FEBRUARY 2016MANUFACTURINGTECHNOLOGYINSIGHTS.COM6 From planning to keeping track of the goods flow and ensur-ing compliance, manufacturing supply chain management today goes more than just inventory management. Com-panies focus on understanding the ways in which supply chain management affects manufacturers from a daily operational perspective and a strategic viewpoint. Modern day manufactures seek to find the perfect balance between fully-owned distribution systems and contractor services. With the radical digital transformation, they are now embracing tech-nologies to achieve excellence on schedule, within budget and with quality outcomes. Blending a great deal of supply chain tools with CRM and ERP strategies helps companies provide real-time visibil-ity into operations and integrate activities through improved sup-ply chain relationships. According to IDC, by the end of 2016, majority of manufacturers will be actively employing commerce networks in their supply chains to facilitate demand awareness, supply visibility, or the development of new products. Though commerce networks have helped manu-facturers in getting materials through EDI-based, point-to-point data transmission, companies today turn to richly interactive hubs, through which they can share data and gain insights. IDC also pre-dicts a heightened popularity for micrologistics networks, driven by the need to support retailers' omnichannel efforts. It involves mul-tiple, localized nodes, such as smaller regional distribution centers. Additionally, IoT, wearable technologies and use of cloud in supply chain management will provide substantiate benefits to the man-ufactures. Cloud-based supply chain management solutions give manufacturers greater information efficiency with less time and ef-fort spent on the task. It enables businesses at every step of supply chain to access and input data in real-time, and meet the stringent demand from customers. With a series of disruptive changes happening in the supply chain management arena, we bring to you the special edition on Supply Chain Management Solution Providers. Our aim is to help manufac-turers take a systematic approach to drive improved supply chain performance and management. Let us know your thoughts.Laura DavisEditor-in-ChiefManufacturingTechnology InsightsWrite to useditor@manufacturingtechnologyinsights.comDigitization of Supply Chain ManagementEditorialCopyright © 2016 Valley Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustrations without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the magazine and accordingly, no li-ability is assumed by the publisher thereof.FEBRUARY - 2016Mailing AddressValley Media, Inc. 44790 S. Grimmer Blvd Suite 202, Fremont, CA 94538T:510.936.8381, F:510-894.8405 FEBRUARY - 2016, Vol 02- Issue 02 Published by Valley Media, Inc. To subscribe to ManufacturingTechnology InsightsVisit www.manufacturingtechnologyinsights.com Editor-in-ChiefLaura DavisEditorial StaffSalesVisualizerMichael WilliamsRuben Philipruben@manufacturingtechnologyinsights.com Ava GarciaImmanuel SpearsArun KantJem ElizabethJoshua Parker Supply Chain Management SpecialTECHNOLOGY INSIGHTSTECHNOLOGY INSIGHTS
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