May 7, 2020 |
May 19, 2020 |
May 8, 2020 |
A One-Year Journey with the Global Impact Team
FOREWORD By Ryan Purcell, LLamasoft Director of Global Impact One of the best parts of working at LLamasoft is getting to meet and work with all the smart, interesting, friendly, and fun LLamas in our Herd – folks like Emily Cho. As an intern over the past year, Emily showed a willingness to work and curiosity to learn that left a positive impact across LLamasoft. She hit the ground running... Read More
May 4, 2020 |
Demand Prioritization During COVID-19 Disruption
As economies and markets ramp to reopen, keeping a pulse on the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic and analyzing the impact to your customer demand will help you make more informed short-term forecasting and supply chain planning decisions. Rearview mirror methods that solely use your internal, historical point of sale, shipment and order data are not relevant as they rely on the assumption that past patterns are indicative of... Read More
May 1, 2020 |
How to Emerge Stronger and More Competitive Post Disruption
Who knew when we recorded this podcast March 6th in San Francisco with Sam Israelit, Partner in the Global Supply Chain Group at Bain, we would shelter in place as the COVID-19 pandemic spread beyond two countries, to many. Our topic was somewhat prescient, talking about the massive changes due to external forces beyond what businesses can control, and the resulting change in business models that require a shift in... Read More
April 29, 2020 |
E-Commerce Cockpit for Your CPG Supply Chain Fighter Pilots
A Fundamental Shift in the Retail Supply Chain There has been a fundamental shift in the retail supply chain as commercial leverage has moved downstream from vendors to the retailers. Not too long-ago manufacturers had leverage to establish attributes like package size, case packs, replenishment lot sizes and, to a large extent, the locations of replenishment. For most manufacturers, controlling those attributes is referred to by industry veterans simply as... Read More
April 29, 2020 |
What You Don’t Know About Your Supply Chain Can (and Will) Hurt You
Whether you’re operating out of your garage or running a multibillion-dollar enterprise, odds are high that your business relies on a global supply chain. And as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us, those global supply chains are often more delicate than we think. Supply Chain Risk Management Consortium founder, Greg Schlegel joins Matt Gunn for an engaging discussion on the nature of risk, how to identify it, and the crucial... Read More
April 20, 2020 |
Sustainability and Adaptability in the Age of Disruption with enVista
Want Sustainability? Design a More Efficient Supply Chain LLamasoft has sustainability at its core and our partners are no different. LLamasoft partner enVista is also dedicated to the practice of sustainability and is a seven-time recipient of the Supply & Demand Chain Executive Green Supply Chain Award. Their goal is to help reduce a company’s overall footprint which reduces pollution while improving service and profitability. The right combination of perspective,... Read More
April 3, 2020 |
What the US Army Can Teach Us About Leadership in a Crisis – Adapt & Thrive Podcast
From the rapid rise of new business models and unexpected competition to the disruptive force of COVID-19, enterprises have entered a new age where the never normal operating conditions are the new normal. Although there is no clear end to the disruption caused by the pandemic, leaders in the front lines of the supply chain face the challenge of keeping critical goods moving in order to protect their business and,... Read More
February 28, 2020 |
AI, Robotics, Resiliency, Circular Economy and Other Topics at RILA Supply Chain Conference
The world around us is changing at a pace that most did not imagine was possible just a few decades ago. “Never Normal” is rapidly becoming, “The New Normal”. Market forces on the supply side, changing consumer preferences on the demand side and innovative uses of technology by retailers are all ushering in an era of productivity and convenience like never before. Many of these key themes were highlighted at... Read More
February 24, 2020 |
As technology evolves, so should our skills
By Ryan Hicks, Director of Learning Experience at LLamasoft The skills required to deliver business value are shifting with technology and time. Development of those skills must reflect a similar shift in technology and your learning and development philosophy will not escape the IoT, mobile technology, machine learning (ML), artificial and augmented intelligence (AI) and other emerging tech trends without sacrificing a competitive advantage. Skills are in demand which means... Read More
February 17, 2020 |
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Automation on Supply Chain Careers
By Vikram Murthi, Vice President, Industry Strategy, LLamasoft Rapid advances in automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have the potential to significantly disrupt supply chain roles. While automation and AI can augment the productivity of some supply chain workers, they can replace the work done by others and will likely transform almost all work to some degree. Experts and pundits put the impact of these advances broadly into two buckets... Read More
February 14, 2020 |
Digital Transformation is More than Arcane Wizardry – Adapt or Die Podcast
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February 10, 2020 |
Hack the Supply Chain with Your Digital Twin
By Vikram Murthi, Vice President, Industry Strategy, LLamasoft Psychologists refer to the happiness hack and give us tips on changing our relationships and habits to leap beyond our present melancholy and move to a state of well-being and joy. Neuroscientists are trying to hack the human brain by implanting electrodes or using functional MRI (fMRI) to get insights into its relationship to body movement, learning, memories and emotions. Marketers now resort... Read More
February 5, 2020 |
7 Steps to Build Your Digital Supply Chain Twin
We’re our pleased to host a guest blog from our partner Agillitics that provided their own perspective on how to approach the creation of a digital twin – a key component of our new platform offering, llama.ai. This was originally published on their blog on January 28, 2020. Today, as our partner LLamasoft announces the release of their llama.ai platform, we are sharing our perspective the steps organizations should take... Read More
January 15, 2020 |
Artificial Intelligence is Accelerating Business-to-Consumer Response
By Vikram Murthi, Vice President, Industry Strategy, LLamasoft I got an email recently from Amazon, that as a Prime member, I was now eligible for free grocery delivery, which previously cost $14.99/month with the AmazonFresh grocery delivery service. Amazon is rolling out this free service in phases. But soon, a large fraction of Prime members will have free grocery delivery services. This will put tremendous pressure on very large brick-and-mortar... Read More
December 30, 2019 |
The F.O.R.C.E is Strong with Kimberly-Clark
Planning Optimization with LLamasoft to deliver a Digital Twin and Repeatable App underpinned by AWS When one-quarter of the world’s population uses your company’s products, you have a significant planning system to wrangle. Three years ago, Kimberly-Clark started down its strategic path to 2022 where they could use the FORCE (Focus On Reducing Costs Everywhere) to: grow their portfolio of iconic brands, leverage cost and financial discipline and allocate capital... Read More
December 18, 2019 |
5 Mind-Blowing Uses for Enterprise Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the ways businesses do business and consumers consume. From initiatives like customer-centricity and inventory management to predicting the future and helping human lives, the use cases for AI are seemingly limitless. LLamasoft works with many of the world’s largest enterprises across more than a dozen industries – all of which are impacted by the advancements of AI and machine learning (ML). After our recent acquisition... Read More
December 10, 2019 |
Inside one grocery CEO’s quest to transform delivery – Adapt or Die Podcast
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December 5, 2019 |
Event Takeaways from LLamaCon Japan
LLamaCon Japan 2019, a supply chain conference took place in October 2019 At LLamaCon Japan 2019, Carlos Valderrama, senior vice president of customer success at LLamasoft Inc. gave a keynote speech. Hitachi Transport System and PepsiCo shared their success stories and best practices. [Sponsor Company] Platinum sponsor: Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. [Main Conference] LLamasoft keynote (Carlos Valderrama, LLamasoft Inc.) During the keynote session, Carlos addressed the importance of data-based... Read More
November 15, 2019 |
AI Powered Enterprise Decisioning on Display at LLamaCon EMEA 2019
“Decisioning in today’s world is about allocating scarce resources under uncertainty,” said Caspar Berry, a professional poker player and risk expert during his keynote at the just concluded LLamaCon EMEA 2019 held in the historic city of Prague. With that statement, he had the full attention of a roomful of 225 supply chain professionals representing 80 countries and 25 companies! In a world where change is the new constant, uncertainty... Read More
October 31, 2019 |
5 Scary External Factors for Supply Chains
Meeting demand for fun-sized candies and trending costumes is only one grisly scenario supply chain professionals face. One thing Halloween can teach us is having the right inventory available at the start of the season is much better than empty shelves – yet no one wants too much leftover inventory on November 1st. Supply chains serve just about every person in the world. It’s a careful balancing act to ensure... Read More
October 9, 2019 |
Artificial Intelligence and the Supply Chain Disruptor
Can you see the minute changes that influence your supply chain daily? Even the most successful companies that spend time caring for their supply chain may miss the subtle clues of change that can snowball into something big if not reviewing and optimizing your network on a regular basis. Think of the many data inputs that feed your supply chain – customer demand information, available inventory, network configuration, distribution center... Read More
September 30, 2019 |
AI Insights Predict Customer Demand for Computer Tech Company
The rise of the connected customer is compelling companies to keep a pulse on the pace of changing demand. It’s imperative to profitably plan and deliver on customer expectations. The high-tech industry faces strong headwinds to stay ahead of customer expectations due to competitive disruption from new market entrants and the pressure to deliver agile, cutting-edge products. Challenge A U.S. multinational computer technology company had a functional day-to-day demand forecasting... Read More
September 26, 2019 |
Digital Transformation is an Opportunity for Innovation: Recap of LLamaCon Mexico and Brazil
Recently, LLamasoft had the opportunity to have insightful conversations with more than 200 attendees to LLamaCons in Brazil (Sept 5) and Mexico (Sept 12). LLamasoft’s VP of Customer Success in Latin America, Rafael Vasquez, led a survey asking, “What does digital transformation mean?” The common results were Digital Transformation is an Opportunity for Innovation in Latin American Markets. Digital Transformation in Mexico: Evolution + Innovation + Connectivity + Information +... Read More
September 23, 2019 |
Reflections from ASCM’s 2019 Annual Conference
Just when you thought that you had it figured out, it all changes. That statement echoes the themes, sessions, content and discussions from this year’s annual ASCM conference that I had the privilege of attending as part of the association’s Corporate Advisory Group. The ASCM organization did a fantastic job of focusing the conference content around the many areas of change that supply chain leaders are facing. Here are five... Read More
September 20, 2019 |
The Bumpy, New World of Supply Chains
The Economist magazine recently issued a very comprehensive special report on how global supply chains are undergoing a fundamental shift. I will summarize the key takeaways from the report. 1. Shorter, smarter, faster… and more vulnerable supply chains With the ongoing trade war and the rise in economic nationalism, global trade is undergoing major shift and supply chains are shrinking. Global trade growth has fallen from 5.5% in 2017 to... Read More
September 20, 2019 |
How the US Air Force Predicts What’s Next as the World Changes
The Air Mobility Command of the United States Air Force (USAF) has the not-so-easy task of determining how many aircraft, when and where, are needed to transport equipment and goods around the world every day to supply their missions. The Command manages a 1,100 aircraft fleet augmented with commercial airplanes as needed. Due to the explosion of e-commerce, accurately anticipating demand up to 12 months in advance is paramount as... Read More
September 18, 2019 |
Winning the War on Cancer and Counterfeit Drugs and other Inspiring Stories from LogiPharma US 2019
Winning the War on Cancer and Counterfeit Drugs and other Inspiring Stories from LogiPharma US 2019 By Dr. Madhav Durbha September 18, 2019 I just returned from the LogiPharma US 2019 held September 16-17 in Philadelphia. There were so many fascinating stories and inspiring themes that capturing all of them in a single blog post may be a challenge. Here are a few select stories: Integrated network strategy to support long term growth:... Read More
September 12, 2019 |
Q&A with LLamasoft’s Brilliant 2019 Interns!
Summer often ends too soon – especially when you’re working with the next wave of talented young professionals! We are so proud of all the interns accomplished and hope you enjoy this Q&A with a few of LLama Interns. Chung Hoon received his bachelor’s degree in economics from University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his master’s degree in data science from University of Michigan. Why did you apply for the summer... Read More
September 2, 2019 |
5 Unique Aspects of the Avocado Supply Chain
With trade and border tensions rising, your avocado toast could be in danger! What else goes into finding the perfect avocado? Learn about 5 unique aspects of an avocado’s supply chain here! 1. Demand for avocados has skyrocketed It may not surprise you to find out that demand for avocados has risen. You have probably enjoyed some avocado toast, added it to a smoothie, or had some guacamole during the... Read More
September 1, 2019 |
3 Reasons to Start an Exciting Career at LLamasoft
3 Reasons to Start an Exciting Career at LLamasoft LLamasoft has been named one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the Metro Detroit Area for six consecutive years, and we are not stopping anytime soon! If you are looking for an exciting career with meaningful impact at a highly respected company, LLamasoft is the place for you. Keep reading to find out why this global company... Read More
August 28, 2019 |
How the Trade War is Reshaping Global Supply Chains
As another round of tariffs looms, businesses are preparing to make difficult decisions when it comes to sourcing, moving and pricing the products they sell. Whether the trade war between the United States and China continues or comes to a sudden and unexpected conclusion, one thing is certain: now more than ever enterprises need to understand their options for designing the supply chain of the future. Indeed, the nature of globalization has changed. And with an additional... Read More
August 6, 2019 |
How math is becoming cool in supply chain – again!
When I started my career in the late ’90s, supply chain was a cool place for math geeks! As a discipline supply chain was not really that big in the universities. The traditional pathway into supply chain was through a major in operations research, industrial engineering, or business, often with each offering courses in their silos. Then there were those that managed to sneak in because of their experience in... Read More
July 19, 2019 |
Cost to Serve: A Framework for Profitability and Customer Excellence
4 stakeholders who benefit from cost to serve What is the real cost to meet specific customers’ needs? How much will it cost to increase service levels or introduce new products and services? How are challenges with suppliers or trade policies affecting the bottom line? Global businesses often struggle to answer these types of questions. Thanks in part to changing preferences, SKU proliferation, fluctuating trade policies and the inherent complexity... Read More
July 16, 2019 |
The Digital Supply Chain Twin – An Emerging Trend to Reveal Interconnected Insights
There is no single formula for supply chain digitization, and you may be like many companies who are either exploring or actively implementing any combination of the trends we outlined in our previous blog. In its recently published report, The 2019 Top Supply Chain Trends You Can’t Ignore, Gartner maps out eight supply chain trends. One thing is very apparent – change is coming at a rapid pace. Per the... Read More
July 16, 2019 |
LLamasoft Awards Our Partner Ecosystem
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb The pace of modern life frequently means that we sometimes move too quickly to see the small but very important steps we are taking together. We recently took a moment to celebrate and award partner success during our global LLamaCon event in Chicago and at a handful of regional events. Each... Read More
July 10, 2019 |
AI, Advanced Analytics and Digital Twin Among Leading Supply Chain Tech Trends
Matt Tichon is LLamasoft’s Vice President of Industry Strategy. Gartner Report: The 2019 Top Supply Chain Technology Trends You Can’t Ignore A sea of innovative technology has surfaced over the last few years, bringing the potential to make a strategic impact on supply chains and operations. Separating the signal from the noise is no small task and many of these new technologies require a hefty investment of time, money and... Read More
June 28, 2019 |
A Summary of the Best from LLamaCon
In June 2019, we hosted our biggest LLamaCon yet at the Downtown Chicago Marriott on the Magnificent Mile with 700+ attendees, 200+ industries and endless takeaways for the supply chain industry. Find out what you missed or relive the event with this collection of our favorite articles, photos and videos gathered during the event. Perspectives from Industry Leaders LLamasoft’s Dr. Madhav Durbha is a prolific supply chain and technology expert.... Read More
June 21, 2019 |
LLamaCon Day 3: The Power of Global Supply Chains
While the weather in Chicago may not have been sunny, the last day of LLamaCon 2019 warmed up with more partners and customers sharing their stories about how they are moving their organizations forward with supply chain management, demand modeling tools and technology. LLamasoft is striving to solve global challenges through modeling and optimization. LLamasoft’s CEO Razat Gaurav mentioned in his keynote speech on the first day of LLamaCon, “There... Read More
June 20, 2019 |