For most suppliers the distance between their product and their consumers is a long and twisted path with little or no direct feedback. In a perfect world, this arrangement would work fine because retailers handle the direct consumer interaction and simply order more product from their suppliers to restock their shelves. And the tight margins, short lead times, localized demand cycles, and global distribution of the supply chain make it difficult to adequately plan production and delivery schedules. What's been termed 'supply chain visibility' has been touted as the answer to many supply chain issues, but is there any reality to this kind of monitoring? Read more...

Selecting a trading partner is becoming one of the most important tasks in the supply chain. At the same time it has become one of the biggest areas for potential mistakes resulting in financial disaster. Consumers are looking for more products available through multiple sources, lower prices, immediate availability, and reliable customer service. Delivering all that on slimming margins means both retailers and suppliers need to make the right decisions about what companies they partner with every time... not just most of the time. And that's why ec-bp.com is introducing the Trading Partner Scale. Read more...