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Using JDA Cloud Services to host its technology infrastructure, hardware and software, as well as manage its e-commerce initiative, has proven to be a profitable decision for the global corporation. Working with JDA Cloud Services, Lenovo has shifted its costly and inefficient legacy IBM infrastructure to the JDA platform. In addition to mitigating the risks of supporting an outdated infrastructure, the company estimates the transition has saved it approximately $200 million on an annual basis.

Cloud computing offers dynamic capabilities, such as flexible configurations, as well as ubiquitous user access from every geographic location and time zone. For core business activities such as transportation scheduling, warehouse management and point-of-sale (POS) data collection, cloud computing is ideally suited to manage extremely large data volumes and multiple collaborative relationships across the supply chain, seamlessly and invisibly.

Today, more than ever, retailers' mission-critical objective is to gain a greater understanding of who their customers are, what they buy, how they shop and in which channels. They must also view assortments comprehensively across all functional aspects including planning, supply chain, pricing and visual merchandising.

Today, the company's centralized planning staff for its North American operations uses the TMS to manage approximately 2,500 shipments, originating from 40 separate locations, on a daily basis. “JDA's powerful optimization capabilities have enabled us to create real-time constraints around service that we could not define with our legacy TMS,” said Poole. “Now, we can create an optimal plan that realizes the freight savings we were looking for when we began the JDA implementation.”

While MCFA was moving toward a pull-based manufacturing model, the manufacturer realized it had an inconsistent internal supply chain and an inefficient material replenishment process. MCFA set out to improve its business processes to ensure that it was getting the most value out of its factory planning solution.

Whether a product's lifecycle is two months or two years, there are three key phases of pricing that must be managed strategically in order to maximize ultimate profitability: everyday pricing, promotional pricing and markdown pricing. In order to apply pricing as a strategic tool, retailers cannot apply a one-size-fits-all pricing approach — but must apply the right price at exactly the right time in order to support shopper loyalty and long-term profitability.

One of the fundamental goals of any enterprise is to deliver an adequate return on investment for its investors or owners. This goal is typically reflected in a return-on-investment equation such as return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital, or economic profit. Supply chain practitioners play a critical role in this process, as they manage the people, processes, metrics and technologies that support various aspects of the ROA equation. Yet, it has become increasingly difficult for companies to reliably deliver an adequate return in today's continuously changing business environment.

Glazer's was in the midst of a dramatic growth period. The company could no longer rely on spreadsheet-based processes and legacy systems, and needed a more sophisticated platform to make faster and better supply chain decisions.

Companies face a myriad of choices when it comes to selecting the right technology to support their supply chains. According to Tim Payne, Gartner Group's research director, the technology a company chooses all depends on where that company is in its supply chain journey. From the FocusConnect 2011 General Session main stage in London, Payne provided a packed room of supply chain professionals with guidance to help make the task easier.

Establish a centralized production planning organization, with shared resources and a common set of business processes in order to maximize the company's agility and service while minimizing costs.

Retailers, manufacturers and other shippers find themselves in a difficult position these days. They operate global transportation networks composed of their own assets, as well as various tiers of third-party carriers, to serve customers around the world. They manage high levels of order volatility as consumer confidence continues to rise and fall. Increased competition forces them to keep costs as low as possible while still maximizing service levels.

Needing to create closer consumer relationships, while also supporting the increased transactional needs associated with the company's aggressive growth plans, the specialty retailer again turned to JDA Software, this time to implement an improved point-of-sale (POS) system.

Five key strategies that industry stakeholders can leverage to successfully serve Generation C shoppers to achieve profitability and growth.

As the nation's leading distributor of medical and surgical supplies to the acute-care market, Owens & Minor has solidified its reputation for operational excellence. In fact, the company earned the top spot on Gartner, Inc.'s Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 for 2010 list.

Ackermans wanted to automate the merchandise planning process all the way to allocating the right level of stock in each store. Not only has Ackermans increased the productivity and scope of its allocation process, but today the retailer has increased confidence that the right products are being sent to the right stores.

To turn transparency from a threat into an opportunity, hotel operators must take a data-driven approach to identify and consider the right competitors at any given time. This requires putting aside gut-feel and preconceptions — and taking a more quantitative approach that measures customer responses to price changes, competitors' price changes, competitive attributes and recurring patterns like seasonal trends.

The dawn of a new year often prompts bold predictions. Here's mine: Companies that make a strategic investment in their supply chains can — and will — play a critical role in the global economic recovery.