Accenture Supply Chain Management Feed

Competing on Analytics: The Architecture of Business Intelligence

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:47:35 GMT

Many companies today are collecting and storing a mind-boggling quantity of data. The size of some corporate databases is even approaching one petabyte (a quadrillion bytes). While improvements in technology's ability to store data have been astonishing, most organizations struggle to manage, analyze and apply it.

Continuous Improvement: The Key to Excellence in Business Processes

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:10:00 GMT

Continuous improvement holds the key to operational excellence, and thus to high performance. Accenture shows how to integrate continuous improvement initiatives into the way a company does business in order to maximize benefits.

A Road Map to High Performance for CPOs

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:59:00 GMT

Chief procurement officers (CPOs) are under pressure to reduce costs—but the current economic climate also presents an opportunity to position the purchasing function as a strategic partner for the business in the post-crisis environment. Accenture outlines a road map that will allow CPOs to meet short-term savings goals and transform the purchasing function to enable high performance.

Integrated Resource Management for Utilities

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:44:00 GMT

Various pressures are encouraging utilities to implement advanced supply chain practices in order to drive high performance through operations. In this paper, Accenture argues that the Integrated Resource Management model offers the best way to achieve this goal.

From Purchasing to Supply Network Design and Coordination

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 08:51:00 GMT

The role of procurement has expanded greatly in the past decade or more, but to become a true competitive weapon and enabler of high performance, it needs to advance still further. Accenture explains how supply network design and coordination could be the engine to enable procurement to operate successfully in an environment that is concurrently global, multi-tiered and unprecedentedly interdependent.

Closing the Gap: Lessons from Supply Chain Masters

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 06:05:00 GMT

Accenture outlines the gaps between current supply chain practices and the practices of supply chain masters. Only those that emulate the masters will be positioned to emerge from the current economic conditions primed for high performance and ready to take advantage of new opportunities.

Open for Business: Opportunities for Sourcing from Central and Eastern European Suppliers

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:32:41 GMT

Central and Eastern Europe offers Western European companies the potential to differentiate themselves by developing new sources of supply, thus helping them to achieve high performance. Accenture research investigates whether Central and Eastern European companies are truly open for business, and what factors must be taken into consideration.

Consumer-Centric Strategies Become New Normal for Manufacturers and Retailers Aspiring to High Performance

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:50:00 GMT

Business’s changed circumstances—the new normal—require retailers and manufacturers to develop new, customer-centric strategies. Accenture argues that transforming supply chains now offers the change to make significant headway in the drive to achieve high performance.

Asset Reliability and Maintenance Management

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:32:00 GMT

The maintenance of complex assets is often neglected to save costs in the short term. This approach ignores the significant benefits that increased asset reliability can bring, including reduced costs, higher margins and enhanced shareholder value. Accenture can help companies develop a phased approach to asset maintenance that will support their drive to achieve high performance.

Strategic Parts Pricing for Original Equipment Manufacturers

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:02:00 GMT

Strategic parts pricing can help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) improve profitability and customer loyalty during any set of economic conditions, thus paving the way for high performance.

Creating Effective Global Operations in a Multi-Polar World

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:47:12 GMT

Companies compete in a multi-polar world—where emerging countries are not just sources of inexpensive raw material and labor, but also robust markets for goods and services. Accenture reveals how the strategies and practices of global operations leaders differ from those struggling to perform well and explores a number of steps companies should take to build an industry-leading supply chain that will enable high performance in this global environment.

A Defense Supply Chain Transformation Network: Results-Focused Initiatives for Maximizing Value to the Warfighter

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 19:09:28 GMT

In defense as in conventional business, supply chains are fundamental to achieving high performance. Defense supply chains must therefore recommit themselves to traditional measures of excellence to meet the changing needs of soldiers—going beyond mere systems improvement by grasping 10 opportunities to achieve high performance through the defense supply chain.

Creating Advantage from Adversity

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:33:10 GMT

Present economic conditions are extraordinary. In a recent Accenture survey of more than 300 of the world’s chief procurement officers, over three-quarters reported that the current downturn was ''significantly affecting'' their procurement functions.

Creating Advantage from Adversity

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:32:00 GMT

Achieving High Performance in the Supply Chain: Inventory Optimization

Tue, 26 May 2009 06:43:12 GMT

Despite the significant impact that inventory management can have on a company’s ability to achieve high performance, many companies continue to rely on basic, ineffective inventory policies. Accenture outlines the benefits of a more sophisticated approach to inventory optimization and details the elements of such an approach.

Achieving High Performance in the Supply Chain: Inventory Optimization

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:37:00 GMT

The Influence of Financial Derivatives in Global Commodity Markets

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:47:00 GMT

The introduction of financial derivatives has fueled speculation in global commodity prices, creating tremendous price volatility. Accenture examines the underlying causes and outlines remedial action for those commodity companies wanting to achieve high performance.

The Infrastructure Imperative

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 16:30:32 GMT

Ambitious plans to raise living standards in China's interior have set off a boom in transport infrastructure development and a rush to upgrade the country's logistics industry. A number of international companies are already taking advantage of the changes.

Supply Chain Planning Mastery: Achieving High Performance in Planning through Greater Visibility and Collaboration

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:08:00 GMT

Accenture High Performance Business research confirms that supply chain management—and thus supply chain planning—is a cornerstone of high performance. Accenture research reveals the secrets of the supply chain planning masters, and outlines the necessary actions to follow their lead.

Product Development Mastery: Achieving High Performance in Product Development through Superior Innovation and Execution

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:08:00 GMT

Accenture research helps to uncover the secrets of product development masters, and the steps that companies intent on attaining high performance should consider in order to follow their lead.

Service Management Mastery: Achieving High Performance in Service Management through Superior Customer Service

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:56:00 GMT

Accenture High Performance Business research shows that high performers build distinctive capabilities. In this context, service management has been virtually unexplored and remains a significant opportunity. Accenture research into the supply chain reveals the practices of the small minority of service management masters and outlines how to follow their lead.

Manufacturing Mastery: Achieving High Performance in Manufacturing through Advanced Modeling and Continuous Improvement

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:50:00 GMT

Manufacturing mastery generates substantial benefits and can assist companies to advance toward high performance. Accenture research reveals new insights into the practices of manufacturing masters, and suggests actions to promote manufacturing mastery.

Fulfillment Mastery: Achieving High Performance through Superior Order Execution

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:42:00 GMT

Fulfillment mastery generates substantial benefits and can assist companies to advance toward high performance. Accenture research reveals new insights into the practices of fulfillment masters, and suggests actions that companies must take soon if they wish to achieve fulfillment mastery.

Procurement Mastery: Achieving High Performance in Procurement through a More Strategic Approach to Purchasing

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:49:00 GMT

Accenture High Performance Business research shows that high performers typically pursue excellence in procurement. In this research, Accenture explores the behaviors of procurement masters, and outlines actions companies must take to follow their lead.

Shock Absorbers

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:27:59 GMT

Flexible and fine-tuned to react rapidly to oil price surges, raw material shortages and other disruptive changes, dynamic supply chain management frees companies from rigid assumptions of the past, enabling them to achieve high performance in an era of heightened uncertainty.

Mastering Global Operations to Enable High Performance

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:24:00 GMT

Companies compete in a multi-polar world—an environment characterized by a new and more complex phase of increased economic interdependence across multiple centers of economic power and activities. Accenture research into global operations reveals that succeeding in this environment demands a new way of thinking about global operations. In particular, it points to five guiding principles that can position companies for high performance on this new global stage.

Argos: Supply Chain Management and Application Management Outsourcing

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:01:03 GMT

When Argos decided it needed to develop an end-to-end supply chain solution that would deliver more responsive service to its smaller stores, it turned to Accenture.

Taking Control in the New Era of Price Volatility

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 09:13:00 GMT

As further fluctuation in commodity prices seems likely, companies that purchase commodities must begin to apply risk-management principles within their purchasing organizations.

Risky Business

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 16:16:07 GMT

Supply-chain risk management is intimately connected to protecting earnings and shareholder value. By better understanding the financial consequences of supply chain vulnerabilities, companies can develop proactive, predictive approaches that focus on developing ongoing business resilience, not just recovery from disasters or other disruptions.

Channel Optimization: How Branded Products Manufacturers Can Achieve High Performance Across Their Retail and Distribution Channels

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:40:00 GMT

Manufacturers of branded products are finding themselves in a value squeeze. Accenture believes that a solution to this challenge lies in channel optimization—a program that can help companies make better decisions about applying services and resources across the retail customer base to grow long-term profitability and, ultimately, achieve high performance.

Channel Optimization: How Branded Products Manufacturers Can Achieve High Performance Across Their Retail and Distribution Channels

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:49:00 GMT

The Infrastructure Imperative

Tue, 03 Jul 2007 15:27:52 GMT

Read the full article

Holistic Approaches to Health Care Purchasing

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:37:00 GMT

Health care insurers are beset by stiff competition, increasing costs, growing complexity and demanding clients. Optimizing health care procurement could ease their pain significantly. This point of view examines the challenges associated with insurers’ purchasing of health care and offers a variety of suggestions for overcoming them on the path to high performance.

Holistic Approaches to Health Care Purchasing

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:24:00 GMT

Supply Chain Planning and the Path to High Performance in the Chemical Industry

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:25:09 GMT

In recent years, supply chain planning tools have become increasingly powerful, and for chemical companies, they have a lot of appeal. With the right tools, companies gain the ability to set inventory targets more effectively to minimize inventory cost while maximizing customer service. They can accurately model future networks and capacity to minimize total supply chain costs. They can make well-informed distribution decisions based on sales forecasts, customer segmentation, sales orders and actual production. And the list goes on.

Dow Chemical Co.: Accenture Supply Chain Academy

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:07:00 GMT

The Accenture Supply Chain Academy helped the Dow Chemical Co. meet its growth and leadership goals by building critical competencies and skills that ensure supply chain operational excellence, thus laying the foundation for high performance.

Ciba: Supply Chain Management

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:15:00 GMT

Accenture helped Ciba transform certain categories of its indirect procurement procedures, achieving significant cost savings in the process. Ciba then asked Accenture to implement its methodology across further categories of indirect procurement to help it achieve superior supply chain performance—and thus lay the foundation for becoming a high-performance business.

Procurement in Troubled Times: Creating Opportunity from Economic Adversity

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:34:51 GMT

While businesses face challenges in the current economic environment, these extraordinary times also present opportunities that companies can exploit to gain competitive advantage. Procurement plays a prominent role in seizing these opportunities, moving beyond the function’s traditional boundaries and helping to shape an organization’s strategic approach to become a high-performance business.

Procurement in Troubled Times: Creating Opportunity from Economic Adversity

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:07:00 GMT

Achieving High Performance with Procurement Shared Services Centers

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 07:54:00 GMT

Accenture’s High Performance Business research shows that procurement mastery correlates with superior financial performance. However, many organizations fail to implement effective procurement shared services centers and forego the considerable benefits of this opportunity.

At the Top of the Secure Food Chain

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:19:00 GMT

As supply chains lengthen and government scrutiny tightens, food and beverage businesses must improve the security of their supply chains to enhance performance and mitigate the risk of product recalls.

Consip Spa: Government Procurement

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:36:00 GMT

Accenture helped Rome-based Consip Spa, a public company governed by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), reduce public expenditure by developing new procurement strategies. With Accenture’s help, Italian government procurement is more effective and costs have been dramatically reduced—showing how high performance in procurement can help to drive high performance throughout the organization.

Wal-Mart Pulls Further Ahead with Accenture Training Program

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 22:48:07 GMT

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Driving Out Costs and Adding Value: How Outsourcing Spares and Inventory Planning Drives High Performance

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:37:00 GMT

Accenture High Performance Business research suggests firms can achieve 10-20 percent reductions in operating costs by optimizing and outsourcing activities such as spares and inventory management—as they position themselves to focus on their own core capabilities.

Martini & Rossi: Supply Chain Management

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 20:02:47 GMT

Accenture helped Martini & Rossi streamline its supply chain on a number of fronts. By leveraging the inherent functionality of Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, the company has refined its Italian logistics system, given its sales force real-time access to its systems and largely automated a complex pricing regime with retailers.

The Sustainable Supply Chain

Wed, 20 May 2009 06:13:18 GMT

It is often held that reducing carbon emissions will increase supply chain costs. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the Accenture High Performance Supply Chain survey suggests that the organizations with the most effective supply chains in terms of both customer service and cost effectiveness are ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing sustainability practices.

Bridging the Gap: Achieving High Performance through Product Portfolio Management

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 17:09:20 GMT

Accenture's survey into the role of product portfolio management found that companies are aware that to enhance overall performance they need to improve product strategy, market and technology insight, and the use of partnerships. Accenture research also shows that addressing product portfolio management is important in becoming a high-performance business.

The "STB" Supply Chain

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:16:56 GMT

Set-top boxes (STBs)—standalone devices that process digital entertainment information— represent a growing market, but their current supply chain model is too simplistic. Savvy companies in this market have a tremendous opportunity to create a new operating model that will help enable high performance and gains competitive advantage.

The Sustainable Supply Chain: Creating Value through Sustainable Packaging

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 06:37:00 GMT

Environmental concerns have made sustainability a priority on the supply chain agenda. High-performance businesses are building brand equity by developing strategies for sustainable packaging—and also benefiting from the accompanying cost reductions. This point of view shares three steps that can help businesses create value and ultimately achieve high performance through sustainable packaging.

Creating Value and Enabling High Performance through Carbon Management in the Supply Chain

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:21:00 GMT

In the current economic climate, some commentators suggest that tackling climate change should not be an immediate priority for supply chain and procurement executives. However, high-performance organizations think otherwise. They realize that there is a financial imperative to keeping carbon emission reduction on the agenda.

Co-op Insurance Services (CIS): Supply Chain Strategy

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:40:00 GMT

Accenture helped UK-based Co-op Insurance Services (CIS) develop and implement a far-reaching claims transformation project to streamline its business processes, reduce costs and make it more competitive. A number of quick wins identified by Accenture have already set CIS on the path to high performance.

Supply Chain Management: The Linchpin of M&A

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 16:16:14 GMT

After several years on the back burner, mergers and acquisitions are back in the headlines. Banking, pharmaceuticals, and electronics and high tech currently lead the charge. Most insiders think the trend will only grow larger, given companies’ growing need for access to emerging markets, the ever-increasing value they ascribe to economies of scale, and the more favorable M&A regulations now prevalent in many countries.

Wärtsilä: Supply Chain Collaboration

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 16:07:05 GMT

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Building Sustainable Retail Supply Chains

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:56:40 GMT

Today’s multi-polar business world—marked by an increasingly inter-dependent global marketplace—is underscoring the importance of sustainability. Multinationals are increasing their commitment to reducing carbon footprints. Customers are making decisions to favor companies and products that are environmentally and socially responsible.

Supply Chain Opportunities for Network Operators and Communication Services Providers

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:52:44 GMT

Network operators and communication service providers are making a renewed push to reduce capital expenditures, lower operating expenses and maximize returns as they journey toward high performance. Based on its ongoing research into the characteristics of high-performance businesses, Accenture puts forward six supply chain programs that can help meet these challenges.

Product Cost Management: Optimizing Product Differentiation and Life Cycle Costs to Achieve High Performance

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:59:51 GMT

Innovation: the key to survival and growth of virtually all companies, but especially those in the communications and high-tech sectors. In perhaps no other industry is the ability to regularly bring innovative and profitable new products to market affected by the structure, capabilities and practices of the entire organization.