Creating supply chain resiliency through more precise demand prediction.

An accurate demand prediction is one of the most critical elements of a resilient supply chain. When catastrophic events occur that can cause a massive shift in consumer behavior, retailers of all shapes and sizes are suddenly scrambling to adjust their forecasts. With the pandemic potentially forcing new or extended “shelter in place” orders, people will continue turning to new methods of receiving groceries, clothing, and other consumer products.

As we see different parts of the country and globe beginning to reopen, it’s possible many of these shopping behaviors may stick as people opt for less dining out due to new grocery shopping trends: pantry loading, working remotely, willingness to try private label, and a shift to new fulfillment channels.

As inventory levels drastically fluctuate, many shoppers have settled for what they (or their personalized shopper) can find, ultimately throwing brand loyalty out the window for cheaper brands, private labels, or store brands. Consumers have opted for new buying channels as well, ordering online and having groceries delivered. If the ease of these channels stick, it’s possible to see a long-term shift.

Leading Infor partner Independent Computer Consulting Group (“ICCG”) is pleased to announce a new strategic partnership with CADTALK, the first and only software leveraging AI to transform engineering bills of material from virtually any CAD, PDM, or PLM application into manufacturing bills of material and routings inside Infor ERP applications, specifically Infor CloudSuite Industrial(SyteLine).

ICCG is an enterprise software focused consulting firm with a global presence and a track record of more than 2,000 business and digital transformation project executions across ERP, Supply Chain Planning and Execution Systems, Warehouse Management Solutions and Product Life Cycle Management Solutions deployments. 

“We are delighted to be partnering with Infor Gold Channel and Alliance Partner ICCG to provide CAD/PDM/PLM/CAM integration for Infor ERP,” said CADTALK Founder and CEO Scott Brickler.  “ICCG has a very strong domestic and international presence in the Infor ERP and PLM solutions market, and we are excited to bring the best CAD integration solution to more Infor ERP users globally. CADTALK is the go to CAD/PLM Integration solution for Infor CloudSuite Industrial (SyteLine) and we plan with support from strategic Partners like ICCG to extend our Integration to other Infor ERP solutions such as Infor M3 and Infor LN.”

As robust and far-reaching as ERP solutions can be, it's simply not feasible to think that they can be all-encompassing, providing complete business functionality for every aspect of an organization. The simple truth is that all ERP solutions have gaps in specialized areas such as product lifecycle management (PLM). Successful companies know that it's best to close these gaps with focused, industry-specific solutions that address the unique aspects of their business.

Of course, the renewed and now emphatically changing world of Farm-to-Table is upon us and growing in popularity at rapid speed. I do find it all so very interesting because many years ago I did work with Gardenburger (in Portland, OR) prior to Kellogg’s purchasing them. 

Morningstar Farms were popular items (and still are today) but also were products that were sold primarily to vegans or vegetarians and often sold at local organic food co-ops or whole food markets (or similar). Might be a stretch analogy but let’s recall that decades ago major automobile companies were making electric cars but in similar terms the renewed and recent popularity can be directed at Tesla. Beyond meat and Impossible foods (and many others to come) will also need to be certain they can support the new demand so that they are not like Popeye’s chicken franchises that gained major popularity with their chicken sandwiches but had a complete failure with keeping up with the demand (failed supply chain).

As to the article, I think that the following words really show how McDonald's and others are afraid of falling behind, but also somewhat skeptical about whether this growth vertical will continue. Let alone, let’s be frank, McDonald's has never been the first to initiate or ingratiate itself to healthy menu items (and lifestyle-consumer) choices.

The experiment shows that the company has paid attention to consumers’ growing interest in plant-based burgers.

However, the P.L.T. is not vegan.

The stakes are smaller. If McDonald’s P.L.T. is a flop, it can quickly pull it from the market and go back to the drawing board.

M3 Food & Beverage is a comprehensive ERP solution designed to help food and beverage companies respond to changes in customer demands, manage their global supply chains, plan for seasonality, and reduce waste. 

Infor M3 Food & Beverage is the industry's most complete solution dedicated to solving the unique challenges of the food industry, including shelf-life, yield; reverse bill of materials, attribute management, grower accounting, and comprehensive asset management.

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requires that food and beverage companies take a more proactive approach to food safety. This is a shift from the more reactive approach that food and beverage companies have historically followed. With FSMA in place, companies must identify risks, create procedures for mitigating hazards, and execute against those procedures to ensure all threats to the safety of the food supply chain are contained, as well as demonstrate that their programs are valid and that they are continually being improved upon.

The process of managing a product’s lifecycle has come a long way since the days of Excel spreadsheets. Or has it? In this episode of Supply Chain Radio, Stan Pryzbylinski, vice president of research at CIMdata joins Matt Gunn and Jenny Reese to discuss how PLM software has evolved in the world of manufacturing.

Read Infor Press Release

Infor, a global leader in business cloud software specialized by industry, today announced that Independent Computer Consulting Group (ICCG) has been selected as a preferred partner to drive digital transformation for the Fashion, and the Food & Beverage industries in India. The alliance will strengthen the delivery of Infor solutions such as Infor Cloud Suite Fashion, Cloud Suite Food & Beverage (Infor M3) including Infor’s edge applications like Infor Fashion PLM and Infor Optiva PLM to accelerate the adoption of robust, purpose-built and industry-specific suite of offerings designed to meet the evolving demands of businesses.

Noida, India, February 07, 2019 --(PR.com)-- Independent Computer Consulting Group (ICCG), a Global Information Technology Solutions Provider for the Enterprise and Infor Gold Channel Partner announced today that, they will be Diamond Level Joint Sponsors of the 4th Anniversary celebration of the CIO KLUB Coimbatore Chapter. This event will take place on Saturday, March 23, 2019 at The Residency Towers, Coimbatore and will be attended by the members of CIO KLUB Coimbatore chapter, representatives from other chapters across India, governing body members of CIO KLUB and other invitees from the IT fraternity in & around Coimbatore.

Resulted in streamlining and simplifying their knitwear design process, allowing their designers to be more productive and efficient.

Founded in 1997, DirecTEX, Inc. is a sweater knit apparel design and sales company that offers fashion-forward, high quality knitwear designs and products combined with outstanding customer service at exceptional prices. They provide the latest knitwear trend analysis and product development services and work closely with partner factories overseas to provide affordable, quality knitwear.  

The domestic and international design teams at DirecTEX create seasonal sweater collections, as well as designs specifically for their customers’ private labels. This includes yarn development, stitch and pattern creation along with silhouette design. DirecTex offers junior and missy collections under their own brands – “Ivy&ASH” and “Arpeggio Knitwear.” And also welcomes collaboration with their customers to turn their design ideas into reality. In addition, DirecTex works closely with its manufacturing partners in Asia to ensure the designs created and manufactured to the quality and standards expectations of its customers.