Fabrizio Zanardo

Supply chains should have the top attention of CEOs, as today's strategies need new thinking. #Supplychain leadership teams need to provide financial, operational, and organization flexibility: https://lnkd.in/gRUhycbX via @harvardbiz

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Trimming Product Offering to Increase Profit: Lessons for Manufacturers Retailers like HanesBrands and Dollar General are boosting profits by cutting stock and offering fewer choices, minimizing decision fatigue and reducing inventory costs. Manufacturers can adopt this strategy to enhance production efficiency, lower inventory levels, and increase profitability. By streamlining product offerings, manufacturers can better optimize resources and respond swiftly to market demands. Have you implemented a similar approach in your manufacturing operations? Share your experience! #Manufacturing #Efficiency #InventoryManagement #Profitability

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🥊 Not a Tyson vs Paul Recap… 🚀 Breaking Down Silos: The CIO’s Ultimate Challenge For CIOs, breaking down silos is essential for driving innovation and aligning teams. This article from CIO.com offers some great strategies for fostering cross-functional collaboration, and it reminded me of a recent M&A integration project I worked on. I was part of the executive team that developed a first-of-its-kind shared operational model. My team and I were on the front lines, resolving issues and refining processes to ensure its success. This experience taught me that proactive communication, quick problem-solving, and a shared vision are key to bridging gaps and aligning everyone. Here’s what we achieved: • A 20% improvement in EBITDA through streamlined operations. • Strengthened collaboration across departments. • Aligned systems to deliver on the company’s strategic goals. If you had to pick one strategy to break down silos, what would it be? #CIO #Collaboration #Leadership #DigitalTransformation #Innovation #M&A

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I recently had the opportunity to speak with a group of supply chain executives at an intimate conference, and several key themes emerged: 1️⃣ Shifting Labor Challenges: As Dwight Klappich from Gartner pointed out, 60% of supply chain executives continue to face labor shortages. However, in the U.S., the conversation is evolving. It's no longer just about labor availability—it's about labor cost. 🚩 If you’re still presenting your solutions based solely on availability, it’s time to reframe the ROI narrative. 2️⃣ The Pace of Technology: Several executives expressed concerns about the speed at which technology is advancing. There’s a real fear of investing in a solution, only to find that in 6-12 months, the tech has advanced so much that they are left with a one-off system. 🏎 We have to ask ourselves—how do we help our customers stay agile while ensuring long-term value? 3️⃣ Trust in Robotics: One executive shared a sobering experience of backing two different robotics projects where the companies involved were either acquired or shut down. Despite significant investment, the robotics installations were left unsupported or even decommissioned. 💰 This is a real concern—how can we, as an industry, ensure long-term support and sustainability with ever-changing shifts in VC/PE investment focus leading to acquisitions or closures? These are some of the reasons we are seeing companies like Walmart and Amazon build their own in-house robotics teams. But not all retailers and grocers can afford a build-your-own strategy. So how does a retailer compete? These concerns are valid, but we can’t let them hold us back. The pace of innovation in #AI and #automation is accelerating, and our customers can't afford to be left behind. Our role is to help them find balance—investing in technology that meets both current and future needs without compromising their trust. ⚖ Finding this balance requires not just understanding where the industry is now, but where it’s going—and how we can evolve with it. Let’s keep the conversation going and find smarter ways to address these challenges together. 💡 #SupplyChain #Automation #AI #Innovation #Leadership #Robotics #TechTransformation #Fulfillment #MFC #Retail #Grocery #Omnichannel #Logistics #Warehouse #Labor #VentureCapital #PrivateEquity #VC #PE

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📢 According to The National CIO Review®, CIOs are strategically reallocating 2025 IT budgets to align with emerging technologies and organizational priorities. Key investment areas include: ⦿ Artificial Intelligence (AI):  Leading the agenda, 22% of CIO's are increasing investments to drive automation and data-driven decision-making with AI. ⦿ Sustainability: Reflecting a commitment to environmental responsibility, nearly 20% of IT leaders are prioritizing sustainable investments such as energy-efficient data centers.   ⦿ Digital Transformation: 16% of CIOs continue to modernize business processes and systems to boost efficiency and enhance customer engagement.   ⦿ Cybersecurity: Given the increasing threat landscape, a significant portion of budgets is allocated to strengthening security measures to protect organizational assets and data. IT leaders are balancing innovation, resilience, and sustainability to fuel growth in the year ahead.  Where are your priorities shifting? 🚀 #2025 #ai #sustainability #data #digitaltransformation #ITbudget https://lnkd.in/gjx9XGQn

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Come visit Bojan "Boki" Poluga and me at the Institute of Business Forecasting & Planning's 2024 S&OP and IBP Global Conference in Chicago next week. Learn how you can build a more intelligent supply chain. https://lnkd.in/eJXs7_3y #supplychainplanning

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Accenture’s latest research reveals that companies with the most mature supply chain are 23% more profitable than their counterparts. However, the overall median supply chain maturity rate for CPGs is just 22%, lowest of the 10 industries surveyed. Given that a mature supply chain can translate into profitability, CPG leaders need to prioritize and build next-generation supply chain capabilities to achieve profitable growth. See how CPG leaders can use generative AI, AI-driven insights and data analytics to leap to a next-generation supply chain. Learn more: https://accntu.re/3XkDRiA #SupplyChain #CPG #GenerativeAI #Data

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I’m honored and delighted to be having coffee with the one and only Rob Handfield tomorrow morning! I’ve known Rob ever since I moved to the Research Triangle area in 1996 to work for the IBM Personal Computer Company in their Global Logistics organization. Long before I fell in love with Energy and the people in that industry, I was a supply chain professional with 20+ years of experience working in some of the most complex and advanced supply chains on the planet. Supply chain is hands down the most important business discipline (if you’re inclined to argue just think back to those desperate searches for toilet paper during the pandemic) and energy is hands down the most important industry (without it we are all living in caves and huts cooking our food over fires). #Supplychain and #energy are inextricably linked and are two sides of the same coin.

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Derek Knueve and I recently appeared on the Talking Supply Chain podcast to discuss key considerations we're helping clients think through as they evaluate their supply chain design. Great time! #e2esupplychain #strategicsupplychain #supplychainoptimization #whenitreallymatters Brian Straight thanks for having us on! Clink the link below to listen: Talking Supply Chain: Think structurally for margin enhancements - Supply Chain Management Review (scmr.com)

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For many manufacturing companies, capacity planning may seem like a relic of the past. However, geopolitical tensions, tariffs and heightened M&A activity are bringing capacity planning back to the forefront. David Petrucci shares how these trends underscore an urgent need to revive capacity planning processes for operational efficiency and competitiveness in The Protiviti View. https://bit.ly/4fAeZLD

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We’re excited to officially join the Supply Chain Matters blog as a Named Sponsor! As businesses navigate unprecedented challenges—volatility, shifting consumer demands, and increasing supply chain complexities—this partnership couldn’t come at a better time. At ketteQ, we’re redefining supply chain planning with Adaptive Planning solutions powered by AI, machine learning, and our revolutionary PolymatiQ™ solver. Together with Supply Chain Matters, we aim to contribute valuable insights to the ongoing conversation about the future of supply chain planning. This is a pivotal moment for innovation and transformation in supply chains, and we’re thrilled to be part of it.  #AdaptivePlanning #SupplyChainInnovation #ketteQ

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Day 25 of the CIO Series: Leading Under Pressure with Technology-Driven Resilience As a CIO, if pressure and complexity make you crumble, the role may not be for you. Navigating technology in a constantly evolving landscape isn’t for the faint-hearted—it’s for leaders who can tackle challenges, own their decisions, and learn from each misstep. In tech leadership, adaptability is key. Every challenge is an opportunity to recalibrate, whether optimizing ERP systems for operational excellence, deploying IoT for smarter logistics, or harnessing data analytics for predictive insights. But none of these transformations happen overnight. Success in IT requires relentless persistence and an unwavering focus on the long game. Just as water breaks down rock through consistency, effective CIOs drive transformation through sustained effort. No matter how advanced the tech, the power of persistence and resilience defines true progress. Never give up. Our tech infrastructure and teams depend on consistent, determined effort to stay agile, robust, and ahead of the curve.

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The post-COVID-19 era has created lasting fissures in the supply chain. Amid increasing globalization, rising customer expectations, and double-digit shipping growth,1 supply chain organizations—not just manufacturers and suppliers but also the warehouses and transporters they rely on—are under duress. They grapple with issues related to operational efficiency, demand forecasting, inventory management, and fulfillment. This complexity affects every part of the supply chain in every industry: retail, technology, automotive, industrial, food services, telecommunications, and more. The result is stalled growth and missed revenue opportunities. #SupplyChain #Logistics #GlobalTrade #SupplyChainManagement Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gNUjtXqG

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While growth has been more difficult to come by for many technology vendors, we're seeing rapid growth and prolific tech adoption in several promising supply chain & logistics verticals. 2024 is shaping up to be yet another defining year for the industry!

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Sustainability strategy can enable:  ✅ Enhanced compliance ✅ Optimization of resources  ✅ Transformation through new business models or product offerings Explore 3 best practices to help maintain sustainability momentum. Gartner for Supply Chain | #GartnerSC #Sustainability #Communications #SupplyChain

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