It’s a warm June morning in Omaha, the phone rings and you answer. The man on the other end of the line explains that there has been an explosion at your production site in North Carolina, thoughts race through your mind, first to the safety of your employees, then to the condition of your...
We all know a strike, natural disaster, large scale power failure/ black out, major retail customer dropping you as a supplier, major competitor dropping out of the market, recall of a product due to contamination and more can have a major impact on your demand, for the worse and for the worse (yes, I...
I always look forward to the IBF’s annual Consumer Products & Retail Forecasting Forum. It gives me a chance to validate the direction we are taking our own forecasting and demand planning processes. There were many different themes that came out of the IBF Conference. The one that resonated with me the most was...
What goes around comes around. Many years ago, when I was young, people in the Northeast and Midwest were upset because they were losing jobs to the South. Let’s call that Phase 1. Later, people all over the U.S. were upset because so many jobs were going to Mexico. That’s Phase 2, and it...
Folks, it is with great pleasure to welcome all of you to the IBF’s Blog! I don’t know why it has taken us so long to get here with the amount of content, knowledge and experience we have to share in Demand Planning, Forecasting, and the Supply Chain. But, we’ve arrived and now full...
This is my first posting to the IBF’s new blog, and I’d like to express my thanks, first of all, to you, the readers and also to Anish Jain of the IBF who invited me in. Okay, let’s get to work. Are you ready for a horror story? It ranks right up there with...
My thanks to Constance Korol for the invitation to guest-blog on IBF’s site. It is quite the pleasure to follow Tom Wallace, one of my favorite thought-leaders in the field, and a true giant in S&OP (even if not a true giant in stature). If you are one of the few people in this...
At a time where recessionary forces are at work, many questions are being asked about how businesses have evolved their management practices and how this has affected their many stakeholders. The extent and depth of the recession has surprised many, and expansion of the ranks of the unemployed has hampered demand, seriously affecting patterns...
The Global Neighborhood of demand planners and forecasting professionals is coming together. Conversations and discussions are happening throughout the world and answers/ comments to common challenges are being addressed in forums. Since 1981, the IBF has educated and trained this community through publications, events, newsletters , membership benefits and certification. Now more than ever,...