Terra Technology > News

Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Unilever Discuss Downstream Data’s Value

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Research tells us that more consumer goods organizations are working on projects to leverage downstream data than ever before.

For the first time ever, thought leaders from Kimberly-Clark, Procter & Gamble and Unilever came together to deliberate the value of downstream data in a panel discussion at the Consumer Goods Business & Technology Leadership Conference.

Watch as Jake Barr, Global Director – Supply Network Operations, Procter & Gamble, Jared Hanson, Demand Senior Specialist, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and Matthew Lindsey, Senior Director, Customer Supply Chain, Unilever North America explore key areas of interest in candid detail:

Business drivers behind downstream data projects
Benefits/ROI to date
Department involvement
Change management
Process reengineering
Retailer involvement
Technology applications that work! And those that don’t.

Time to Reconsider VMI?

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

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In a 2011 interview with CSCMP’s Supply Chain Quarterly, Terra Technology CEO Robert F. Byrne discussed the impact of increasing downstream data access on consumer goods distribution strategies. According to Byrne, some manufacturers are rethinking vendor-managed inventory (VMI) and considering how the combination of real-time demand signals plus store-level inventory holdings data might achieve what conventional VMI hasn’t.

From the article:

“A successful VMI program depends on accurate forecasts of consumer demand, which have proved elusive. Instead of VMI, most CPG manufacturers would rather rely on point-of-sale data to get a clearer picture of what inventory should be on hand to meet demand. The demand signal or point-of-sale information gleaned from the cash register would drive replenishment as well as store-level inventory holdings. Byrne said the adoption of this approach would allow for automatic replenishment of store merchandise — "something that never worked in VMI."

Your Inventory Footprint – Seeing Beyond Capital

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

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Sustainability isn’t a problem - it’s a huge opportunity to rethink the role inventory plays and how you can reduce the mountains of carbon and rivers of water consumed while managing growth and maximizing ROI.

Supply Chain by the Numbers

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0400

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“Piles of inventory distributed throughout the supply chain are more than just piles of capital, but also piles of carbon and water---in fact, [they are] mountains of carbon and rivers of water. Modern mathematics to sense demand now provide a new level of certainty in an uncertain world, allowing companies to shed excess inventories and pave the way to a sustainable supply chain.”

Meet CGT’s Nine Business & Technology Award Winners

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0400

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CGT’s 2011 DICK CLARK SUPPLY CHAIN AWARD
In honor of the late supply chain visionary Dick Clark, CGT renamed their top award presented each year to the consumer goods company demonstrating excellence in executing improvements in supply or demand planning, warehouse management, transportation management, S&OP processes or supply chain network design.

The 2011 First Place Winner: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
CGT’s announcement cited several outstanding achievements that make Kimberly-Clark this year’s “MVP”:

Rising to #26 in Gartner's 2011 Top 25 Global Supply Chains from #45 in 2010
The shift from traditional supply chain practices toward a demand-driven consumer value chain—and great strides made in executing a collaborative S&OP process.
Return on investment includes halving internal cycle times, reducing the number of warehouses by almost 70%, and reducing total supply chain costs, while increasing on-shelf availability.
The company has had much success leveraging Terra Technology's multi-enterprise demand-sensing solution, and has used retailer data on a broader scale to better understand short-term demand changes and better align its ability to respond.