Trade Secrets – Détails, épisodes et analyse

How do you operationalize sustainability in the semiconductor industry where rapid innovation and faster product life cycles add ever-changing complexities to the supply chain?

For Michele Dumais, Manager within the Supply Chain Management practice at Deloitte Consulting, it’s all about driving data, collaboration, and ensuring supply chain practitioners are involved in strategic planning. Polly Mitchell-Guthrie, VP of Industry Outreach and Thought Leadership at Kinaxis, joins Michelle to discuss the challenges of improving sustainability within the semiconductor industry. They discuss practical strategies to incorporate sustainability into existing capabilities and processes, the evolving role of AI in harnessing data and how everyone from engineers to suppliers can make an earth-friendly impact.

• Michelle says one of the biggest challenges semiconductor organizations face when it comes to embracing sustainability is properly managing big data throughout the different supplier tiers to address the biggest sources of emissions. It becomes especially tricky on a global scale because there are different ways to collect the data and questions regarding standardization. [06:15]
• Michelle says that it’s particularly difficult for semiconductor organizations because scope 3 emissions usually occur outside of a supply chain’s internal operations, but the good news is companies are starting to review the data through advanced dashboards for increased visibility, and AI can help create suggestions on how to best use that data to move toward sustainability goals. [8:53]
• To begin operationalizing sustainability initiatives, Michelle states that companies should begin with four main areas: getting the right data; alignment with their internal team to work towards a sustainability strategy that isn’t siloed; assess their capabilities and update processes; and look at readiness in terms of having the right talent, processes and technology in place. [12:55]

To hear more from Michelle and Polly about navigating sustainability challenges in the semiconductor industry, listen to our Big Ideas in Supply Chain Podcast.

To learn more about the work Michelle is doing at Deloitte Consulting, you can follow her on LinkedIn.

Kinaxis is a global leader in modern supply chain management. Our software is trusted by global brands in every industry to provide the agility and predictability needed to navigate today’s volatility and disruption. For more news and information, please visit kinaxis.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

As the world moves forward into 2024, it’s an opportune time for supply chain professionals to continue making even more positive marks on their organizations. A number of supply chain trends were discussed in this panel discussion featuring Mary Byrne, Vice President of Supply Chain at Cardinal Health, Liz Coddington, CFO of Peloton, Gus Shahin, CIO at Flex and Professor Morgan Swink from Texas Christian University cohosted by Kinaxis Board Member, Angel Mendez and Kinaxis Chief Strategy Officer Dr. Anne Robinson.

• Mendez shared his top 10 challenges supply chains faced in 2023: COVID-19 “hangovers”; a lackluster macroeconomy; persistent inflation; higher cost of debt with higher interest rates; an increasingly complex geopolitical environment; companies attempting to move their footprints away from Asia in a “deglobalization” trend; labor tensions in certain industries; climate effects; continued emphasis on sustainability and ESG; and a “technology renaissance resting on AI.” 
• Byrne talked about how her organization’s customers and partners are seeking more predictability in supply, while the supply chain itself must remain flexible. To create more resilient and responsive supply chains, conversations about technology and transformation will be important. [00:05:15]
• Sustainability can attract younger generations to supply chain careers, addressing a key need for 2024: strong talent. Swink says students are drawn to “changing people’s lives for the better.” [00:28:37]
• Coddington believes AI presents great opportunities in 2024 Companies who figure out how to leverage their own team with machine learning/AI to improve processes, use automation in more efficient and effective ways and better forecast demand will have competitive advantages.
• In terms of advice, supply chain professionals can continue to bridge different strategies and collaborate with partners and other parts of the business, be agile “athletes” ready to respond to changes and new trends quickly. Of course, it’s then critical that they communicate well at the ELT level to influence and educate. [00:44:59]

For an in-depth discussion of these topics and several others, listen to our Big Ideas in Supply Chain podcast.

To learn more about our guest panelists on this episode, follow them on LinkedIn:

Mary Byrne

Liz Coddington

Gus Shahin

Professor Morgan Swink

Kinaxis is a global leader in modern supply chain management. Our software is trusted by global brands in every industry to provide the agility and predictability needed to navigate today’s volatility and disruption. For more news and information, please visit kinaxis.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Impacted by constant supply chain disruption, one of the biggest challenges in the electronics industry is forecasting demand both upstream and downstream. Lynn Torrel, Chief Procurement and Supply Chain Officer at Flex, joins Angel Mendez, Board Member and Supply Chain Innovator, and Dr. Anne Robinson, Chief Strategy Officer at Kinaxis, to explore how to forecast demand more accurately by pairing contextualized data with external demand signals and applying a layer of analytics and AI to get actionable, real-world insights.

Lynn talks about the balance of resiliency and cost in supply chain. She speaks to   different customers needing different solutions and how Flex is ready to support those decisions through global scale and scope. [6:24]

Lynn also discusses the disconnect between supply and demand in a post-COVID world. While customer expectations have begun to shift, many suppliers continue to operate as they did throughout the pandemic. Lynn states that the old ways of forecasting demand aren’t sufficient and that accurately and providing information to organizations about what constraints could happen in the future is a necessity.  [15:12]

Lynn talks about the True Demand Coalition, which is a new group of 25 member companies working together to share access to better data (global market impacts, macroeconomics and other information) with the goal of improving demand forecasting accuracy to mitigate future supply chain disruptions. [21:22]

To learn more about the speakers and follow them, access their LinkedIn profiles here:

• Lynn Torrel - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynntorrel
• Angel Mendez - https://www.linkedin.com/in/angel-l-mendez-98288
• Dr. Anne Robinson - [https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-robinson-449225

Kinaxis is a global leader in modern supply chain management. Our software is trusted by global brands in every industry to provide the agility and predictability needed to navigate today’s volatility and disruption. For more news and information, please visit kinaxis.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Eaton is a leader in power management technologies that solve complex electrical and industrial issues around the world. They’re also leaders in innovation when it comes to its supply chain. Rogerio Branco, Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer at Eaton, joins Dr. Anne Robinson, Chief Strategy Officer at Kinaxis, to discuss Eaton’s commitment to innovation, diversity and inclusivity in the latest episode of our Big Ideas in Supply Chain podcast.

The pandemic put a spotlight on certain supply chain realities that needed to change, and Eaton realized some of its traditional supply chain planning processes and tools were no longer efficient. To channel new ideas, the company turned to its global supply chain team of 4,000 associates and created an incubation lab with a physical location that’s also virtual. According to Rogerio, anyone in the company can bring ideas forward and if it meets their goals and criteria, those ideas will be validated and tested in real applications. [2:08]

Eaton also strives to be a model of diversity and inclusivity as a company. Rogerio states it’s taken very seriously, noting that 60% of Eaton’s board and 35% of its global supply chain team is diverse. Additionally, they offer company-wide initiatives to bring in suppliers that are owned by women, minority groups, and LGBTQ+. Rogerio states that this dedication to diversity helps improve innovation within the company because everyone gets to have a voice to provide input in a safe space where they’re free to incubate new ideas without judgement. [9:33]

You can learn more about supply chain innovation at Eaton by watching the full episode here: https://big-ideas-in-supply-chain.simplecast.com/episodes/supply-chain-innovation-at-eaton

To learn more about the speakers and follow them, access their LinkedIn profiles here:

• Rogerio Branco - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogerio-branco-12598aa 
• Dr. Anne Robinson - [https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-robinson-449225

Kinaxis is a global leader in modern supply chain management. Our software is trusted by global brands in every industry to provide the agility and predictability needed to navigate today’s volatility and disruption. For more news and information, please visit kinaxis.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Generative AI applications such as ChatGPT are waking people up to the potential of AI, and some C-level executives are wondering how it could augment the way supply chain practitioners can solve complex issues requiring ideation and decision-making. Mike Watson, faculty member at Northwestern University and Polly Mitchell-Guthrie, VP, Industry Outreach & Thought Leadership at Kinaxis, speculate how ChatGPT could refine data, impact productivity, and empower practitioners to develop more efficient supply chains. 

Mike says the recent popularity of ChatGPT has piqued the interest of many C-level executives who are now starting to think seriously about AI and the value it can add in terms of increasing business and individual resource productivity. [5:12]

While many people fear job loss when it comes to adopting AI, Mike feels optimistic that this new technology will assist rather than replace many roles in the industry. For example, a supply chain planner or data analyst might not be able to code, but with the help of Generative AI, they may be able to produce a code that can automate certain tasks. [10:32]

Mike states there is a lot of potential for generative AI within the supply chain including tasks like automation and the possibility of creating a ChatGPT based application focused solely on supply chain solutions. However, Polly points out that AI lacks context, collaboration, and conscience, which all prevent it from making complex, informed decisions – which still require a human judgement. [17:21]

Kinaxis is a global leader in modern supply chain management. Our software is trusted by global brands in every industry to provide the agility and predictability needed to navigate today’s volatility and disruption. For more news and information, please visit kinaxis.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

One of the biggest challenges of any Supply Chain Officer is convincing CEOs to invest in resilience. As supply chain practitioners face ongoing disruption while trying to solve for transformation and short-term financial benefits, it’s become clear that supply chains need to be more agile and responsive. In our latest video podcast, Mike Corbo, former Chief Supply Chain Officer at Colgate-Palmolive joins Angel Mendez, Board Member and Supply Chain Innovator, and Dr. Anne Robinson, Chief Strategy Officer at Kinaxis, to discuss lessons learned from leading during times of disruption, the value of investing in resilience, and how supply chain leaders can promote revenue growth. 

Mike saw a lot of changes during his 40 years at Colgate-Palmolive. One of his biggest challenges during his time as Chief Supply Chain Officer was the COVID-19 pandemic. Although COVID created drastic developments, Mike says the company survived this period of disruption thanks to the supply chain planning risk management playbook Colgate-Palmolive had developed a decade prior. Mike says the global supply chain organization had back-up supplies and multiple alternate suppliers they could pivot to while validating new sources in record time, to help them manage the immediate impacts of the pandemic. [8:27]

To expedite planning processes during the pandemic, Colgate-Palmolive also made the choice to cut their hierarchy of decisions for efficiency, avoiding bottlenecks and reducing reaction time from 60-90 days to only 7-8 days. [10:00]

During times of supply chain crisis, Angel says there are three key questions: what is the expected duration, how impactful is it, and how wide is it? Unfortunately, with COVID, these questions were unanswerable due to its global severity with no end date in sight. Because of this, approaching the boardroom about an investment in resilience raises the conversation to a very strategic level. Mike says the key is to balance cost efficiencies and resiliency, which can be done by building resilience into supply chain decisions. [16:14]

Kinaxis is a global leader in modern supply chain management. Our software is trusted by global brands in every industry to provide the agility and predictability needed to navigate today’s volatility and disruption. For more news and information, please visit kinaxis.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

As the world continues to face challenges from pandemic-related disruptions to potential global recessions, it is now more important than ever to equip supply chain planners with the tools and knowledge they need to respond to crisis. Blaine Fitzgerald, Chief Financial Officer at Kinaxis, and Jim Bralsford, Sr. Director of Industry and Solutions Marketing at Kinaxis, discuss the benefits of long-term planning, diversifying costs and minimizing financial impact to business while preparing for the future.

Blaine states that while some geographies such as US, Japan and parts of Europe have gone in and out of recession, there are other financial indicators such as the inverted yield curve that could imply that the recession isn’t over yet. This means organizations still need to take proactive measures to reduce the impact of recession and inflationary pressures on supply chains. To help companies accelerate out of a slow-growth period, Blaine recommends thinking of the supply chain as a strategy center and not just as a cost center; investing in digitalized planning solutions; engaging in short-term vs long-term supply chain planning and diversification of cost. [5:53]

Blaine also talks about the independent academic research that analyzed the financial performance of about 700 companies (including Kinaxis customers) across different industries over the last 3 years. The results showed that financial metrics improved in companies that used a digital supply chain planning solution, with average growth revenue of 3.62%, vs peers that didn’t use a supply chain planning solution, where growth shrunk by 5.77% on revenue. The results of this study have solidified and elevated the rank of supply chains as a strategic function with direct impact on financial success, in the eyes of boards and executives. This pivotal shift is a key learning from the pandemic and recession that CFOs and CEOs cannot overlook going into future business planning. [10:37]

To learn more about Blaine Fitzgerald, Chief Financial Officer, Kinaxis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaine-fitzgerald-71a07972, Twitter: @Blaine_Fitz

To learn more about Jim Bralsford, Sr. Director, Industry and Solutions Marketing, Kinaxis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimbralsford/

Kinaxis is a global leader in modern supply chain management. Our software is trusted by global brands in every industry to provide the agility and predictability needed to navigate today’s volatility and disruption. For more news and information, please visit kinaxis.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Join Tariq Farooq, former SVP Global Supply Chain at Sanofi, as he speaks with Matt Spooner, Industry Thought Leader at Kinaxis, about how the COVID pandemic and subsequent shortages have caused boards and executives to re-evaluate the importance of the supply chain. They discuss why the supply chain has risen to the top of the corporate agenda, and why it is now essential not just to think about tradeoffs in terms of cost, cash and service, but also to include resilience and environmental impact in the equation.

Summary points:

Recent supply chain disruptions that have stemmed from the pandemic have changed the way that boards and executive teams look at and consider the supply chain. According to Tariq, many consumer-packaged goods (CPG) companies, as well as high-tech companies are beginning to recognize the important role that the supply chain plays. As a result, C-suite executives are bringing more supply chain topics to the table. (2:00) 

The perception of the importance of the supply chain hasn’t grown just among C-suites, but also among the average person as consumers aren’t seeing what they want on shelves. Supply chain disruption has become a challenge across many industries. 

Some supply chain leaders insist that resilience is important – but that it must also be cost neutral. Tariq states that, while cost is important at any time, there has never been a higher need for resilience than now. While many organizations were previously cutting down on costs by doing things like mono-sourcing, in an age of disruption, many companies, especially large-scale ones, are forced to multi-source to maintain efficiency. Tariq states, “The challenge really becomes how do you shift from where you have been, where cost efficiency might have been the primary objective to being in a situation which is more balanced as we move ahead. […] I think increasingly what they'll be doing is leveraging some of the efficiencies that come because of digitalization, because of automation, because of all the great talent that's been developed across supply chains and the supply chain networks that they establish to offset some of those incremental risks.” (8:00) 

In the past, supply chain professionals were focused on trying to balance the triangle of service, cost and cash. Tariq states that as we move forward, this triangle will look more like a pentagon where you’re trying to balance service, cost, cash, environmental impact and resilience. (8:50)

Click here to follow or know more about the speakers:

1. Tariq Farooq - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tariqfarooq/
2. Matt Spooner - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spoonermatthew/

Kinaxis is a global leader in modern supply chain management. Our software is trusted by global brands in every industry to provide the agility and predictability needed to navigate today’s volatility and disruption. For more news and information, please visit kinaxis.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

In this series debut, Anne and Angel share their thoughts about the supply chain renaissance and pandemic disruptions. Specifically, the lessons that we can learn from living through such a disruptive period and what supply chain practitioners can do to prepare for a tumultuous future. Join them for a discussion about  the importance of organizing lessons learnt from the supply chain triage, emphasizing innovation and delivering results.

Intro to guest

• Angel Mendez is a supply chain expert, transformational leader, and visionary with nearly 40 years of experience. He is joining Dr. Anne Robinson, Chief Strategy Officer at Kinaxis, as a guest host in a new series of our Big Ideas in Supply Chain video podcasts. Watch now as they discuss the importance of lessons learned from the pandemic, embracing disruption and creating innovation for the future.

Summary points

• As part of the new Big Ideas in Supply Chain podcast series, Angel Mendez is joining Dr. Anne Robinson as a new cohost. Angel is a supply chain expert, transformational leader and visionary with nearly 40 years of experience. Angel is passionate about bringing big ideas forward and sharing his expertise.
• The COVID pandemic created significant disruption in supply chain, which continues to be felt today. Angel believes that there are a lot of valuable lessons that supply chains can take away from managing mass disruption, and it’s important to collect and codify what was learned during this time to prepare for an uncertain future. [1:20]
• Many supply chain practitioners are wondering what can be done to ensure the effects of disruption aren’t felt to this level of magnitude again. Angel argues that this is an unfair question due to the current unstable environmental and economic landscape. [3:20]
• It’s important to take advantage of the crisis and disruption we faced so we can become stronger and benefit from it at the end of the day – so how do we embrace it? Angel suggests that one solution is for the vendor community and practitioner community to come together to figure out how to harness change, and digital transformation can assist with this collaboration. Another suggestion is to continue accelerating innovation because we need more agile and adaptable solutions for an uncertain future. [8:00]
• Angel states that a supply chain renaissance began in the early 2010s thanks to the explosion of cloud services and the ability to be API driven, which spurred a period of innovation. [8:00] He mentions that the pandemic forced this innovation to pause, but now, to counter the effects of this disruption, innovation has started to accelerate once again to make sure we’re prepared for a tumultuous future. Anne and Angel believe that a great way for organizations to encourage this is to create a formal innovation team. [10:00]

Speaker Bios

• Click here to follow Dr. Anne Robinson https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-robinson-449225
• Click here to follow Angel Mendez https://www.linkedin.com/in/angel-l-mendez-98288/

Kinaxis is a global leader in modern supply chain management. Our software is trusted by global brands in every industry to provide the agility and predictability needed to navigate today’s volatility and disruption. For more news and information, please visit kinaxis.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Andre Teixeira, VP of Global Supply Chain at Jamieson Wellness, joins Anne Robinson, Chief  Strategy Officer at Kinaxis, to discuss Jamieson Wellness’ bold approach to operationalizing sustainability. Watch now to learn how Jamieson Wellness has become a leader in sustainability by leveraging data to make better economic and environmental decisions.

• Andre believes that everything that moves across the globe is supply chain driven, including people, goods, and resources from the earth. Because of this, decisions need to be made by looking at the environment and social aspects tied to economics. “Just by its very nature, supply chains are consumers of the earth’s natural resources. So, anything we can do to improve the supply chain is ultimately in service of humanity and in service of Mother Earth.” – Kinaxis CEO John Sicard, quoted by Anne Robinson (3:37)
• Jamieson Wellness has a commitment to the planet, people and its communities. Its targets include reducing plastics by using recyclable plastic in 50% of its packaging, reducing 75% of its landfill and bringing sustainable raw materials to its products.
• Andre believes that the secret to augmenting the S&OP and IBP processes with sustainability lies in data. Supply chains, by nature, are constantly monitoring KPIs, benchmarks and information which should be leveraged to make better decisions holistically. Explaining what this might look like from a practical perspective, Andre explains, “So, when you have a bill of materials with products and descriptions, and quantities, how about having the environmental impact of those items in your bill of materials? How are you projecting your YOY, projecting your inventory levels today? We look at units, we look at dollars. How about projecting your carbon emissions with your level of sales, with your forecasting? And you are going to get that level that I have clarity on where I am and what kind of scenarios, we can use to mitigate those carbon emissions that I foresee.” (8:10)

Kinaxis is a global leader in modern supply chain management. Our software is trusted by global brands in every industry to provide the agility and predictability needed to navigate today’s volatility and disruption. For more news and information, please visit kinaxis.com or follow us on LinkedIn.