A Small Company With Big Supply Chain Designs
Cascade Designs, a small outdoor products company, invests in advanced supply chain technologies and processes and achieves big-time inventory, space management and profit improvements.
Ken Meidell, Cascade Designs, Nancy Dienes, Cascade Designs
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Adaptive Business Networks: A Strategy for Change and Efficiency in Manufacturing
To survive in the demand-driven, collaborative 21st century environment, companies should strive to achieve a balance between market adaptability and stable business processes.
Richard Howells, SAP , Sandy Markin, SAP
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Aligning Supply Chain Management With Utility Operations
Seeking new and innovative ways to cull more costs from their operations, while improving productivity and service, many utilities are focusing on supply chain improvements to enhance performance and profitability.
Dana Hanson, Accenture, Todd Knapp, Accenture, Erik Olson, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Applix Steps Up for Operational Performance Management
April 18, 2006 - The imperative to manage performance in operations continues to gain in stature and momentum. A key component of managing performance is analytic server technology that can model, analyze, plan and improve business user interactions. Applix recently announced the availability of version 9.0 of TM1, its performance management software, which brings to market significant improvements in performance and scalability through support of 64-bit computing on Microsoft Windows 2003 Server technology as well as advances in architecture and usability. These advances are sorely needed in many enterprises whose business intelligence (BI) systems cannot enable sophisticated what-if forecasting and planning, analysis and reporting on a common server platform. Ventana Research recommends that organizations seeking to support performance management in their finance and operations groups should examine Applix’s product.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Architecting the Liquid Supply Chain
Rethinking liquid logistics can offer significant investment returns. The key is in viewing liquids as a fluid product instead of a nonliquid product in standard discrete packaging.
Wally Klatch, CPIM, Supply Chain for Liquids, William T. Walker, CFPIM, CIRM, Siemens Building Technologies
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Are High Tech Manufacturers’ Supply Chains Up to the Global Challenge?
High tech manufacturers can effectively manage the complexity and risk inherent in global supply chains with insightful planning.
David Grasso, Accenture, Cameron Plummer, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Asset Momentum A New Metric
Measuring the cash cycle or the velocity of cas h can be one of the most exciting and enlightening activities for the business manager. Oftentimes such analysis reveals customers, business units or product lines that either A) contribute to free cash flow or B) consume free cash flow. Implementing management strategies that optimize free cash flow can only improve the vitality of the firm. Most recently, cash velocity has gained popularity as an important metric and with good reason. But is the measure of velocity meaningful by itself?
Mr. John Grabski, ClearMomentum, Inc.
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Beyond Fulfillment: The Business Case for RFID
Radio frequency identification is an emergent player in the business environment. Enterprises can achieve significant business value by utilizing RFID – or be left behind in the RFID revolution.
Irving S. Chernofsky, Oracle Corporation
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Cents and Sensorability
November 11, 2005 - Even though radio frequency identification (RFID) can deliver tangible benefits, choosing to deploy the technology has inherent risks. RFID standards and the systems that support them are still evolving. Pilot programs are progressing to meet compliance requirements for "big box" retailers and the U.S. Department of Defense. But wholesale adoption of any technology needs guidance, and any organization should understand the limits of a technology before investing in it. Ventana Research recommends constructing a practical roadmap built on a performance management foundation that will help maximize the benefit of current and future investments.
Colin Snow, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Cognos Announces Planning Applications for Manufacturers
July 7, 2006 - Into a market once dominated by enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain management (SCM) vendors, business intelligence (BI) and performance planning vendor Cognos will release two new planning applications for manufacturers. Built on the Cognos 8 Planning platform, the new Sales & Operations Planning and Trade Promotion Management Blueprints provide prebuilt planning, process and policy models based on best practices. Cognos’ move into defined operational performance planning brings to market new capabilities that should appeal to operations, while still benefiting the company’s base in finance. Ventana Research believes that, particularly with its integrated planning, BI and performance management capabilities, Cognos is on a trajectory to impact the operational planning market.
Colin Snow, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Cognos Evolves Performance Management
April 27, 2006 - Cognos met with industry analysts in April to update them on its performance management product and market strategy. Performance management has been central to Cognos’ attempt to reach beyond IT departments, and it was the primary driver behind the acquisitions of Adaytum (which produced planning and budgeting software) and Frango (financial consolidation). Performance management is increasingly important to this company’s top line, and it continues to apply significant development and marketing resources to secure its position in growing markets. Ventana Research thinks Cognos is pursuing the right strategy with the right messages and evolving its software into a package easily integrated with other enterprise software. However, the company will be challenged to differentiate its software in a crowded market, particularly with organizations that have immature approaches to performance management. Moreover, Cognos’ operations-related offerings are more about the intersection of the finance organization with functional or line-of-business units (for example, sales planning is as much about sales communicating with finance as it is about sales management). To achieve a persistent presence outside finance will require that it undertake an ongoing evolution of capabilities to make its software a critical element in operations management, sales, supply chain, customer interaction and workforce/HR.
Robert Kugel, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Delivering Merger Synergy: A Supply Chain Perspective
The supply chain has emerged as an area that can have a major impact on how a merger or acquisition performs – especially when it comes to costs.
Tom Herd, Accenture, Arun K. Saksena, Accenture, Terry W. Steger, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Designing the Standard for a Healthy Supply Chain
A consolidated, standardized supply chain streamlines processes, cuts costs and supports improvements in patient safety by collaboratively designing clinical and revenue work processes.
Allison P. Corry, M.H.A., M.B.A., Sisters of Mercy Health System, Gerald R. Ledlow, Ph.D., M.H.A., C.H.E., Sisters of Mercy Health System, Steve Shockley, Sisters of Mercy Health System
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Electronics Manufacturing Transformation
Successful manufacturing outsourcing focuses on strategic outcomes that leverage the strengths of each partner to achieve adaptability, product capability and cost performance.
Al Delattre, Accenture, Tom Hess, Accenture, Ken Chieh, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Elusive Integration: Linking Sales and Operations Planning
Effective sales and operations planning requires intensified levels of collaboration, trust and data integration. Fostering a commitment to relationship building, shared incentives and accountability can help.
M. Eric Johnson, Dartmouth College, Tuck School of Business, Dave Margulius, Enterprise Insight
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Enabling Sales and Operations Planning Through Technology
Successful sales and operations planning requires committed, step-by-step process changes to fully leverage software applications.
Larry Lapide, Ph.D, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Finding Value in RFID-Enabled Trading Partner Networks
RFID-enabled visibility across trading partnerships is the inevitable future for the supply chain. Organizations should begin to plan strategies, policies and procedures today to prepare for increasing collaborative data sharing.
Paul Strzelec, VeriSign, Beth Lovett, VeriSign, Matthew Rizzo, VeriSign
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  From Bar Codes to Smart Labels
Smart labels combine RFID with bar coding for case/pallet pilot applications. Printer/encoders are the right engine for getting started.
Andrew Edwards, Printronix Inc.
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Global Sourcing: Insights and Opportunities From China and Beyond
Globalization is a reality affecting how companies worldwide formulate their business and procurement strategies. Sourcing from global suppliers will fundamentally alter most companies’ supply chain models and competitive cost positions.
Robert S. Forrest, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Higher Performance Through RFID in Aerospace and Defense
Aerospace and defense companies have been at the forefront of exploiting new technologies that reduce costs and improve performance. Today – with a significant push from the U.S. Department of Defense – they are continuing their tradition of innovation with RFID.
Robert Cushman, Accenture, Joseph Mele, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  i2 Technologies Bets Future on New Platform
May 25, 2006 - Back from near disaster, i2 Technologies – a brand once synonymous with supply chain management (SCM) – reassured its customers and explained its way forward at its annual conference in Las Vegas. Central to i2’s comeback strategy is an application creation platform built on a service-oriented architecture (SOA). The company promises that the i2 Agile Business Process Platform will help customers create supply chain planning and execution applications specific to their companies and create supply chain analytics using a unified data model. Ventana Research believes that i2 will need to bolster its messaging, sharpen its midmarket positioning and provide a better performance management offering if it is to prevent niche players from continuing to erode its customer base.
Colin Snow, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Industrial Real Estate Strategies To Increase Operating Profitability
Corporations that have not considered their property holdings as a primary component of the supply chain configuration may not fully realize maximum real estate efficiency, flexibility and profitability.
Johannson L. Yap, First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc., Rene Circ, First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc.
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Informatica Offers Data Integration on Demand
June 2, 2006 - At its annual conference, Informatica made a series of announcements focused on the challenges posed by outsourcing initiatives and the massive decentralization of business data across the world. The need for on-demand data integration is becoming clear as businesses seek to integrate views of information, satisfy regulatory compliance requirements and begin other data management initiatives. Informatica announced that it will partner with salesforce.com to provide on-demand data integration as part of salesforce’s AppExchange online service.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Inquiries and Insights on Supply Chain Collaboration
Now and in the future, inter-enterprise collaboration may be the single best way to increase business performance.
John Matchette, Accenture, M. Andy Seikel, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Interlace Announces Application for Executive S&OP
August 14, 2006 - Interlace Systems has announced the next release of its sales and operations planning (S&OP) software. It offers new functionality to automate data development, presentations and management for executive-level S&OP review meetings. These new capabilities should appeal to companies looking to improve the effectiveness of their operational planning and to assure that financial performance goals are met. Ventana Research believes that with this new top layer, the Interlace solution will impact the operational planning market.
Colin Snow, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Interview: Hans Thalbauer and Amar Singh at SAP discuss the advances in information sharing across global networks that RFID will enable.
ASCET interviews Hans Thalbauer, VP, Application Solution Management at SAP and Amar Singh, SVP, Application Solution Management, SAP. These experts discuss what RFID technology means for global supply chain networks.
Hans Thalbauer, SAP , Amar Singh, SAP
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Interview: Harvard University Professor Clayton Christensen
Harvard University Professor Clayton Christensen explains how innovative companies disrupt the status quo, why Wal-Mart may not adopt RFID and how companies can capitalize in the rush to outsource.
Clayton M. Christensen, Harvard University
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Interview: How to use the quantum mechanics of retail to improve profitability.
Jiri Nechleba and Ed Rennemann explain how to use the quantum mechanics of retail to improve profitability.
Jiri Nechleba, 4R Systems, Inc., Edward Rennemann, Crate and Barrel
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Interview: Marc Onetto, Executive Vice President of Operations, Solectron
Solectron’s Marc Onetto explains how lean transformation and simple technologies are accelerating the supply chain.
Marc Onetto, Solectron Corporation
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Interview: Mike Lowry, CEO and President, Lowry Computer Products
Lowry Computer Products’ Mike Lowry explains the capabilities of cutting-edge label technology.
Michael Lowry, Lowry Computer Products
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Interview: Oracle senior vice president Sonny Singh foresees an open-link, high-visibility supply chain network revolution.
ASCET interviews Sonny Singh, Senior VP, a 15-year veteran at Oracle, discussing what RFID is going to be to supply chain management.
Sonny Singh, Oracle Corporation
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Interview: Tom Gibbs, Director of Worldwide Strategy and Planning, Intel Corporation.
Intel’s Tom Gibbs explains how Intel is integrating and supporting the emergence of sensor-based technology networks.
Tom Gibbs, Intel Corporation
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Interview: Tom Hostetler, CEO, Cardinal Logistics
Cardinal Logistics’ CEO Tom Hostetler discusses the nuts and bolts of capacity, human resources and geopositioning technology in transportation management.
Tom Hostetler, Cardinal Logistics
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  IRI Brings Next Generation of Analytics for CPG
March 28, 2006 - Information Resources, Inc., a pioneer in market research and decision support software for the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, recently held its annual Reinventing CPG Summit in San Francisco. IRI executives asserted that CPG manufacturers and retailers need to collaborate and adapt to the new demands of consumers who will determine where and when they will be influenced and purchase products. The CPG industry has been reluctant to adopt technology for applying analytics and to collaborate interactively with retailers, and it has been reluctant to utilize IRI’s new software. IRI’s products have evolved significantly in the last two years, building on a robust analytics platform from one of its software partners, SymphonyRPM. Ventana Research advises CPG companies that want to manage better their business and performance in brands, products and relationships with retailers to re-examine software like that from IRI.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Is Your Supply Chain Ready to Enable Profitable Growth and High Performance?
Growth is clearly back on the executive agenda. Yet executives increasingly find that growing profitably is extremely challenging due to the complexity and volatility characteristic of today’s business environment. Further complicating matters is the fact that, after several years of intense focus on cost reduction, most companies’ supply chains are operationally efficient but are not tuned to support growth. As companies pursue profitable growth, they will have to move past operational efficiency – largely table stakes in today’s environment – to construct a growth-enabling supply chain that is information rich and technologically robust, highly flexible, tightly integrated and organized and measured to address the needs and preferences of highly dynamic customers. In short, a company’s supply chain will spell the difference between success or failure in its chosen markets.
John Matchette, Accenture, Hans von Lewinski, Accenture - London
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Kinaxis Focuses on Operational Performance Management
October 17, 2005 - Increasingly, organizations judge operational success by how fast they can respond to changes in customer demands and global supply conditions. But many manufacturers, especially in electronics, often don’t know exactly what they have to do until the start of each day, so their success depends on making effective decisions that support their overall performance objectives. Ventana Research sees the continued growth of Kinaxis as evidence that companies are adopting best practices and solutions in the realm of Operational Performance Management to increase effectiveness in their supply chains and manufacturing processes.
Colin Snow, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Kinaxis On-Demand Solution Spans Enterprises
May 18, 2006 - Kinaxis has announced a new Web-based, on-demand service for its RapidResponse product line. In partnership with IBM Global Services, Kinaxis will offer software as a service (SaaS) to address some of the critical supply chain challenges facing OEMs, manufacturers and distributors that source and sell their products globally. The new offering securely connects RapidResponse to supply chain data residing in disparate systems, enabling an aggregated, multiple-enterprise view of the brand owner’s business. Ventana Research thinks Kinaxis is pursuing the right strategy in evolving its software into a package that easily integrates supply and demand data in real time from multiple tiers of the supply chain. However, the company needs to continue to differentiate its software and demonstrate its value in the growing market for sales and operations planning (S&OP) software applications.
Colin Snow, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Lucent Illuminates the Path To Collaborative Success
Through a transition from a vertical to a leveraged environment, Lucent transformed its supply chain network into a profitable, award-winning collaboration with EMS providers.
Jose Mejia, Lucent Technologies
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Making It Pay
Financial services organizations can convert the early promise of procurement into realized value through outsourcing.
Mike Ethelston, Accenture, John T. Weisel, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Managing the Aviation and Defense Supply Chain
Improvements in the aviation and defense supply chain have been slow to surface due to the industry’s inherent complexities. New technologies and business processes can help.
Sachin Taparia, Aviall, Inc.
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Maxager Technology Announces Release 7
July 7, 2006 - With the announcement of its latest product release, Maxager Technologies has made available a subscription service for its enterprise profit and price optimization software. Maxager’s software looks at both margin and velocity to reveal how fast each product, customer or market generates cash and profit. It is a tool for manufacturers to determine how close they come to hitting their return-on-assets (ROA) performance targets. As manufacturers try to improve profitability and compete against global rivals, they increasingly turn to software specialists like Maxager for this sort of help. Ventana Research believes such a solution can be part of an overall performance management strategy, especially one that provides managers with decision support, based on profitability, for determining which products to make and sell.
Colin Snow, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Maximizing Fleet Effectiveness
Public- and private-sector organizations alike should not overlook the impact of maximizing fleet effectiveness to achieve high performance.
Brooks Bentz, Accenture, Peter Clarkson, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Next-Generation Logistics Networks
Next-generation logistics networks create significant increases in supply chain efficiency by transforming transaction processing and cooperative business practices.
Kevin Lynch, Nistevo Corporation
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  On the Map: Location Technology Goes Mainstream
Location technology is poised to integrate with mainstream enterprise computing and the range of benefits for business are just beginning to emerge.
Joe Francica, Directions Magazine
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Oracle Gobbles Up Siebel
The software market continues to consolidate. The announcement by Oracle that it will purchase CRM applications provider Siebel is the beginning of the final phase of the commoditization of the transaction-centric CRM and ERP applications market. The acquisition, if completed, will impact significantly the future direction of CRM efforts. More importantly, it will limit global organizations' vendor choices to Oracle or SAP, while providing some room for Microsoft Business Solutions and smaller suppliers Onyx and salesforce.com to service larger organizations. Organizations that currently own or plan to purchase upgrades or new applications from Siebel should take precautionary measures to mitigate their financial and operation risk, Ventana Research believes this event provides a useful opportunity for organizations to reassess their planned IT investments in CRM to ensure they are on track to deliver value by improving the operational and financial performance of their businesses.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Oracle Re-Enters BI Market Seeking Leadership Position
April 25, 2006 - Oracle has announced the Oracle Business Intelligence (BI) Suite, which includes the recently acquired Siebel Business Analytics products. Oracle now has a large collection of disparate products that it is assembling into packages as part of its Oracle Fusion middleware strategy. Before examining this package, organizations should decide whether they need to reconsider their BI strategy and suppliers. Oracle unquestionably has a substantial portfolio of BI products ranging from database, application server, BI platform and tools to applications, but Ventana Research advises potential customers to monitor its execution on its product integration roadmap.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Performance Management – A Grand Opportunity to Improve
March 15, 2006 - In today’s fast-paced business climate, the agility with which a company manages performance can determine its market position and profitability. Businesses are driven by competitive pressures to reach higher standards of competence in day-to-day operations and to capitalize on the interaction of their people and processes; optimizing these to generate better outcomes is what Performance Management is all about. Ventana Research advises organizations to evaluate the effectiveness of their management processes and information systems to help manage performance.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Pilot Provides Process to Improve Performance: PilotWorks 2006 advances operational performance management
As performance management matures as a discipline, software vendors increasingly are addressing difficulties in the deployment and use of their applications. Pilot Software, a pioneer in decision support and performance management, has introduced new approaches to process and workflow, personalization and the presentation of analytics in its PilotWorks 2006. This new offering simplifies performance management in important ways, by smoothing the path for organizations seeking to improve communication and collaboration on specific goals and metrics tied to initiatives and strategies. Ventana Research believes that organizations seeking significant change need to consider applications like PilotWorks that can help instrument the process of Performance Management.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Pricing Parts for Profit
A precision pricing methodology — which formulates pricing decisions based on what the market is willing to pay and focuses on an integrated approach across a product’s pricing life cycle — can help companies maximize profits and outperform the competition.
R. Douglas Derrick, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Quick-Change Supply Chains
To ensure business success in the 21st century, companies must continuously transform their supply chains and build collaborative relationships to gain long-term competitiveness.
David Anderson, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Real Results From Purchase-to-Pay Opportunities
Outsourcing procurement operations can help organizations successfully transform procurement and deliver benefits to increase shareholder value.
Charles Findlay, Accenture, Jeffrey Zaniker, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Rebuilding the 21st Century on Demand
Demand-driven supply networks are replacing factory-based push supply chains as leading companies learn how customer-centered businesses operate. The change is bigger than you may think.
Kevin O'Marah, AMR Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Remapping the Supply Chain Universe
The supply chain universe has changed radically since the last millennium, and companies should make technology purchasing decisions based on their business models, performance goals and processes instead of relying on out-of-the-box vendor products.
Ann Grackin, Chainlink Research, Sree Hameed, Chainlink Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  S&OP – A New Approach to the Single Enterprise View - S&OP integrates fragmented plans to improve operational performance
Departmental specialization has led analysts to create multiple plans that offer differing assumptions and perspectives and, because they are found in various spreadsheets, are difficult to integrate and reconcile. Companies looking to align strategic initiatives and to coordinate plans can use sales and operations planning (S&OP) to enable operational performance planning at both enterprise and departmental levels.
Colin Snow, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Salient Zeroes In on Price and Margin for Performance
October 17, 2005 - Salient Corp. offers integrated business intelligence (BI) applications for operations. Through 20 years of technology investments and development, Salient has created a BI platform that provides analytics and reporting capabilities and integrates directly into enterprise resource planning, supply chain management and customer relationship management systems. Ventana Research believes solutions like Salient’s provide a single, simplified platform for delivering BI for Performance Management.
Colin Snow, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  SAP Announces New Version of Supply Chain Applications
April 11, 2006 - At the CeBIT 2006 trade fair, SAP AG, the market leader for enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, announced the latest upgrade of the supply chain management (SCM) applications in its mySAP Business Suite product line. Scheduled for general release in June, mySAP SCM 5.0 includes major new capabilities that support planning, execution, trading partner collaboration and visibility and supply chain analytics. What’s new beyond the footprint expansion and functional enhancements is SAP’s focus on solutions for specific industries and support for business processes. From both business and IT perspectives, SAP SCM is finally moving beyond playing catch-up with the best-of-breed products and beginning to offer the features needed for integrated supply chain management.
Colin Snow, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Subaru Defies the Directed Parts Industry Status Quo
At Subaru of New England, collaborative inventory management partnerships yield impressive inventory efficiency gains and suggest a new industry standard for automotive manufacturers.
Bryan S. Klugh, SMARTCO Services
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Supply Chain Collaboration Checkup
Collaboration can eliminate inefficiencies for all parties, but collaborative planning and execution among trading partners is daunting. Short-term projects can be a realistic route to prepare for more strategic collaboration efforts.
Noha Tohamy, Forrester Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Supply Chain Performance Management Research Agenda for 2006
The Supply Chain Performance Management practice at Ventana Research evaluates underlying business and information management issues for OEMs, manufacturers and distributors. In the coming year, we will address three key management concerns: assuring strategic and operational alignment, aligning operations and finance, and managing operational initiatives to improve performance. Our goal is to provide expert insights and guidance to better align business and technology.
Colin Snow, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  The Case for PLM
Products fail an average of nine out of 10 times; even a small decrease in failure rates can greatly affect a company’s bottom line. Consumer goods manufacturers should look closely at product life cycle management to realize possible profit gains.
Serhat Cicekoglu, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  The Evolution of Enterprise Mobility: Five Predictions
The wireless revolution is beginning, and companies must move beyond simply adapting current business processes to a wireless ecosystem. Successful companies will begin re-examining and redesigning business processes now.
Al Delattre, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  The Missing Link – Operational Performance Planning
Managing operational performance across the supply chain and intersecting demand from marketing/sales to finance to operational management requires a common set of plans for meeting objectives and targets.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  The New Priorities for Transportation Management Success
Logistics leaders are revamping their transportation processes and supporting technology to secure freight capacity and protect hard-won reductions in freight costs – while increasing their overall value to their company.
Beth Enslow, AberdeenGroup
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  The Return of Sales and Operations Planning
October 17, 2005 - In many manufacturing organizations, a lack of nimbleness and automation in existing sales and operations planning (S&OP) processes has stunted management’s ability to drive change. Companies looking to maximize the value of their supply chain and operational investments must automate cross-organizational performance planning processes to enable operational performance management.
Colin Snow, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  The RFID Advantage
Adoption of RFID across industries has avoided the lowest points of the typical hype/ disillusionment curve that most new technologies experience. Now that implementation is under way, the next step is to perform the thorough analyses required to achieve full value.
Tom Gibbs, Intel Corporation
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  The Smart, Sensor-Based RFID Network
Items tagged with sensor-based RFID coupled with new software technology are poised to connect, integrate and expand tracking information across the supply chain network.
George Brody, GlobeRanger Corporation
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  The Supply Chain Opportunity For Chemical Companies
A differentiated supply chain can help chemical companies achieve logistics breakthroughs and propel them forward on the path to high performance.
Christopher Lange, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  Tomorrow’s Procurement Tools
To remain at the forefront of innovation, companies must continue to keep pace with evolving sourcing and procurement technologies. Early adopters can help ensure their success in today’s markets and secure their future market position.
Christopher Brousseau, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  U.S. Marine Corps Logistics Modernization and Portfolio Management
Effectively managing an IT portfolio requires sustained commitment, clearly defined goals and high-level support, but the rewards include greater fiscal responsibility, streamlined logistics operations and near real-time visibility.
Lt. Gen. Richard L. Kelly, United States Marine Corps
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  What Is Location Intelligence?
As the battle to derive more value from information technology advances, new innovation and opportunity has risen in what is now called location intelligence. Organizations that seek to focus on improving margins and competitive positions in their retail sites or operations are finding they must look beyond the advantage they’re realizing from information technology initiatives. Fully marshalling your weaponry today requires exploring the advantage conveyed by location and geographic context, which can help you understand current performance and improve it in the future. Ventana Research recommends that organizations explore, from both business and technology perspectives, the integration of knowledge about location into their operational business processes, with the goal of determining how it can help improve performance and business results.
Mark Smith, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  What's Missing from Business Intelligence for Supply Chains?
November 11, 2005 - Supply chain business intelligence is still in its infancy. Most BI platforms and supply chain management applications fall short in capturing and modeling the intricacies of global supply chain networks. Reconciling disparate data definitions, establishing a common business process reference model and providing managers with meaningful, forward-looking metrics offer even more challenges for these vendors. Business users will have to augment their BI tools and platforms with complementary applications to support the growing complexity of managing supply chain performance.
Colin Snow, Ventana Research
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005

  What’s Required to Dominate In the Service Business
To forge new competitive advantage, many service businesses must upgrade their traditional, commodity-like service capabilities.
Robert A. Jacoby, Accenture
Ascet Volume 7, September 13, 2005