Jim Shaughnessy

Contribute by answering one question on revenue accounting operations and AI via the link below. Consolidated data will be published next week! #accounting #revenue #automation #GenAI #revenueaccountants #finance #revenueaccounting

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How much do you need to buy/build and when? Such a simple question. It's also one of the most important questions I ask when talking with a #CPGBrand. Many systems (Quickbooks, NetSuite, Cin7 to name a few) do not come with forecasting or material requirements planning tools. If they have these at all, they are separately purchased modules- and feedback on their strength ...varies. The other side of implementations often involves ANOTHER implementation with some kind of bolt-on system to get those critical pieces in place. And what is a Brand to do in the meantime? Pretty wild that this part of system implementations is not mandatory/a given. Especially when you think about all the time, all the money, all the effort, and all the dreams wrapped up in ensuring the right amount of inventory, at the right time, gets to the right place (excuse the cliche). If you have a #CPGBrand, especially a fast-growing or fairly new one, get some Operations input before implementing that system. Ideally during the selection stage. #SystemsImplementation #MRP #ERP #Operations #Inventory #SupplyChain #CPGBrands #Startups What systems have you used in the past? What did you like/not like?

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Longbow Advantage is going to Blue Yonder ICON 2024! We'd love to see you May 13–16 in Texas. Stop by and say hi. Learn a little more about how we help warehouses implement or optimize their WMS. Are you going to be there? Let me know in the comments. 👇 #supplychain #labormanagement #lms #wms

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2 of the top traits I see in top #transportationindustry talent: 1. They care 2. They are driven, problem solvers. Shawn Varner - Financial Advisor and I talked about what good looks like in #freight professionals recently and while there are a lot of answers to that question, I often find people who care and take ownership, and that "other-centeredness" drives them to accomplish things for people. What else do you see in the best out there?

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Just because you can move to a legacy ERP system like NetSuite and Acumatica doesn't mean you should. IMO - Netsuite and the like are great if you are vertically integrated and run complex manufacturing operations. Complex manufacturing operations meaning more than pure kitting and assembly. If your manufacturing is just kitting and assembly, a full fledged ERP is overkill - way too expense and complicated to manage. So be careful. More and more brands that moved to ERP platforms too early are getting off and going back to QBO + spreadsheets. So fair warning - if you're evaluating a move to an ERP platform, make sure it's actually the right fit for you.

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Initial and latent state variables VI: What is a belief state?   First and foremost, a belief state is the statistics that captures what you believe about a quantity (how much product is sitting in inventory?) or parameter (how will the market respond to a change in price).   The belief state is more than just a point estimate – it has to include the information needed to communicate the uncertainty in our belief. Belief states may be based on frequentist or Bayesian models of uncertainty.    The belief state has to include all the statistics needed to update the belief state given new information about the uncertain quantity.    A particularly powerful strategy for creating a Bayesian belief model is to use a sampled belief model where we represent the uncertainty in, say, a parameter (or future trajectory of a sector of the economy) using a set of samples, which may be drawn at random or chosen by hand.   To illustrate, assume we are modeling the revenue generated from a bid on an ad on google. Let \theta be a set of parameters controlling how the revenue responds to a bid, and let \theta_k, k=1,…,K be a sample that represents the set of potential values of \theta as illustrated in the figure below.   Now let p^n_k be the probability that the true value of \theta equals a sampled value \theta_k after n obervations have been made (we start by assuming the probabilities are equal, and updatet these using Bayes theorem). This means the vector of probabilities p^n_k, k=1,…,K is our belief state. Any calculation that depends on knowing \theta is replaced with one where we sum over our sample of k values of \theta, multiplied times the probability p^n_k.   This is how we might translate our insights drawn from Jason Miller's analysis into possible trajectories moving forward.

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Friday Trivia! There are thousands of companies valued at $1B+. How many clues do you need to identify today’s billion-dollar brand? Clue 1: If you’ve ever taken a road trip in America, you’ve likely shared asphalt with this leading LTL logistics company. We knew all along that LTL (less than truckload) shipping moves cargo weighing between 150 and 15k pounds that doesn’t require a full trailer, but thought you’d appreciate the reminder. Clue 2: The EPA recognized this logistics company for being conscious of its environmental impact and energy efficiency. In addition to being “green,” many of this company’s 11k+ trucks are literally green. Clue 3: This company started in 1934 with just a single vehicle traveling between two Virginia cities (Richmond and Norfolk), but despite that history — and despite its name — its current HQ is in Thomasville, North Carolina.

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This post educates on the importance of upgrading supply chain planning tools to modern solutions like Logility. Nucleus Research highlighted the challenges customers faced with legacy tools, such as limited forecasting accuracy and managing complex inventory requirements across multiple channels. Upon deploying Logility for SCP, organizations experienced significant improvements. Analysts reported an average increase in forecasting accuracy by 16.25 percent. Additionally, post-deployment benefits included enhanced inventory control and improved operational efficiency. For more insights on the impact of Logility for end-to-end SCP solutions, refer to the analyst report by Nucleus Research at the provided link: https://lnkd.in/eKjqmQVR

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Supply chains are being impacted by he tight labor market, the dynamics of customer relationships, and disruptive technologies. We're exploring this in our #blog, #video and #podcast at https://lnkd.in/eTfeBGcZ. Join us as we discuss how the latest technology and strategies, including #AI, can reduce costs and improve global reach with higher efficiency within your supply chain. We talk about the impacts of inflation and the labor market, and get expert insights on ways to maximize your supply chain. #SupplyChainEfficiency #supplychain #manufacturing #ProCFOPartners #CreateTheNext #fractionalCFO

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Episode 2 of Dual Source Discourse drops tomorrow. The topic: procurement conferences. We recorded this together in Vegas during ISM. I have a very strong opinion about money that is wasted on conference booths. HINT: spending a lot of money on a booth and then hoping the investment pays off is not a strategy. What I’ve seen procuretech brands do: -Spend a lot of $$ on a booth. -Send a team of 3 – 4 sales reps to the conference. -Sales reps show up with no meetings booked ahead of time. They stand at the booth during the required hours and eat meals together. -Sales reps attend the required evening events as assigned by their boss. -1 or 2 LI posts are done during the conference stating “look how good we are – stop by booth #2” with a picture of the team standing in front of the booth. -A blanket email is sent to all attendees from the post show registration list stating: It was pleasure connecting with you at [insert conference name] in [insert location]. I enjoyed discussing how [insert procuretech brand] innovative solutions can enhance your [insert fluff]. All attendees get this email, whether or not the person receiving the email actually stopped by your booth or had a conversation with someone on your team. Estimated Cost: $40K – $50K Amount of value generated: unknown What works: -Purchase tickets for 1 – 2 best networkers in your company to attend a conference where you’ve checked previous registration lists to confirm that right people that fall within your ICP have attended the past conferences. No booth. Attending only. Pro tip: The best networkers may not be in sales. -Attendees start posting on their socials about attending the conference 2 months prior. Do at least 4 LI posts each prior to attending. -Attendees reach out to their networks to determine who’s going to be at the conference. Once they’ve curated a registration list (1) schedule meetings to take place during the conference and (2) coordinate group dinners. Attendees should have a minimum 4 meeting scheduled each. -Attendees network like crazy – morning to night. Never selling. Having conversations and asking about pain points and where buyers need help. Attendees do 1 – 2 LI posts per day telling stories about what they’ve learned (value add posts, not “Hey, look at me, we’re the best”). -Attendees have a mic and interview customers and prospects. Questions have prepared ahead of time. Responses turn into content for marketing to use for weeks to follow the conference. -Attendees do individual follow up with each person they spoke to with a personalized video or audio message. NO SPRAY AND PREY EMAILS. -Marketing meets with attendees to capture stories and intel gathered and turns this into a series of post conference social posts. Estimated Cost: $5K – $10K Amount of value generated: specific tracking is in place to determine Likely Closeable Leads (LCL) and closed/won business. 🎧 Tune in tomorrow to listen to our second episode.

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CIO's reporting to CFO's I'm seeing more and more of this. HOWEVER!!! This is definitely synonymous with unhappy CIO's who feel restricted BUT... is it better for the business or not? On the one hand it control the financials better, but on the other hand it can restrict innovation #cio #ITLeadership

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The y/y comparisons for the shipments index are expected to improve in the upcoming months, with a projected 3% y/y decline in May. Initially anticipated to turn positive by June, the forecast now faces uncertainty. The question remains: when will the freight market see improvement? #freight #trucking #transportation StateWay Logistics

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Last month, I had a conversation with the CFO of a manufacturing firm. It started with me saying “I know this call is unexpected, but do you have a moment?” What followed was a 40-minute deep dive into their ERP challenges and the Business Central market - Planning phase 0 of their re-implementation. - Evaluating criteria for the right partner after a bad previous relationship. - Exploring options they hadn’t yet considered for additional functionality By the end of the call they were open to an idea we discussed Hiring someone in-house to manage the re-implementation Within days I introduced them to a candidate with a strong track record of guiding ERP projects from partner selection to execution. The process moved quickly. After presenting a detailed plan and meeting with leadership they’re now finalizing the hire. This conversation was a reminder of the impact that thoughtful hiring decisions can have through proactive conversations. If your team is navigating ERP challenges—whether it’s re-implementation or post go-live support, let’s connect.

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A few weeks ago, I sat down with Tyler to walk through the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) process using mugs as an example. We covered: ☕ Product Prep: Ensuring proper labeling (UPC or FN SKU) and durable packaging to withstand Amazon's fulfillment process. 📦 Shipping to Amazon: Using Amazon's send workflow, ensuring proper labeling of cartons/pallets, and partnering with carriers for seamless delivery. 🧐 Quality Control: The importance of having an SME (Subject Matter Expert) at your prep facility to avoid mistakes and costly delays. 💡 Amazon’s Changing Rules: How inventory distribution has become more complex, requiring more effort and additional fees for inventory placement. #AmazonFBA #EcommerceTips #BusinessGrowth #Fulfillment #AmazonSeller #SupplyChain

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Many DSO CFOs are hyper-focused on the revenue-to-collection cycle, but too many of them ignore the other side of the coin. When looking at their expenses, they need to treat the supply process like they do the revenue side, and adopt a procure-to-pay mindset. When dealing with suppliers, knowing how long it takes from a product being ordered to realizing revenue is a vital analytic that CFOs must understand. Suppose a company can negotiate payment terms that would see the product ordered, delivered, and revenue realized before the invoice comes due. In that case, the company will always have a positive cash flow situation. However, when a company is forced to pay for excess inventory that sits on the shelf and gathers dust just to meet a price break by volume order, the long-term costs of that inventory can be severely damaging to the company's bottom line. This can potentially negate the savings that were expected. By utilizing a procure-to-pay mindset, CFOs can see where the savings on product may not be worth the price break. ________ If you're ready to explore a holistic approach to your procure-to-pay process, book a demo with us here: https://lnkd.in/eiiWY5pd

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Nick Banich from Miebach and I have been taking this selfie together for a lot of years. This time, it’s at the Gartner conference. But we’ve also taken this same picture in many other venues. Miebach is an engineering firm that specializes in supply chain networks and flow, so Nick is both a great sales guy and an expert in supply chain design. Our lunch conversation started with an update on our families, and ended with a discussion about using AI-generated synthetic data for supply chain scenario planning. So fun to watch him rise through the ranks of the organization, and track the company’s success over the years. ~Mr. Supply Chain #AlwaysBeLearning #SupplyChain

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This chart from Yardi Matrix tells you all you need to know about how difficult the post-pandemic operating environment is for U.S. #selfstorage. Despite the sugarcoated headline "Advertised rate growth year-over-year continues to recover going into 2025" this simply means the declines are less than previously but rates are still falling. Unfortunately, many storage owners are struggling to make loan payments given the revenue challenges. If street rates don't increase materially in the spring, I expect the number of distressed sales to soar. Given the weak operating fundamentals, properties listed for sale these days don't reflect reality. Prices are still stuck in 2022. The properties sit on the market for a while and then price reductions are necessary. The best hope is for lower interest rates to stimulate the housing market and pull the storage market out of a nose dive. #housing #interestrates #pricing #sunshine #rainbows

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