its clients. Ÿ Customs Brokerage: Global4PL offers a comprehensive range of Customs Brokerage services for importers and exporters which go far beyond what other brokers provide. Ÿ Technology Solutions: Global4PL provides a suite of professional services to ensure that its customers can succeed at implementing new IT and business initiatives. The organization focuses on SCM/Asset Management/CRM implementations and provides support in three key areas: Implementation, Development and Integration services.

The Game-Changing Amazon Effect Global4PL recognizes that the global logistics landscape is undergoing massive transformation, largely fueled by the “Amazon effect”, where clients demand services and products be delivered in the shortest possible time.

We design and deliver holistic, end-to-end supply chain solutions including differentiated supply chain delivery models tailored to our clients’ true needs, and a fully transparent and aligned Sales & Operations Planning Process underpinned by our PO/Horizon proprietary supply chain software.

This demand opens a treasure trove of possibilities as well as challenges for manufacturers. Traditionally, manufacturers had to choose between one and three global legal entities that allowed them to conduct business in other countries. Many were dependent on Value Added Resellers (VARs) who managed their operations in those countries, acting as a liaison between them and the end customer.

approach makes the crucial difference when it matters.

The Challenge of Escalating Products and Services One of the biggest challenges for Global4PL has been to escalate its products and services to support a customer base spread over more than 85 countries. The coverage has to be both efficient and cost-effective while maintaining the focus on customers’ needs which lies at the core of Global4PL’s values.

With the emergence of cloud computing, that time-tested sales channel model is no longer effective.

As an example, consider a Fortune 1000 company that purchases a security appliance for global use.

They expect to interface with one entity, which is the appliance manufacturer, and not many of the different VARs that are region dependent. The security appliance company must then be able to fulfill this order around the globe, often shipping not to an OEM’s facility, but to a colocation data center.

These shifts in customer practices are creating a perfect storm that requires an economical way to deliver products globally without channel support. International trade is ripe with opportunities for those who can nail down the logistics of moving products internationally in a predictable, compliant, and costeffective way.

Helping Clients with Massive Coverage and Dedicated Employees Doing business with Global4PL comes with several benefits, some of which are as basic as having the local representation of a USA-based corporation with coverage over 85 countries.

We conduct a complete review of your supply chain management that spans all movement and storage of raw materials, workin-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption.

Global4PL also has the right mix of expertise to deliver trade compliance, customs brokerage, Importer of Record (IOR), Exporter of Record (EOR), transportation services and a full suite of supply chain services.

In one word, the organization can take care of all its customer’s global needs with full compliance and with an award-winning team.

Global4PL’s employees are eager to be part of every client’s logistics journey and to help them grow and become more competitive. Its customized

Global4PL’s IOR expertise is sought by a growing number of clients, including large corporations that see the risk of importing into other countries. They are drawn by its services compliance with worldwide regulations and the range of services which address the needs of a global supply chain.

Future Roadmap Global4PL’s success is driven by its ability to help customers navigate the difficulties of doing business globally and to help them succeed.

The company only considers a project successful if the customer’s business grows and it achieves the best and most efficient global footing.

Global4PL’s takes pride in capitalizing on opportunities provided by customers, as well as the opportunities that it has opened to them.

The company is currently working on expanding its global footprint.

Within the next few years, they plan to expand from covering 85 countries to over 140. It is what Global4PL’s customers want.

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Company Name

Management

Brief

Adexa, Inc adexa.com

K. Cyrus Hadavi Founder

Adexa’s Attribute Based Planning allows user-defined dynamic constraints and significantly enhances the speed of runs by orders of magnitude.

ChainSequence, Inc. ChainSequence.com

Bill Mrzlak Co-founder & Managing Partner

ChainSequence is committed to helping enterprises identify challenges, create innovative solutions, and implement lasting improvements in Supply Chain processes to advance Sales & Operations goals.

Global4PL global-4pl.com

Sergio Retamal CEO

Global4PL is a leading supply chain solutions provider that specializes in helping hi-tech companies penetrate new regional markets, optimize their supply chain delivery models, and lower supply chain costs.

Manhattan Associates manh.com

Eddie Capel President & CEO

Manhattan Associates designs, builds and delivers supply chain commerce solutions that drive top line growth by converging front-end sales with back-end.

OnProcess Technology onprocess.com

Mike Wooden CEO

OnProcess Technology is a managed services provider specializing in complex global service supply chain operations.

RightChain rightchain.com

Dr. Ed Frazelle Founder & CEO

RightChain offers supply chain analytics, consulting, research and education to large and medium-size corporations in all major industries and in all parts of the world.

Source Intelligence LLC sourceintelligence.com

Jess F. Kraus Co-Founder & CEO

Source Intelligence is a market-leading SaaS management company, focused on supply chain compliance, data analytics, and risk management.

State of Flux stateofflux.co.uk

Alan Day Chairman & Founder

State of Flux is a leading procurement and supply chain consultancy providing contract lifecycle management, category management and strategic sourcing, and supplier management services.

Terso Solutions, Inc tersosolutions.com

Joe Pleshek President & CEO

Terso Solutions, Inc. is the leading provider of automated inventory management solutions for tracking high-value medical and scientific products in healthcare and life science.

Vizient vizientinc.com

Curt Nonomaque CEO

Vizient connects members with knowledge, solutions and expertise that accelerates performance to ensure that they deliver exceptional, cost-effective health care.

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Chris Gordon VP & Product Lead SC Navigator

AIMMS

hen I ďŹ rst started working in supply chain, back in the 90s, data availability and technology were nowhere near what we have today. I was fortunate enough to work with Alan Braithwaite, who created the initial cost-to-serve methodology. There were signiďŹ cant challenges then, but after months of hard work, we generated a cost-toserve model that often led to some surprising results and strategic choices.

This was similar for all supply chain professionals. Projects were long, exhausting and expensive, involving large teams of consultants. Collecting data was a hassle to say the least. Fastforward to 2018 and we are at the onset of a digital supply chain transformation. How exactly is technology simplifying the supply chain for the better?

Simplifying data collection Gartner predicts that by 2020, over 20 Billion devices will be connected.

With the Internet of Things and IT

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June 2018

Expert’s Advice integration projects, data collection has gotten somewhat easier. But this has also created other challenges: data overload and quality issues. When you buy supply chain optimization software, you still need to hunt around for data to make the technology work. It often feels like you work for the technology vendor, not the other way around. That’s why 60% of the time spent in analytical supply chain projects is spent collecting, cleansing and formatting data.

What if instead of trying to fit your data to the technology, the technology’s architecture would be designed around satisfying your broad supply chain needs? Imagine building a comprehensive and robust supply chain data set with the help of a wizard that tells you exactly which data you need to answer the questions you have? This is now within reach.

At AIMMS, we’re simplifying the data collection process with Data Navigator, an integrated cloud database that brings structure to complexity and enables you to share data across multiple functional areas.

I expect to see data architecture moving in this direction, as it makes it easier to deploy additional solutions, test new things, and embed a new strategy in your business very quickly.

Simplifying data analysis In the past, it could take hours or (dare I say) days to solve a supply chain model. Today, thanks to advanced computing power, we can solve a model in seconds. Still, not all organizations are making use of this speed. Clunky systems that need to be managed by experts still abound. The promise of real-time, self-service analytics is elusive.

Take S&OP support software, for instance. We held an S&OP workshop at a recent conference in Amsterdam where we simulated a Capacity Review meeting. During the workshop, we learned that virtually all attendees had a pain point in common: they always had to go back to their desk to test different scenarios after an S&OP meeting. None was able to perform scenario comparisons in real-time to discuss insights with stakeholders during the meeting. Some also lacked advanced analytics and optimization capabilities.

New self-service technologies enriched with prescriptive analytics, such as AIMMS S&OP Navigator, allow you to perform easy and real-time scenario management without data science expertise. With this capability, you can run and compare multiple scenarios side-by-side in the executive meeting at the end of S&OP and make conversations richer, more entertaining and fluid. Moreover, your meetings will be more strategic, rather than focused on granular, operational things.

chain. Most organizations start their supply chain analytics journey by using spreadsheets, using data from transactional systems. Spreadsheets are great for personal productivity and they tend to work well for the person that builds them, but what happens when you work in a team of 100 spread across different regions? As more and more people get involved, more versions of these spreadsheets get shared. Sharing knowledge is difficult and the original logic behind each spreadsheet is often hard for others to comprehend.

Cloud based analytical systems that allow for version control are simplifying collaboration across the supply chain. Replacing spreadsheets with a central tool allows people to gain a lot more insight into their business.

Centralizing this data and providing wide access has been one of the biggest benefits AIMMS clients like BP have achieved.

Simplifying decision-making Basing complex supply chain decisions on common sense has its pitfalls, but organizations still tend to rely on gut feel to run their supply chain. With prescriptive analytics, they no longer need to. As long as the system is fed the right data, they should be able to support their decisions on fact and predictable business outcomes. Thanks to mobile technologies, decisions can also be made on the go, regardless of your location or time of day. Thanks to advances in machine learning, it is no longer difficult to imagine a semi-autonomous supply chain, were certain decisions are taken automatically and others are left to human insight.

In short, technology has certainly simplified supply chain throughout the years. But as much as that is true, technology alone is not going to revolutionize supply chain management. The key factor for success is people, and the commitment of supply chain leadership and teams to leverage new, intuitive technologies to improve their supply chain strategy and execution.

Chris Gordon has worked in supply chain consulting and operations across Europe, the US and India for over 25 years. He’s driven dozens of supply chain initiatives in retail, consumer goods and manufacturing with a heavy focus on leveraging analytics to promote major business change. He is passionate about making supply chain analytics accessible to everyone to drive data-driven, factbased decisions to drive major strategic and operational impact.

Simplifying collaboration Besides bringing data analysis closer to end (business) users, technology is also simplifying collaboration in supply June 2018

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Adexa: Making Supply Chains Efficient since inception

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he geographical footprint of companies in virtually every industry has grown exponentially over the past few decades. Not only do they cater to more clients in more countries but also manage networks of suppliers, subcontractors, manufacturing sites and inventory points spread over vast distances, both nationally and internationally.

Without proper management, the incredible complexity and unwieldiness of such a supply chain ecosystem is the perfect breeding ground for lost revenue, lost assets, and lost reputations.

Adexa’s technology enables you lower the operation cost, minimize inventory cost and ensure on-time delivery of goods.

Meet Adexa Founded in 1994, Adexa has grown to become one of the world’s leading supply chain planning companies. Its S&OP and S&OE solutions are used by Fortune 2000 companies located across five continents.

One of Adexa’s strongest features is that it creates a unified environment which incorporates planning solutions from demand planning to inventory optimization and supply planning to factory planning and scheduling.

Adexa fortifies this system through the use of optimization algorithms, heuristics and Machine Learning techniques to deliver accurate real-time solutions across global networks.

The company is not content to let its status as a market leader detract from its continued commitment to adaptability and dexterity where the name is derived from.

It is already fomenting revolutionary changes in the industry by introducing innovative technology like Attribute Based Planning (ABP) and Artificial Intelligence. Adexa’s Self-Improving Supply Chain© technology constantly assesses underlying changes in the demand and supply network and adapts itself to the environment.

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K. Cyrus Hadavi Founder Standing Out Adexa’s comprehensive suite of solutions caters to supply chain essentials from top-level planning to execution, all in a unified environment. This unique approach offers exceptional advantages: Ÿ Attribute-Based Planning (ABP) - Adexa’s proprietary technology that enables fast and flexible modeling of the supply chain and the ability to adapt to supply chain changes without any additional coding and consulting. Ÿ Planning accuracy – the accuracy with which they can model a supply chain means that the resulting plans are executable and reliable. Ÿ Low cost of ownership: When ABP technology is used, minimal resources are required to model the environment and make future changes as the business changes. Ÿ Single-environment S&OP and S&OE – Virtually every other planning solution only uses S&OP technology based on spreadsheet-type plans, which require extensive manual intervention and, thus, are prone to errors. By contrast, Adexa’s highly-accurate plans are completely self-sustaining. Ÿ Financial and operations planning combined Financials and analytics are embedded in every Adexa planning module, giving end-users at every level their own dashboard to understand the financial consequences of every operational decision. Ÿ Use of AI and Machine Learning technology – Supply chains evolve constantly and static models become increasingly inaccurate over time. Adexa’s SelfImproving Supply Chain© technology allows the system to constantly learn and adapt to its environment. Their technology reveals hidden trends which can be leveraged to constantly male good plans and deliver ontime at lower cost of operations.

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Supply Chain pressures and challenges are ever present in good or poor economic climates. For over 20 years, Adexa has been dedicated to providing the most advanced planning technologies to help its clients rise above their competition and keep their customers happy regardless of the market conditions. I am proud to be an evangelist for Adexa’s solutions and its passionate people.

Ÿ

Risk management – AI technology can detect potential harmful trends before they affect the supply chain.

For example, excess inventory, and impending shortages or weather conditions that may affect future deliveries.

Decisive Leadership Adexa was founded by Dr. K. Cyrus Hadavi in 1994. Dr. Hadavi is one of the world’s foremost experts on supply chain management and related fields.

Under his leadership, Adexa has become one of the top supply chain companies in the world with a presence on five continents.

Dr. Hadavi’s experience has been instrumental for many Fortune 1000 companies, including Black & Decker, Solectron, Northrop-Grumman, Philips, Toshiba, GM, Boeing, Hanes and Seagate Cyrus is one of the pioneers of applying Artificial Intelligence to planning problems. At Siemens, he implemented the first-generation of his AI planning solutions at their facilities.

This included semiconductor fabrication lines, regarded as the hardest planning and scheduling scenario.

As Adjunct Professor of Operations Management at Columbia University, Dr. Hadavi taught courses on the application of computer science and AI to manufacturing. He has performed joint research at Columbia University, the Wharton School of Management, Loyola University, Clemson June 2018

University, and the Max Planck Institute in Germany.

Besides publishing numerous articles and books on supply chain management, manufacturing, and ecommerce, Dr. Hadavi is a popular speaker at business forums.

He holds a B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering and an M.Sc. degree in Industrial Management from the University of Birmingham, UK. He also holds an M.Sc. degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Southampton, UK, and a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Dr. Hadavi is on the ECE Advisory Council (ECEC) at Michigan University, a group committed to positive, transformational change across all industries. He is an also an Executive Board member of the Center for Global Supply Chain Management at the USC Marshal School of Business.

Innovative Solutions, Always Developing a thriving business in a field which moves and evolves so rapidly is never easy. Adexa’s stature today is built on its ability to foresee and avoid potential drawbacks, and to respond quickly and effectively when that is not possible.

One of the issues with which it has had to contend since the very first days is the difference in cultures between client companies. Because it deals with

such diverse clientele, Adexa has to constantly shift and adapt so its approach fits perfectly in every situation.

Client education can also be an obstacle. Because change is never easy, C-level executives on the client’s side have to be convinced of the efficacy of Adexa’s solutions. Adexa has to effectively convey how its technology simplifies the role of everyone in the supply chain.

Finally, there is a great disparity in terms of functionality between legacy systems used by clients and the cutting-edge Adexa platform. They have to ensure that their sophisticated algorithms do not affect its userfriendliness and that the platform does not require extensive end-user training.

It is Adexa’s ability to consistently solve such problems that underscores its reputation as one of the best supply chain planning companies in the world.

The culture of innovation is as strong as ever. Adexa is currently in the process of combining animation technology with predictive analytics to produce notifications for critical information across all mobile devices.

With such cutting-edge technology in the works, Adexa is laying the foundation for continued excellence and market leadership. www. Adexa.com

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ChainSequence: Helping Enterprises Identify Challenges, Create Innovative Solutions Bill Mrzlak Co-founder & Managing Partner

F

or over 20 years, ChainSequence professionals continue to deliver transformative Supply Chain project deployments on behalf of organizations that are seeking meaningful change to outdated, cumbersome processes in today’s digital, cloud-based marketplace. From both an efficiency and competitive perspective, ChainSequence’s supply chain planning services integrate best-practice, nimbler processes with sales and operations objectives. Augmenting these services with advances in benchmarking support analytics, the firm’s clients benefit from more structured, enterprise-wide planning cycles to ensure new systems are functioning at peak performance.

Talented Leadership Coincides with Vast Experience With more than 25 years of experience in leading professional teams, Bill Mrzlak is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of ChainSequence. Equipped with an encyclopedic knowledge and a remarkable ability to build support for common goals at multiple levels—C-suite, senior leadership, and cross-functional operational teams—Bill continues to drive the development and optimization of best-in-class supply chain planning organizations throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. He excels at leading these global teams in the highly technical arena of business process re-engineering through facilitated sessions, as well as managing enterprise-wide systems development and project deployments.

Bill and his teams possess a sterling reputation for guiding client groups toward getting to the heart of what’s really holding their enterprises back. ChainSequence’s goal is to

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help businesses learn how to first remove these obstructions, and then focus energy on developing and deploying a more inclusive framework for holistic solutions going forward.

Holistic Approach to Solving Client Challenges One key attribute that sets ChainSequence apart is its knowledge-share philosophy, which prioritizes gamechanging guidance to develop client autonomy. As a consulting group, ChainSequence focuses specifically on business process improvement, organizational development, and process ownership, and the firm has built a strong following for its work in educating clients on the how’s and why’s of best-practice supply chain planning with S&OP to improve overall business performance. By applying these constructive, educational components with targeted metrics to ensure positive change management and healthy ROI, clients achieve more transparent business processes, tied to robust sales and operations programs, that allow for continuous improvement over time.

E-commerce Disruptions to Traditional Business Models E-commerce has fundamentally disrupted the status quo, changing how business will be conducted for the foreseeable future. Mrzlak stresses that among ecommerce’s key traits is its elimination of much of the human element from everyday business. Transactions arrive at lightning speed, and in no particular order, which subsequently dictates the increased competitive need for speed in customer responsiveness. When humans aren’t involved in electronic sales, a business could quickly fail if

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One key attribute that sets ChainSequence apart is its knowledge-share philosophy, which prioritizes game changing guidance to develop client autonomy.

these transactions are processed without a sound plan. Recognizing the challenges this new dynamic posed to its clients early on, ChainSequence successfully adapted and expanded the firm’s service frameworks to accommodate online sales, incorporate enhanced data modeling, develop more customer-centric systems, integrate multiple supply, inventory, and demand channels, and augment educational sessions to help client teams gain inhouse proficiencies in these concepts.

To execute rapid-fire response times for these processes more effectively, ChainSequence helps companies deploy a clearly defined set of rules to support their strategic and financial goals. The firm emphasizes that while it’s not possible to resolve every unique scenario, it is essential to define key rules supporting the most common situations and minimize the number of exceptions. The key to e-commerce is to build autonomy and foster growth potential, underscoring that as an enterprise’s process matures and cycles of learning continue, it can adjust the rules as necessary to continuously improve results.

to support Supply Chain and Sales & Operations Planning goals. All too often, Mrzlak says, the firm’s practice leaders encounter organizations or individuals who assume that software suites or systems can solve all their issues. While advancements in technology and planning tools allow us to optimize our original models and gain faster ROI, supply chain planning and S&OP planning improvements are still inherently bound by proven, rulesbased business process logic and leadership that is committed to change management. By ignoring the imperative to analyze and fix inherent process obstacles—not putting these rules in place first—this mindset will ultimately lead to 1) getting a bad result faster, and 2) achieving a very costly lesson learned. Mastering the “tools-before-rules” opposition can be challenging, but by working closely with an organization through hands-on guidance and consensus-building, we greatly improve the chances of longterm success.

Planning for a Productive Future ChainSequence professionals have worked in countless organizations across different industry sectors all

around the globe, experiencing varying degrees of the same issues from one organization to the next. Having said that, it doesn’t mean the team has seen everything. Mrzlak says that changing customer demand, the global digital evolution, the role of data analytics, and emerging RPA/AI-related innovations will drive new requirements and scenarios.

ChainSequence continues to incorporate these new realities into its business process models.

ChainSequence enjoys broad partnerships with other service providers, professional associations, and thought leaders in technology solution deployment. These connections have formed a virtual innovation lab, offering a better understanding of market conditions, tech advancements, and customer nuances from one region to the next.

The firm is successfully expanding its presence in the consumer products, retail, and service-oriented industry sectors in the U.S., Europe, and Asia regions.

Improving Supply Chain Practices leads to Improving Sales and Operations Goals From the very beginning, ChainSequence has focused on developing the best business processes

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The Universality of IoT Technology T

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he gratifying tool for companies to lead ahead IoT Technology” The Internet of things (IoT) is a revolutionary change for many sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, retail, electronic, energy and healthcare which are progressing towards the IoT phenomenon to connect digitally. It has placed an opportunity to build unusual results which increases a company’s compatibility. Enterprises seeking development are focusing on the use of real-time data management and IoT analysis. Many of the companies are adopting this technology to heighten their power of consumption. Companies are mainly concentrating on IoT application from “sensing” instead of “doing” to grow its competitive advantages. This element empowers organizations by allowing them to take the IoT advantage and adopt a more ‘innovative connected approach’.

Infrastructure Management – Optimization of Technology New applications are now enhancing their level of consumption. Likewise, manufacturing sector is also

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Editor’s Choice getting engrossed and achieving excellence through IoT Techniques. Applications are liable for monitoring and controlling operations for urban and rural manufactures like bridges, farms, and railway tracks. It is the key features of the applications were IoT infrastructure is also used for monitoring the construction safety and risk management system and operations. This major feature represents the mechanism of IoT application which works under infrastructure management. Benefits of IoT Technology are cost reducing, time reducing, better in quality, and increase productivity. It helps to make fast decisions and save money with real-time analysis. IoT devices help to give prominent results by monitoring and controlling operations used in all infrastructure related area.

Manufacturing Techniques are Growing with IoT Technology In the manufacturing sector, networking and controlling have been used with IoT devices. It provides information about data and operation stability. Network status and the information is collected in the system by tracking IoT device. Manufacturing control process deliver information about industry application and smart manufacturing details receiving form IoT device. IoT intelligent system enables sharing information about product demands, service management, supply chain networks, sensors and control systems together. Small industries can also be integrated with IoT technology that enables real-time optimization, measurements, production compatibility and safety management.

However, intelligent systems are determined as the significant technique that implies user experience and system security which ultimately saves costs.

which land is fertile or which one is dry and predict future fields.

IoT Technology Helps to Optimize Energy Consumption Integrated Sensing and Control system helps to optimize energy consumption. IoT devices are integrated with energy consumption systems in order to maintain balance between power generation and energy usage. IoT devices offer the opportunity to remotely gather information. It enables advance functions like remote controlling and changing light conditions. IoT Technology work for home-based energy system which provide power related information, energy consumption and energy usage at homes. IoT devices set goals to improve efficiency, reliability and sustainability of the energy system.

Monitoring Environment through IoT Technology Environment monitoring application has been involved with sensors to assist information about environment changes by identifying water quantity, atmosphere, air pressure etc. It also has focus on monitoring movements of wildlife and their habitats. Devices connected to the internet also provide statistics about earthquake or tsunami - early warning systems, and also used as an emergency system. IoT device application is used to collect geographic information and majorly instructive information. This device also uses standardized approach to bring wireless sensing technique and gather finest information.

IoT Technology Helps to Sustain Building and Home Automation

IoT Technology brings Innovative Farming Methods The Agriculture sector is one of the industry to implement IoT technology for stability and better performance. IoT technology has become a significant method of farming. It also offers durability and functionality to the whole process. The combination of wireless sensors with agricultural apps and cloud platforms benefits in gathering definite information relating to environmental conditions like, rainfall, temperature, humidity, wind speed etc. Farmers are getting competent results out of it, and are able to find real-time information easily. Linked with farmland, it improves and automates farming techniques like weather information, taking decision on quality and quantity, and minimizes risk and waste. With IoT Tech farmers can find out detailed information of farm and similarly know June 2018

With certainty, IoT devices are used to monitor and control the mechanical, electrical and electronic systems.

IoT devices are used in various types of home automation and building automation systems. Control and sensory applications offer unified information. The integration of the internet with building creates an energy management system which will allow prominent energy efficiency.

There have been many ways for IoT technology to expand compatibility in the digital world, and it will be implemented in each sector to work as an important tool, to enhance its affinity. After all, the IoT network makes technology more unified and satisfying, with its tools and applications and IoT will be a step ahead towards numerous opportunities.

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OnProcess Technology:

Transforming the Service Supply Chain Mike Wooden CEO

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nProcess Technology is a managed services provider specializing in business process optimization for global service and supply chain organizations. OnProcess delivers improved business outcomes by identifying hidden costs and optimizing the service delivery lifecycle.

Since its inception in 1998, when it pioneered post-sale optimization services, the company has been helping many of the world’s leading brands intelligently scale operations, grow revenue, reduce capital and operational costs, and deliver superior customer experiences.

The combination of its domain expertise and the unique way it has embedded predictive, actionable analytics into automated decision tree processes to drive high-impact outcomes, has made OnProcess the service transformation partner of choice for leading companies like Comcast, Philips, Cisco, Verizon, and AT&T. OnProcess provides services in 23 languages and operates in four global facilities, including its Massachusetts headquarters and centers in Maine, India and Bulgaria.

Intelligently Powered, Analytics-Driven Services Most companies are not able to make dramatic improvements in their service delivery lifecycle because they lack end-to-end-visibility, and don’t have true insights into upstream causes of inefficiencies, customer dissatisfaction and revenue leakage.

OnProcess’ proprietary applications OPTvisionSM and OPTiQSM underly all its services. OPTvision, an actionable

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control tower, provides real-time visibility into an aggregate view of the comprehensive service delivery ecosystem, to identify intelligent insights and resolve hidden costs and process breakage. Within OPTvision, embedded analytics and automated decision-tree business rules drive targeted outcomes that deliver the strongest returns for OnProcess’ clients. OPTvision is powered by OPTiQ, OnProcess’ advanced analytics engine.

OnProcess’s services include: SM Ÿ IntelliForce : The company’s newest innovation is the industry’s only on-demand digital marketplace for field service management. IntelliForce features a dynamic variable labor model that is powered by OPTiQ and sourced from OnProcess’s select network of authorized service partners. Clients benefit from 100% field productivity, reduced costs and improved customer experiences. Ÿ Reverse Logistics: OnProcess intelligently expedites the return of assets from the field or customer, and the movement of defective parts through the repair channel and into inventory, ultimately reducing the need for costly new buys. Ÿ Service Fulfillment: The company manages the dispatch of parts and technicians to optimize service networks and inventory, and rapidly close out service events, meet SLAs, and improve customer satisfaction ratings.

OnProcess assures the right technician and right part get to the right place at the right time. Ÿ Revenue Enablement: OnProcess resolves sales order process breakage, speeds time to revenue recognition, drives service/account activation, and provides customer June 2018

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Our ability to consistently deliver strong results can be traced to our service supply chain expertise, advanced analytics-based services and actionable, intelligent control tower.

education in order to minimize remorse returns and increase crossselling. Ÿ Triage/Customer Support: OnProcess improves the customer experience at every point of interaction, expediting problemsolving with more first-contact resolutions, saving higher-value tech support resources for escalations, and reducing costly, avoidable truck rolls. Ÿ Warranty & Fraud Management: The company also manages the entire warranty process, from product registration, repair order diagnosis, and claims processing, with a special emphasis on fraud prevention, through investigation and loss recovery.

Surprisingly Strong ROI OnProcess reveals that because companies have been focusing on the forward supply chain, they are often not aware of the enormous cost savings and revenue enhancements that can be gained by optimizing the post-sale supply chain.

They are also generally unaware of the hidden complexities and problems inherent in their own post-sale supply chains, and how much their operations

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are suffering because of these issues.

By partnering with OnProcess to digitally transform and optimize their post-sales services, businesses save millions of dollars annually, increase revenue and profitability, vastly improve end-customer satisfaction, and streamline and accelerate the processes underlying their services.

For instance, by working with OnProcess, a U.S. cable operator saw its Net Promoter Score increase 250% while churn decreased, resulting in more than $12M in saved subscriber revenue. In addition, Elekta, a medical device company, centralized its globally-fragmented spare parts order management so it could easily meet SLAs for parts delivery and repair.

They saved nearly $14 million over a three-year period by boosting field return rates and ensuring the right levels of inventory.

Investing in the Future In the coming years, OnProcess will continue investing in new capabilities, advanced technologies and innovative services. This will enable the organization to accelerate clients’ digital transformations and drive even greater value from their post-sale supply chains.

An Experienced Leader Mike Wooden joined OnProcess as CEO in 2015. He has been leading, growing and building global enterprises and start-up businesses for more than two decades. From the very start, Mike believed OnProcess had all the ingredients to be a superstar in a global post-sales services market that was rife with opportunities.

He understood that business success depends as much on what happens after the sale of a product as it does on the sale itself; that how efficiently and intelligently companies handle the post-sale supply chain makes a huge difference to their top and bottom lines.

Even so, until recently, more attention had been paid to the forward supply chain, essentially getting products manufactured. But as businesses look for additional ways to optimize operations and enhance competitive standing, the post-sale supply chain offers tremendous potential since opportunities for optimization are vast and largely untapped. Because most companies don’t have the expertise to fully optimize it on their own, there are enormous growth opportunities for OnProcess.

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RightChain: Expert Supply Chain and Logistics Solutions Dr. Ed Frazelle CEO & Founder

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RightChain Institute and the institute’s curriculum is the world’s leading supply chain professional education program.

RightChain offers supply chain analytics, consulting, research and education to large and medium-size corporations in all major industries across the world.

Among the major corporations currently using its model, methodology and toolkits are Honda, Disney, BP, Hallmark, Nutrisystem, and United Technologies.

RightChain is focused solely on helping clients develop supply chain strategies that maximize financial and service performance.

Dr. Frazelle was founding director of The Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech. As an educator, he has trained more than 50,000 professionals in the principles of world-class logistics and, as a consultant, he has assisted more than 100 corporations and government agencies in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa in their pursuit of world-class supply chains. Dr. Frazelle is also a professor and has lectured at Cornell, Northwestern, the University of Wisconsin, Waseda University, and the National University of Singapore.

His books have been translated into six languages, including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Russian, and Portuguese.

upply Chain Management is the art of delivering the right product at the right time at the right place and at the right cost to customers. Excelling at this art is one of the world’s premier global supply chain firms, RightChain.

The Dynamic Leader The Founder and CEO of RightChain is Dr. Ed Frazelle who is one of the world’s leading authorities on supply chain strategy.

Dr. Frazelle’s Supply Chain Management book series with McGraw-Hill, including Supply Chain Strategy, Inventory Strategy, and World-Class Warehousing is the world’s leading library on supply chain strategy and operations. He is also the Executive Director of

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Dr. Frazelle’s achievements have been recognized with a CSCMP’s Doctoral Research Grant, WERC’s Burr Hupp Fellowship, the Material Handling Institute’s MHEF Fellowship, Kodak’s Educational Grant, and GM’s Scholar Award. He was recently named Georgia Tech’s Outstanding Professional Educator, inducted into the North Carolina State University’s ISE Hall of Fame. He is a former president of the International Material Management Society.

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In this data-driven world and with the modern complexities of global businesses, RightChain provides clients with innovative, reliable and effective supply chain solutions.

Outstanding Services and Expertise RightChain optimizes across financial, service and operational implications; strategic, tactical and executional implications; and the long, middle and short-term implications of the full range of supply chain decisions. This includes supply chain service, inventory, sourcing, transportation, and warehousing.

Customers increase their bottom line by 1% to 5%, reduce inventory by 25% to 35%, elevate fill rates by 3 to 8 points, lower total supply chain costs by 15% to 25%, and integrate their supply chain metrics, planning, and teams.

Every combination of products, customer demographics, and logistics geography requires a unique optimal mix of e-commerce and traditional retail. The winners will be retailers who can determine and execute on that mix.

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RightChain has delivered solutions for the aerospace, automotive, chemicals, consumer products, food and beverages, healthcare, high-tech, natural resources, pharmaceuticals, retail, semiconductor, and textiles industries as well as many others.

Their analysts and consultants are accomplished in supply chain strategy, inventory optimization, supply chain network optimization, sales and operations planning assessments, benchmarking, metrics design and development, organisation development, warehouse operations design and logistics provider selection and negotiation.

A Distinctive Identity Supply chains are becoming increasingly complex and are expected to become more intricate in the future. To maintain its leadership and status in the industry, RightChain has decided to require each of its employees to have a PhD as well as advanced experience in the field.

RightChain will continue to develop its proprietary algorithms and artificial intelligence approaches.

New technologies and trends emerge frequently in the field and RightChain is committed to providing its customers with the best solutions for their business with these developments in mind. The company also assesses their potential benefits for its own business and prioritize implementation goals.

As the industry of Supply Chain Management matures, trends and technologies are of great interest to their clients. RightChain is always focused on knowing what is going on in the market and which trends may help to make processes more efficient, save costs, optimize capacity allocations, and ultimately increase customer satisfaction.

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What Does Supply Chain Visibility Look Like?

Katherine Barrios Chief Marketing Officer

Xeneta

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Industry Insights

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hough the concept of supply change visibility (SCV) has existed for some time now, its applications and definition have undergone massive changes. The supply chain is no longer a controlled entity within the four walls of a warehouse.

Today, the whole process involves a network of resources scattered across facilities and entities in different cities and countries all over the world. In order for them to be managed properly, supply chain resources need to be linked to each other; they need to be able to communicate with one another to achieve maximum benefit.

Supply chain visibility works when suppliers, partners, and customers, who all play different roles within the supply chain, operate as a hub in the movement of goods as well as in the flow of information.

Not very long ago, the idea of full supply chain visibility may have seemed a utopian concept. However, today, most companies try to afford their end users some degree of visibility in order to keep themselves current and offer the best possible customer experience. Although it may not be full visibility, efforts are in place to achieve some degree of visibility across the supply chain.

Achieving full SCV involves a customer-centric approach that will entail the perfect amalgamation of technology and processes to deliver a rich customer experience.

“Supply chain visibility (SCV) is the track-ability or traceability of product orders and physical product shipments from the production source to their destination. This includes logistics activities and transport as well as the state of events and milestones that take place before and during transit.

The objective of SCV is to enhance and empower the supply chain by making information easily accessible to each and every stakeholder, including customers. The integration of SCV tools or systems enables different supply chain divisions in an organization to acquire real-time and precise information regarding stock, orders, and deliveries in their incoming and outgoing networks.”

Supply chain visibility doesn’t begin or end with just the transportation of the product. One of the things that is often forgotten is that a huge amount of effort happens on the cargo procurement side. Without procurement, the product would never make it to the sales floor. The procurement of cargo is complex and historically there has been a lack of accessible data to make it more efficient.

About the Author Katherine Barrios is the Chief Marketing Ofcer of Xeneta with close to 20 years of B2B international product marketing, enterprise sales, tech PR/communication and product management experience from various software industries.

Previously, Katherine was at The Qt Company (Digia, Nokia, Trolltech) as the Director of Global Marketing for the Qt cross-platform software development framework, where she led the global demand generation, communication, product and developer marketing strategy.

Prior to that, she worked at Unit 4 Agresso as Marketing Communications Manager with focus on product marketing and communication and at Opera Software as PR Manager. She also held positions earlier in her career as Account Executive at Weber Schandwick Worldwide PR (Tech Group) and Howard R. Miller Communications, both in Miami, Florida.

Katherine holds a Bachelors of Science in Communication from the University of Miami, graduate studies in Media and Journalism from the University of Oslo and Project Management Executive Studies (M.Sc) from Boston University. Barrios is a native of New Jersey, U.S.

According to a study that was carried out in June 2017, a mere 6 % of companies are able to offer SCV. While everyone wants to June 2018

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achieve it, there is still some way to go before companies can completely deliver full SCV. A 2017 survey of 623 supply chain professionals in 17 countries described their challenges with visibility: Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ

70% of firms described their supply chain as “very” or “extremely complex” 6% said they have “full visibility” to their entire supply chain 74% said they use four to five different transportation modes in their supply chain 81% of firms are using one to three KPIs to assess supply chain performance 84% outsource their transportation services

Source: Geodis 2017 Supply Chain Worldwide Survey Unique Features of Supply Chain Visibility Achieving full SCV is tough and isn’t achieved overnight.

There’s a misconception that merely implementing technology tools will solve the challenges. The supply chain is much more complex than that. Various modes of transport coupled with a lack of operational standards in many parts of the chain make SCV hard to achieve, but not impossible.

This is what SCV looks like and can add to business: Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ

The ability to instantly access vital information An enhanced process efficiency with respect to end-toend business processes Customer requirements addressed through real-time visibility Transparency and the ability to view supply chain “blind spots” Optimized logistics and transportation efficiency Greater responsiveness to customers More efficient handling and execution Lower labor and material costs Efficient stock management Improved business metric monitoring and outcomes

For ocean freight, SCV can be achieved through connected vessels and container tracking, as well as through rate benchmarking where cargo buyers gain invaluable insights on aspects such as supplier and carrier performance.

therefore, will enable a company to create a reputation and an edge for itself in the market.

How to Achieve Visibility An organization needs to factor in various aspects order to achieve complete SCV. These include analysis, collaboration, information-sharing, and the most crucial aspect - efficient and quick decision making. An efficient team that can work optimally to dissect information, communicate with suppliers and business partners, and model different outcomes will contribute to the greatest degree of SCV. Adopting an analytical approach to data will ensure improvement in current supply chain performance and also afford an understanding of future demands. In turn, the more data that is collected will extend further improvement to the supply chain process, and optimize demand forecasting and business planning.

Monetary benefits can be achieved by being able to reduce inventory when demand is expected to be low, thereby improving on-time deliveries and responding more quickly to potential issues.

In 2014, Jeff Dobbs, Global Sector Chair, Diversified Industrials and a partner with KPMG, said, “obtaining realtime visibility across all tiers in the supply chain can significantly increase speed to market, reduce capital expenditures and manage risk.” He went on to make this profound statement, “moving toward a demand-driven supply chain is probably the single most important step a global manufacturer can take today.” According to Forbes, “beyond visibility is supply chain orchestration that takes the service improvements and inventory reductions to the next level whereby balancing supply and demand is not merely improved through faster lead times, but the supplydemand matching process is actively and collaboratively managed on an ongoing basis.”

It is important to note that best in class companies are becoming quick, flexible and using their visibility within the supply chain as a competitive advantage. In today’s scenario, across industries, supply chain visibility consistently ranks near the top as the most necessary aspect to propel a business to achieve maximum success.

Such visibility can be a game changer when shippers choose which company to go with to ship their cargo.

Complete visibility and transparency will amount to cost savings, an increase in reliability and productivity and,

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Source Intelligence: Disrupting Supplier Risk Assessment

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oday, businesses function in a global environment. Building a brand that delivers the right product to the right buyer globally at the right price requires diligent Supply Chain Management (SCM). All areas of operations are impacted from design to procurement to manufacturing and delivery. Multinational corporations, globally expanding brands and manufacturers require supply chain risk assessment to ensure legal and ethical sourcing. Ensuring a company’s most valuable asset – it’s brand reputation – is protected. Leading corporations seek strategic SCM to maximize their customers’ value and achieve sustainable competitive advantage. For nearly a decade, Source Intelligence has led the industry with a solution that uses technology to simplify supply chain compliance and bridge the gap between traditional onsite diligence and a scalable supplier risk assessment.

of companies globally. By doing so, it ensures legal and ethical sourcing while seeking to eradicate atrocities that harm people and the planet such as modern day slavery, toxic water, and deforestation.

Entrepreneurial Architect Jess F. Kraus, CEO and co-founder, under whose leadership, Source Intelligence has become the leading provider of innovative supply chain compliance data services and solutions.

He has over 30 years of experience in the fields of environmental protection and sustainability. Prior to Source Intelligence, Jess founded 3E Company and served as a President, CEO and lastly as a Vice Chairman. He is a visionary and a builder in many business and civic organizations, including Young Presidents Organization/World President’s Organization (YPO/WPO) and the San Source Intelligence is a market-leading Diego Business Innovation Center and SaaS solutions company, focused on supply chain compliance, data analytics, and risk management. The company’s unique blend of experts, technology and process achieves high response rates in securing and verifying critical supplier information.

“Using technology to categorize suppliers by risk allows Blue-Chip Companies to optimize their on-site audit resources”, commented Jess Kraus, CEO and co-founder at Source Intelligence. The company brings visibility into the Supply chains

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Jess F. Kraus CEO & Co-founder was recently named CEO of the year and a “Pro to Know”.

Enabling Transparency The Source Intelligence platform delivers a flexible and highly scalable global supply chain solution. This centralizes a supplier’s supply chain information on a single platform, simplifies compliance, enables transparency and drives decisions with data. Suppliers, partners, vendors, small businesses, and global brands can securely and proactively address their compliance and transparency needs.

This cloud-based platform includes: Ÿ Multi-tier supply network, where Companies at any tier of the supply chain can connect to their

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Our mission is to use technology to disrupt traditionally laborintensive approaches for bringing visibility and compliance to supply chains of companies around the world.

customers and suppliers, thus creating a true supply chain network. Ÿ Supplier request workflow, which enables quick and easy implementation of any process for supply chain data collection at corporate or product level. Ÿ Supplier Data Sharing, a fully featured multi-language supplier platform that includes features for users globally to self- admin their compliance programs.

Transforming Roadblocks into a Robust Platform According to companies worldwide, the product safety and social compliance within the context of a cross-border and decentralized market place is a key challenge. While traditional retail, with fixed locations and clear sales territories enables stricter enforcement of compliance within a country’s regulations, a border-less market place has led to a supplier review challenge of global proportions. Only a technologyenabled approach can cost-effectively address this problem.

Compounding the issue, a rapidly changing regulatory landscape creates significant roadblocks for brands to keep pace with compliance requirements across the globe. To address this need. Source Intelligence conducted roundtables with top industry influencers to become both, an educator and a leader, in building a robust platform that was easily adaptable to any industry standard, customized company requirements or

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regulated compliance need in any market. It enables all companies to monitor and control the product compliance and social compliance of the brands they seek to protect.

The platform comprises of features that covers: Ÿ Allows customers to move past the collection of hard, raw data and allows for automation, evaluation, analyzation, and streamlined implementation Ÿ Allows for customization by customer / industry, and implementing new programs and collecting data exactly the way it is requested Ÿ Detailed supplier engagement metrics allowing users to understand suppliers that are at risk and those that are highly engaged Ensuring Customer Efficiency The Source Intelligence platform that centralizes compliance solutions.

Through this platform the company enables its customers to optimize supplier relationship building, data collection, quality control & management, and customizable assessments. Apart from these, it also provides superior & intuitive supplier interface to its clients having a live and personalized support with proven, robust and audit-tested processes. The company’s strategic data analytics and visualization process ensures automated flags for reporting inconsistencies and risk. By doing so, customers can get customizable programs and tailored views for their risk categories of interest.

Source Intelligence has a global network which assists suppliers to overcome their resistance and fatigue.

The team at Source Intelligence comprises of dedicated experts with deep experience in supply chain, compliance and transparency.

Leading the Way with Emerging Technologies The emerging technologies are influencing businesses to adopt new innovations. Similarly, the impact of those technologies has stimulated Source Intelligence too. As a result, the company is working to bring Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the compliance world. Although, it is a complex and labor intensive task, there is a natural fit in bringing AI to bear to help its customers achieve greater compliance over a larger supply chain with less resources. Leading the way in this area, the company has collected a massive amount of data and raw materials information.

Beyond 2018, Source Intelligence is looking forward to adopt blockchain technology. The tokenization system of blockchain agitated company more than its immutable ledger feature. This is where Source Intelligence believes the blockchain technology holds great promise for incentivizing compliance activities in the supply chain.

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State of Flux: An Expert in Procurement and Supply Chain Practices Alan Day Chairman & Founder

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ow days, it is essential for organizations to develop a vital relationship with their suppliers to effectively manage their supply chain. Due to primary focus on customer relationship management and higher sales, enterprises historically may have overlooked the opportunities and benefits that better Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) can deliver.

However this is changing and many organizations have started realizing the importance of building strong relations with their suppliers. This realization has turned into the need for streamlined and improved processes between buyers (organizations) and suppliers, and organizations are striving to create innovative strategies to effectively manage their supply chain. However, very few companies around the globe have proven excellence in delivering innovative supplier relationship management strategies. One of them is State of Flux, an expert in delivering supply chain and SRM solutions.

collaborative ways to compete in an ever changing market environment.

Headquartered in London, UK, State of Flux has been supporting clients in procurement for over 14 years. It has grown into a leading procurement and supply chain consultancy, providing contract lifecycle management, category management and strategic sourcing, and supplier management services. It works with clients globally, and has offices across Europe and Asia Pacific.

Alan started his supply chain career at Fisher & Paykel, the leading New Zealand-based manufacturer of domestic appliances. His passion for learning is truly appreciable. To retain his passion, he is currently undertaking a course on block chain at Oxford University.

The company helps large organizations achieve both financial as well as non-financial benefit by working with strategic suppliers to identify innovative and

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An Adroit Leadership Alan Day, Chairman and Founder, is responsible for State of Flux’s major client accounts and developing its business outside of the UK. Having entered procurement and supply chain with a desire to learn about organizations operations from customer need to fulfillment, he now has over 25 years of experience in designing and implementing best practice.

Prior to founding State of Flux in 2004, Alan held roles as Director of Procurement and Supply Chain at Cable & Wireless, and Director of Accenture’s Supply Chain European Centre of Excellence, where his clients included British Airways, Shell, Microsoft, BSkyB and Morgan Stanley.

An Award Winning Collaborative Platform State of Flux provides a collaborative platform called Statess for managing supplier relationships, performance and productivity. In 2012, it became the first SRM

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We have a mission to make SRM easier to implement and operate for our clients, helping them to become a customer of choice and reap the benefits from this.

software solution to receive a Gartner Cool Vendor Award. It was also the first company to introduce a fully integrated supplier innovation capability in 2013. More recently, State of Flux was presented a Spend Matters ‘Company to Watch’ award and was nominated for the Procurement Leaders Collaboration Award.

Through this novel platform, State of Flux envisions continuing to focus on growth and innovation in solutions that help drive productivity across clients’ supplier management programs. It also strives to expand its partner ecosystem of best-in-class providers of spend analysis, sourcing, P2P and sustainability / corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Fulfilling Clients Needs with Hands on Approach State of Flux understands that each client is different and therefore their offerings are tailored to the organizations they work for. They have learned something new and overcome new challenges with each and every past project, supporting procurement functions with procurement transformation, navigating complex organizations, helping to raise existing levels of

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maturity, readiness for deployment and managing resistance to change.

Every project has added to its experience and strengthened its proposition.

Driving Future with Emerging Technologies State of Flux is growing internationally and envisage helping more clients with supplier management and supplier technology challenges. According to a survey carried out by the company in its annual SRM research, 8 out of 10 global companies are looking to drive benefits from supplier innovation. To respond these needs, its collaborative platform, Statess 2.0, license and support packages offer flexible plans which enable organizations to apply technology to the areas of utmost business need.

Packages start with the core elements of relationship management including a space for collaborative working for both buyers’ and sellers’ and a dynamic dashboard of live data showing the status of the relationship, which is tailored depending on the user.

innovation, CSR, program management, benefits management and category management. This is a scalable approach where an organization can start with performance and add risk or contracts management later.

Longer term, State of Flux believes that supplier management is becoming more of a professional discipline with its own set of qualifications, structure and career path. With the emergence of technology, the company is observing that more organizations are opting for supplier management as a service and embracing supplier management technology. Within these technologies there is further emergence of AI capability and block chain opportunities including smart contracts. The company is investing in these areas and envisions delivering smarter procurement solutions to help clients meet these needs worldwide.

State of Flux has more recently created a flexible choice of modules for its customers in terms of performance, risk, contracts,

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Gary Cardenas President TOC Logistics

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Mentor’s Opinion

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he logistics and supply chain management industry is one that is constantly evolving and optimizing, and because of the competitive nature of the industry, innovation is key for success. Modern technologies have not only aided in the streamlining of supply chains and company processes, but have also set the industry on a technologically advanced path that many could not have even imagined fifteen or twenty years ago.

From robotics in warehouses and autonomous ships and trucks, to computerized shipping and tracking, technology has changed the industry for the better and has provided new levels of visibility.

With the aid of technology, supply chains of the future may be a bit more complex, but will certainly be more efficient and less expensive. A few of the technological advancements that have changed the game for the logistics and supply chain management industry are: Computerized Shipping and Tracking Modern technology has drastically impacted the shipping industry and has made for more efficient and accurate tracking. With a wide array of different supply chain management software programs on the market, logistics and supply chain professionals and their clients are able to keep an eye on their shipments during every step of the supply chain journey. With every second being crucial in the world of supply chain management, the ability to provide complete transparency to clients in terms of where their packages are and when they will arrive is something that is extremely valuable.

Computerized shipping and tracking has also largely reduced the amount of time spent shipping, receiving, tracking packages and compiling shipment data, as all necessary data can be stored in one easy-to-access place.

And in this case, saving time means saving money. Being able to digitally organize data and monitor shipping and tracking information also reduces the opportunities for human error. With digital records there is no longer a worry that sloppy handwriting or a misplaced piece of paper will throw a wrench in a shipment being delivered on time, or to the right place.

“Futuristic” Autonomous Vehicles A big technological push in the industry right now is the advancement of autonomous vehicles, electrification, use of solar power, and energy storage, all of which will be used across the board to both reduce cost and increase efficiency.

Right now, energy and transportation make up more than half of total supply chain costs and labor accounts for a little less than a third of costs. With further technological June 2018

advancements, the transportation and labor aspects of supply chains will eventually cost very, very little compared to what they do today.

The eventual implementation of autonomous electric vehicles, which can be programmed to use the most efficient routes and run throughout the night without a driver, will drive down the cost of labor and increase capacity on the roads. Autonomous vehicles will also address the growing concern of truck driver shortages throughout the industry.

Also on the very near horizon is the use of autonomous ships. Autonomous ships would address the issues of piracy, talent shortage in the ocean shipping industry and accidents caused by human error.

Big Data Logistics and supply chain management professionals live and die by data. A recent study by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals shows that 98 percent of third-party logistics firms and 93 percent of shippers feel that data-driven decision making is key to supply chain activities. Technological advancements have made it extremely easy to gather and analyze key pieces of data.

Data surrounding shipping times, cargo weight, weather patterns, traffic routes, and more can lead to greater transparency, optimized routes, greater reliability and automated supply chains. Having a team that is able to accurately interpret big data is key to success, and will likely save a company both time and money. There is a reason UPS drivers don’t make left turns. Someone on the UPS team analyzed large amounts of data, which is now available thanks to technology, and determined that eliminating the majority of left turns would use 10 million less gallons of fuel, emit 20,000 tonnes less carbon dioxide into the air and help deliver 350,000 more packages every year.

Technology is something that is hard to predict and often difficult to wrap your head around, but the logistics and supply chain industry is benefiting from every new technological advancement in our field. The supply chains that we are working with today will be drastically different in five or ten years’ time, and almost unrecognizable in twenty or thirty years. Technology has made supply chain management more efficient, transparent and cost-effective.

It is important to have members of your team that are willing to embrace new ways of doing things and that are able to stay up-to-date on new forms of technology. This industry is constantly changing, and in order to be successful you need to be willing to change along with it.

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Omnichannel Agent and Customer Engagement Solutions Simplify and personalize the customer experience, empower agents and achieve business success with one workspace for all channel interactions, application integrations, and CX reporting.

Terso Solutions,Inc.: Delivering Revolutionary Automated Inventory Management Solutions Globally Joe Pleshek President & CEO

T

o competently grow and excel in an ever-changing market, organizations are learning to rely on supply chain management and automated solutions in healthcare and life science.

Terso Solutions, Inc. provides automated inventory management solutions for tracking high-value medical and scientific products in the healthcare and life sciences industries.

Terso has over 14 years of RFID product development and implementation experience, and its product line includes RAIN RFID cabinets, refrigerators, freezers (-80C to -20C), smart rooms, and mobile solutions. Terso has deployed over 2,100 RAIN RFID-enabled sensors worldwide.

A Proficient Leader Joe Pleshek is the President and CEO of Terso Solutions.

He joined the company in 2007 and has overseen rapid growth while providing strategic direction and financial management. Joe is committed to adopting the most advanced RFID technology so the company’s partners can better manage their supply chains.

Prior to joining Terso, Joe held several sales, marketing, and general management positions at Appleton Papers. During his tenure there, he led the development of an RFID tag converting line which created an entirely new business

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revenue stream for the company. He also managed an acquisition for Appleton that was based in the United Kingdom.

Joe has worked at 3M Corporation, where he was tasked with introducing several new product and service offerings.

That experience allowed him to expand his business development skills considerably.

Joe holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology from the University of Wisconsin, as well as a Masters of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of St. Thomas.

Cutting-Edge Innovations Terso develops RFID-enabled technology including hardware such as cabinets, refrigerators, freezers, mobile cases, handheld devices, and smart stockrooms. It also maintains a Cloud-based platform,Jetstream, on which its partners can develop tools for monitoring and managing their RFID-enabled devices.

The organization’s ultra-low temperature freezers are the only one of their kind. They provide real-time temperature monitoring capabilities for healthcare and life science organizations to manage high value assets like tissue, implants, and supplies.

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THE

BEST

PERFORMING

CHAIN C SOLUTION PROVIDERS 2018

We are committed to being the market leader in the development and application of RAIN RFID solutions that enable healthcare and life science organizations to better manage their supply chains.

A Cohesive Operation Terso works closely with all of its clients to enable them to meet their goals and respective customer needs.

Most of these clients offer RFID solutions under their own brand, while Terso collaborates with them to deliver the right solutions to further increase their efficiency.

All partners receive extensive hands-on training and continued support from the company. Terso believes in outstanding customer service and is constantly navigating uncharted territory in order to deliver smart, proven solutions.

working individuals who continuously strive to find innovative solutions.

dollars from the healthcare supply chain annually!” Joe enthuses.

Succeeding in a Fluid Environment The world of healthcare and technology is always pushing the boundaries of what is possible. As technology and RFID adoption continues to grow, Terso strives to remain agile and creative. The company is evolving with the latest technology and developing new, innovative solutions that drive value and solve complex problems for its customers.

Terso believes the Internet of Things (IoT) will continue to expand as a technology trend and will transform healthcare markets. Internet-connected devices and sensors will automatically provide real-time data on the location and condition of people and things that work together in a healthcare supply chain.

Terso prides itself on a company culture dedicated to collaboration, opportunity, respect, and fun. It believes in cultivating an environment that breeds positive energy, one that credits innovative solutions to people who work well together and actively help each other succeed.

It was only after big retail stores like Walmart and Macy’s implemented RFID technology that it became widely known. Retail’s use of RFID has accelerated the adoption of this technology in many other sectors. The growth of its use in healthcare is still on the cusp of the technology adoption lifecycle, and there is a lot of room to expand into.

The organization is committed to the development of cutting-edge technology and finding the best possible way to solve supply chain issues that are detrimental to its clients.

It employs smart, creative, and hard-

“I read a report by Intel that inventory distortion represents approximately $818 billion worth of lost retail sales per year. The stakes are even higher in healthcare. Imagine the impact of removing waste worth billions of

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This will continue to provide a seamless way for healthcare organizations to meet regulatory guidelines, increase savings, and improve patient outcomes.

The company remains committed to providing solutions that help its partners achieve efficiency and optimization for their supply chains, through the development of both new hardware and software.

Joe sums up, “Technology will never stop advancing, and neither can we.

Terso will always make sure we are offering the best and most useful solutions to help solve complex problems.”

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THE 'WHY' ‘WHY’AND AND'HOW' ‘HOW’ OF TODAY'S

USINESS UZZWORD

'INNOVATION'

A

s technology plays the role model in our lives, in the same way, it is and will be undoubtedly, the driving power of the business world too. Those, who will prove to be innovative, can only think about being in the competition, others, strictly out of it!

Innovation is the currency of business today. No one cares about the past, but loves to flaunt the new invention as their asset. So is the same about the innovativeness in the business. The more innovative idea is placed before, the more the company gets applauded and grabs the eye of the customer.

Well, there are a few common questions which hammer our mind when news like, Google or Amazon has launched some new product or some new business model get flashed.

But Why ? What’s the need of new innovations when they have some of their master products or services so much applauded by the audiences?

Well, the answer resides in the question itself, the clients need something new, something innovative, and some highquality stuff all the time. This is the reason every company has to be always ready with some revolutionary ideas to lure more clients towards them. This creates the space for innovation. But yes, there isn’t just one reason behind the need for innovation but many.

Constant Changing Customer's Demands It is very obvious, and any project manager will share with you, the built up pressure after a successful launch of any new product. Immediately after a launch, few weeks are spent on collecting and analyzing the data about customers likes or dislikes of the product. Once, done with the data collection, customers start requesting for the features. What

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the project manager does after that is to release the most desired features of all for the customers and leave the least admired for the future.

Now, the thing is though you have satisfied the customers with their desired features but it has only made their work easy. Now, it’s totally companies’ duty to search for something new something innovative to make customers’ life transfer from easy to easier. If customers get offered some new features by some other company, obviously they will opt for them. That is the reason; every company needs to be prompt when it comes to innovativeness. Staying up to date with innovativeness for the customers demand is what companies can do. Companies have to invest in innovativeness to satisfy the future needs of the customers.

Ferocious Competition Well, the real completion today is not the rival companies but the start-ups sprouting up every single day, with a hilarious new solution for the clients. On this ground, all the companies need to gear up with their best innovative teams.

Because these start-ups knows only one thing and that is to serve their customers with the best innovative services to take a dive in the competition with the experienced ones.

Now, the already successful companies get only one option and that is to be innovative with their own products and services to retain their position in the fierce competition with the young ones. Well, these companies also have another option, which we have witnessed before and that is to acquire the start-ups. Even with this acquisition these companies are only accepting the new innovation and going on in their journey to satisfy the needs of the customers.’

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Business Buzz

So, the points discussed about can be the ‘Why’ of innovation. Now, let's see some of the ‘How’ of innovation.

All the big companies in the business world have some common characteristics in them, which is ‘How’ of the innovation. It is on the basis of these characteristics that these companies are on top of the innovation chart. The innovations made by these companies are totally customercentric. The use of latest technologies and unique way of solving a problem is what makes them on top of the competition chart. So, here are some of the characteristics of the innovative companies which make them stand out of the competition.

Cherishing Innovative Culture Innovative companies always cherish innovative culture in their company. Innovation is never an accident. So, the companies having right process can only come out with the right ideas. It is not at all necessary that the innovative employee can be only among the R & D department or the one who sits in the boardroom. The employees who are actually implementing the plan can fetch the best idea.

Innovative ideas can usher from any department, let it be

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marketing or customer care. That is the reason these companies give equal chance to all nurturing the best culture for innovation.

Giving Equal Importance to the Customers' Ideas Too! Innovative companies do not measure customers as only the users of the end product but, values them to be a good idea enabler too! If customers get involved into the designing process they can suggest an idea which is really important and valuable in making of a product or solution. Innovative companies take customers input in the whole process. This helps to know the customer requirement in advance making the product easily accepted, as soon as it gets launched.

Yes, being an innovative company starts with the starting phase of the company. To get counted among them depends on how well you know the ‘Why’ and ‘How’ of the innovation.

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