Supply Chain Peer Forum

The Supply Chain Peer Forum offers best practices and lessons learned through member-led and analyst-facilitated teleconferences, summits, and webcasts. These events target supply chain executives in consumer products, life sciences, high tech, industrial, and chemical who are responsible for global operations, S&OP, supply and demand planning, materials management, procurement, distribution, logistics, and transportation. Supply Chain Peer Forum members share experiences, survey results, and case study presentations to help organizations maximize ROI and improve business processes.

Promoting competitive advantages for supply chain executives.

The Supply Chain Peer Forum has proven successful for senior supply chain executives to educate themselves and their teams.

Ken Ruggles
Vice President

  • Teleconferences
  • Summits
  • Clients
  • Testimonials
  • Benefits
  • Past Events

Demand-Driven Agility

Thursday, March 18, 2010 Bookmark to my calendar calendar
Teleconference

Please join AMR Research Analysts, Mike Burkett and Bill Swanton, for this cross-industry teleconference, as we discuss Demand-Driven Agility.

Building agility requires demand visibility, customer understanding, and customer, product, and order segmentation strategies supported by cost-to-serve capability. Making the right conscious tradeoffs and designing a supply chain to capitalize on market opportunities is essential in today’s environment.

This is a member only event. If you have questions, please contact Kerin McGonagle.

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Inventory Optimization: The Last Piece in the SCM Puzzle

Thursday, April 15, 2010 Bookmark to my calendar calendar
Teleconference

Please join AMR Research analyst, Noha Tohamy, for this cross-industry teleconference, as we discuss Inventory Optimization.

Why are companies adopting inventory optimization? What are the organizational and skill-set prerequisites for successful inventory optimization? How does inventory optimization fit into bigger SCM strategy? What are the challenges in wider adoption of inventory optimization?

This is a member only event. If you have questions, please contact Kerin McGonagle.

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Successful Supply Management

Thursday, May 20, 2010 Bookmark to my calendar calendar
Teleconference

Please join AMR Research Analysts, Jane Barrett and Paul Lord, for this cross-industry teleconference, as we discuss Successful Supply Management.

While traditional supply chain processes focus on efficient transactions, value chain networks are built on effective relationships. The difference is not trivial, challenging deep-seated traditional supply chain paradigms. In fact, it has shaped winners and losers in the market today. How are companies shaping their supply relationships? What capabilities do they build in their own teams and how do they manage across important criteria like cost management, quality, and delivery?

This is a member only event. If you have questions, please contact Kerin McGonagle.

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Supply Chain KPIs

Thursday, July 15, 2010 Bookmark to my calendar calendar
Teleconference

Please join AMR Research Analysts, Debra Hofman and Jessica O'Brien, for this cross-industry teleconference, as we discuss Supply Chain KPI's.

Have members modified their scorecards or emphasized different KPIs in today’s economic climate? Has cash flow increased in importance? How are members using customer scorecards to gain an external view of performance? Which technologies are being used to identify root cause for derivation of KPI performance analytics? Are the causeeffect relationships between KPIs and the processes on which they execute documented and managed?

This is a member only event. If you have questions, please contact Kerin McGonagle.

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Supply Chain Peer Forum US Spring Executive Summit

Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Scottsdale, AZ

Save the Date: Supply Chain Peer Forum US Spring Executive Summit - June 2, 2010

The Supply Chain Peer Forum US Spring Executive Summit is scheduled for Wednesday June 2nd, 2010, at The Phoenician in Scottsdale, AZ. The summit will be held in conjunction with the AMR Spring Conference.

Stay tuned ... more details to come.

This is a member only event. For questions, please contact Kerin McGonagle.

Partial Client List

Advanced Micro Devices

 

Air Liquide

 

Air Products

 

Campbell Soup Company

 

Cisco Systems

 

Colgate-Palmolive Company

 

Dow Chemical

 

Eastman Chemical

 

FMC Corporation

 

H.J. Heinz Company

 

Kellogg Company

 

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

 

Medtronic

 

Meijer

 

Merck

 

Motorola

 

NCR Corporation

 

Pfizer

 

Qualcomm

 

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation

 

Sun Microsystems

 

Unilever

 

Whirlpool Corporation

 

“The most valuable part for us is the networking aspect.  When members share their approaches, I immediately identify companies that I want to network with.  Their challenges are the same as our challenges; they may have made progress in areas where we are still struggling.  At the same time we are able to offer perspectives and experiences that are of value to other members.”
- Leonard A. McMullen, Ph.D., Director Global Supply Chain Agricultural Products Group, FMC Corporation

Benefits

  • AMR Research expert analysts draw best practices out of interactions
  • Peer experiences promoting good decision-making, maximizing ROI, and improving process effectiveness
  • Education and development opportunities for your team without the travel expense
  • Unlimited participation at all levels of your organization

Deliverables

  • Executive In-Person Summits: Members can send 2 attendees to each of the semiannual Executive Summits. These are highly interactive, in-depth sessions that focus on specific topics published ahead of time.
  • Monthly teleconference calls: Members receive unlimited access to all scheduled Peer Forum Teleconferences. Each 90-minute teleconference brings together peers in their community for an open discussion on a predetermined agenda.
  • Bi-weekly newsletter: Members receive the Peer Forum Newsletter twice a month. Detailing all new and pressing information pertaining to the Peer Forum, it is AMR Research's primary means of communicating with members, including asking them for input and sending invitations for participation in Peer Forum activities.
  • Written key findings and lessons learned from summits and teleconferences: Shortly after each teleconference and Executive Summit, AMR Research will publish a summary of the major discussion points and findings.
  • Member-to-member peer networking to address specific questions or needs
  • Member-driven agendas refreshed every 6 months

Advanced Planning Systems for Oracle E-Business Suite Shops

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Please join AMR Research Analyst, David Aquino, as we discuss Advanced Planning Systems for Oracle E-Business Suite Shops. This is a cross-forum teleconference with Oracle and Supply Chain peer forum members.

Within the overall sales and operations planning (S&OP) process, supply planning is an important sub-process for matching demand with the capability to deliver profitably. In this teleconference, Oracle EBS Peer Forum members, together with Supply Chain Peer Forum participants, will discuss what technologies are used for effective supply planning. We will discuss how supply planning technologies accommodate production of inventory plans and capacity plans. What techniques have members used for successfully calculating inventory levels across nodes as well as for determining capacity and material requirements? Lastly, we will discuss scalability, usability, and functional strengths and weaknesses of advanced supply planning technologies.

Strategies for Life Sciences Companies Looking to Keep Pace with Emerging Markets

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Please join AMR Research Analysts, Hussain Mooraj and Wayne McDonnell, as we discuss Strategies for Life Sciences Companies Looking to Keep Pace with Emerging Markets. This teleconference is for Life Sciences companies looking to keep pace with emerging markets for Healthcare.

As life sciences companies develop strategies to enable rapid market penetration and growth in emerging markets, they must use their supply chains as strategic weapons. Here we look at strategies, including inventory and late-stage packaging hubs, that companies should consider. We will also discuss how companies can design their supply chain responses to effectively support the exponential pace of growth in these regions.

Optimizing Trade Promotion Effectiveness

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Please join AMR Research Analyst, Steve Steutermann, as we discuss Optimizing Trade Promotion Effectiveness. This teleconference is for Consumer Products companies.

The average consumer products company has initiated three trade promotion management programs in the past five years. Yet, trade promotion remains poorly understood and requires definition. The consumer has changed; targeting and reaching this consumer brings new challenges. Traditional approaches are less effective and companies are under pressure to grow the top line profitably. How will the emerging digital consumer redefine trade spend tactics? How will companies utilize predictive analytics to shape demand and reach new consumers locally? What designs are required of supply chain organizations to deliver against a new consumer?

Demand Management

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Please join AMR Research Analysts, Jane Barrett and Paul Lord, as we discuss Demand Management. This teleconference is for Industrial and Process Chemical companies.

Industrial driven companies have to cope with a complex demand scenario including pipeline, forecast, backlog, inter-site demand, services, and parts planning. How are leading companies developing the organizational capabilities,processes, and implementing tools in these environments?

Retailer-Supplier Relationships: Joint Value Creation

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Please join AMR Research Analysts, Steve Steutermann and Mike Griswold, for this cross-forum teleconference with Retail and Supply Chain members, as we discuss Retailer-Supplier Relationships: Joint Value Creation.

More retailers are sharing data with vendor suppliers, but are they satisfied with the results? Suppliers provide examples of quick wins like reducing out-of-stocks, but are they invested in longer term collaboration? How does a retailer gain executive support for relationships that may be equitable, but not always equal in terms of bottom line results?

Advanced Planning Systems for SAP Shops

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Please join AMR Research Analysts, David Aquino and Paul Lord, for this cross-forum teleconference with SAP and Supply Chain members, as we discuss Advanced Planning Systems for SAP Shops.

Within the overall sales and operations planning (S&OP) process, supply planning is an important sub-process for matching demand with the capability to deliver profitably. In this teleconference, SAP Peer Forum members, together with Supply Chain Peer Forum participants, will discuss what technologies are successfully used for effective supply  planning. We will discuss how supply planning technologies accommodate production of inventory plans and capacity plans. What techniques have members used for successfully calculating inventory levels across nodes as well as for determining capacity and material requirements? Lastly, we will discuss scalability, usability, and functional strengths and weaknesses of advanced supply planning technologies.

Supply Chain Segmentation

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Please join AMR Research Analysts, Jane Barrett and Allen Johnson, for this cross-industry teleconference, as we discuss Supply Chain Segmentation.

In a recent AMR Research study, a groundswell of companies identified segmentation as a key supply chain strategy. With tremendous pressures on cost and working capital, more companies are evaluating how they can redesign their supply chains by aligning their operational capabilities with an outside-in view of customer channel requirements.

Managing Impacts from Long Lead Time Supply Chains

Thursday, December 10, 2009

The globalization of today’s supply chains has had a direct effect on lead times and cash to cash cycles. What are members doing to deal with, and off-set, the impacts of moving to a global supply network? Are the tactics to improve cost-to-serve and customer service in these global supply networks being evaluated and prioritized?

Supply Chain Peer Forum Fall Executive Summit

November 10, 2009

Peer Forum Insights

The Supply Chain Peer Forum Executive Summit is an all-day in-person networking event where members will discuss these strategic supply chain topics:
    • How do you drive value in a value network? 
    • Supply Chain Centers of Excellence 
    • Supply Chain and Public Policy

If you have any questions, please contact Kerin McGonagle.

The Best of Demand Planning

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Peer Forum Insights

Forecasting remains an area of focus for Peer Forum Members. A review of best practices and case studies of members who are having success structuring demand teams, improving forecast accuracy, including consumption data, and account level forecasting into the demand planning process.

Cost Metrics

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Peer Forum Insights

How are companies assigning cost for an entire value stream? Have they been able to use this to drive decision making across functional areas? How has that worked to align different functional silos (sourcing, manufacturing, and logistics) to reduce the total delivered cost?

Rethinking the Role of Inventory

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Peer Forum Insights

Inventory strategies are rising in priority. Contraction in demand and corresponding rising channel inventories are once again forcing companies to review the role of inventory. While inventory reductions are a natural occurrence in this environment, leaders are looking at the role of inventory and not unilaterally focusing on internal efficiency. What is the value of inventory in a changing marketplace? How are companies making smart choices in where and how to reduce inventory? How are they looking at how to segment inventory to manage growth opportunities versus stable demand? How are they identifying remaining pockets of inefficiency regarding inventory management?

Clinical Trial Supply Chain

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Peer Forum Insights

Only 23% of 107 pharmaceutical and biotech companies rate their clinical trial supply chain processes as extremely effective, according to a recent AMR Research study. If these statistics are any indication of clinical trial supply chain health, how will companies bring future life-saving therapies to market profitably and in a timely manner? It may be time for an end-to-end redesign of clinical trial supply chains.

Sales & Operations Planning – Integrated Planning

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Peer Forum Insights

S&OP remains the #1 discussion topic for our peer forum member companies. “Integrated planning” continues to be the biggest gap. Join others in a multi-discussion thread tackling questions like: What are the organizational structures, metrics, meeting agendas and decision rights at the country, regional, and global levels? How do they map to P&L accountability? What are the linkages, information flows and escalation criteria between each level? What decisions are made at each meeting across the time horizons  - execution, tactical, and strategic? What incentives drive mutual cooperation, transparency and responsiveness between regional P&Ls and global centers?

Training and Certification for Supply Chain Professionals Teleconference

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Peer Forum Insights

AMR Research Analyst: Dave Aquino

What tools are companies using to train their supply chain professionals? Are these tools internally developed or externally developed? What resources are members using to build capabilities? Do members have certification programs for supply chain? How broad and deep are those certifications? How effective have your certification or training programs been? What are your best practices?

Supply Chain Peer Forum Spring Executive Summit

May 27, 2009

Peer Forum Insights

 

Supply Chain Risk Management Teleconference

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Peer Forum Insights

AMR Research Analysts: Noha Tohamy, Bill Swanton

What is your organization’s approach to risk management? How do you assess, quantify, and mitigate risk? How are you implementing business continuity plans (BCP) with your internal and external partners?

Manufacturing Strategies Teleconference

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Peer Forum Insights

AMR Research Analysts: C.J. Wehlage, Wayne McDonnell, Simon Jacobson

Most members are managing multiple supply chains. Manufacturing strategies cannot be developed in isolation of the overall supply chain strategy. How are members looking at volume, volatility, and other characteristics to develop manufacturing strategies? When are you following focused factory (high integrity & scalability) for cost containment versus a broader manufacturing ability for agility?

Managing Transportation Costs for the Long Haul Teleconference

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Peer Forum Insights

AMR Research Analysts: Bill Polk, Greg Aimi

In 2008 fuel prices skyrocketed, only to fall again by year’s end. Up or down, fuel price volatility is a certainty. Transportation costs traditionally run, on average, 6% of revenue and remain a large cost component for supply chains. Companies most effective in controlling transportation costs are in it for the long haul. Join other peer forum members to discuss typical and innovative practices in managing transportation costs including organization, practices, and the use of technology.

Global Sales and Operations Planning Teleconference

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Peer Forum Insights

AMR Research Analysts: Jane Barrett, C.J. Wehlage

The growth in world trade has put an increased on global integration for planning. Whereas recently, well run regional processes were sufficient to drive S&OP excellence, increasingly global integration is becoming as important as functional integration. Are you dealing with politicized meetings between local and global planning teams? What roles has your organization created to deal with multi-layered forecasting, sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution all fitting under a global S&OP umbrella?

Utilization of SAP Supply Network Planning (SNP) Teleconference

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Peer Forum Insights

This session will be for those companies that are currently using Supply Network Planning (SNP) and would like to discuss how other companies are utilizing the offering. We will discuss which business processes companies are using (or not using) SAP SNP to support including creating purchasing, production and distribution plans for the entire network, calculating inventory levels across nodes, determining material and capacity requirements and other needs. We will discuss the usability, scalability and functional strengths and weaknesses of the tool.

Strategic Sourcing in Life Sciences Teleconference

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Peer Forum Insights

Focused on life sciences demand chains

What process is employed to establish cross-functional sourcing requirements? What type of governance model is most effective for driving collaboration on requirements definitions, sourcing process utilization, and compliance with established sourcing agreements? What metrics are employed to track effectiveness of sourcing strategies, and what improvements have you experienced in terms of supplier performance, inventory and cost savings? How are sourcing strategies integrated into commercial manufacturing, clinical supply operations and indirect lines of business?

Managing operational trade-offs Teleconference

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Peer Forum Insights

How are companies managing their operations in a daily/weekly timeframe, such as master scheduling, order allocation, supplier contracts, and inventory policies in a way that is aligned with the outcome of the S&OP process? How are these decisions linked back to the S&OP plan rather than in isolation of those decisions or possibly in conflict? How does this linkage then reinforce the ability to keep S&OP at a higher level?

Supply Chain Peer Forum Fall Executive Summit

October 30, 2008

Peer Forum Insights

Talent Acquisition for Supply Chain Teleconference

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Peer Forum Insights

How are you recruiting supply chain talent? With exploding growth in some regions, what are members finding to be the most effective techniques for recruiting and retaining talent globally? What are members doing for recruitment relative to new hires versus experienced staff?

Reduction of Customer Stock-outs Teleconference

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Peer Forum Insights

Focused on business to consumer demand chains

Whether it is a warehouse or retail shelf, what are members doing to measure and reduce stock-outs in their customer base? What data is being utilized? How is it shared across value chain partners and within organizations and what processes are being put in place to reduce stock-outs?

Demand Management in a Supply-Centric World Teleconference

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Peer Forum Insights

Focused on industrial business to business demand chains

What does it mean to be demand driven in a business to business environment? How are supply-centric companies managing demand sensing and shaping? What demand sensing and attribute-based forecasting techniques are working to gain a better view of demand and creating options for demand shaping?

Addressing Rising Commodity Costs Teleconference

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Peer Forum Insights

What are others doing to combat the rise in fuel costs and other commodities? What is working? What near term techniques are effective and what longer term steps are you taking to manage commodity costs?