A Thought Leadership Guide: Logistics & Supply Chain - A VL OMNI Ebook
With industry leaders and field experts from a broad spectrum of backgrounds weighing in on several important topics surrounding logistics and data in today's rapidly changing world, this ebook is a must-read for any business involved in the movement of goods or services.
With industry leaders and field experts from a broad spectrum of backgrounds weighing in on several important topics surrounding logistics and data in today's rapidly changing world, this ebook is a must-read for any business involved in the movement of goods or services.
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A <strong>Thought</strong> <strong>Leadership</strong> <strong>Guide</strong> to<br />
<strong>Logistics</strong> & <strong>Supply</strong> <strong>Chain</strong><br />
A 7 Question Series <strong>Ebook</strong><br />
www.virtuallogistics.ca
Contents<br />
Introduction<br />
06<br />
Contributors<br />
07<br />
Forword<br />
08<br />
Chapter 1<br />
Multiplying, Changing Channels, & the<br />
Impact on <strong>Logistics</strong> Providers<br />
09<br />
Chapter 2<br />
The <strong>Logistics</strong> Perspective on Data Integration 12<br />
Chapter 3<br />
Scaling & Investing in Technology 14<br />
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More Contents<br />
Chapter 5<br />
Increasingly Complex Systems<br />
18<br />
Chapter 6<br />
Scaling Integration Requirements<br />
21<br />
Chapter 7<br />
Final <strong>Thought</strong>s from the <strong>Thought</strong> Leaders 23<br />
Conclusion<br />
The Future of Omni-channel Commerce<br />
from a <strong>Logistics</strong> Perspective 25<br />
About Our Contributors 26<br />
Resources & About <strong>VL</strong><br />
31<br />
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Introduction<br />
. The 7 Question Series was originally a thought leadership blog series posted on blog.virtuallogistics.ca as<br />
an investigative content series. For each interview, we sought out thought leaders and experts from a specific<br />
industry and/or subject matter area under the umbrella theme of logistics. <strong>VL</strong> interviewed each expert<br />
with a pre-determined set of 7 questions, with each question designed around a central thesis which <strong>VL</strong> felt<br />
enquiring minds would want to know about, the topic being logistics and supply chain data integration. In<br />
each question, <strong>VL</strong> provided the interviewee with a hypothesis in order to help frame and set the<br />
context for their answer.<br />
The Data and <strong>Supply</strong> <strong>Chain</strong> Data Integration Series had the objective of establishing direct connections<br />
with Data and <strong>Supply</strong> <strong>Chain</strong> experts across the globe as we asked each contributor the same set of 7<br />
questions. We derived insights from the interviewees’ direct experiences and expertise that would help<br />
companies, both B2B and B2C, at all stages of their evolution. We were also curious to see if their<br />
answers were similar or different, and were greatly thrilled by the diversity of their answers with common<br />
themes threading them all together.<br />
The final product of our interview series is this ebook. Each interviewee’s answers were placed alongside<br />
other answers for each question we asked, and each question we asked forms a chapter of this ebook.<br />
We at <strong>VL</strong> hope you enjoy reading the expert knowledge from our thought leaders assembled in this ebook;<br />
we greatly enjoyed compiling this information for you.<br />
6<br />
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Contributors<br />
Petri Helo<br />
Professional of<br />
Industrial Management,<br />
<strong>Logistics</strong> Systems<br />
University of Vaasa, Finland<br />
Peter Brereton<br />
President & CEO<br />
TECSYS Inc.<br />
Michael Stevens<br />
President<br />
Integrated Fulfillment Management<br />
Services Inc.<br />
Sylvain Perrier<br />
President & CEO<br />
Maercatus Technologies<br />
Arthur Barrett<br />
President<br />
Barrett Distribution<br />
Centers<br />
Dan Cence<br />
CEO & Founder<br />
Sprocket Express<br />
Alex Snyder<br />
Founder & Shareholder<br />
Propack Inc.<br />
Full biographies can be found<br />
at the end of this ebook<br />
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Foreword<br />
As business grows, so do the complications.<br />
More complication means more problems. And as a result, it should be incumbent on management to look<br />
through the complex structure of the enterprise for the simplest path to follow.<br />
My colleague Joel Block teaches the importance of having a target with a well-defined bullseye. The bullseye<br />
can serve as an effective metaphor for the simplest version of the company’s mission statement. This<br />
methodology’s intent is a roadmap to success – the bullseye is the target, and everyone is aiming for the<br />
same target and thus working towards the same goals.<br />
This is easy to say, and seems easy to do. But in practice, human nature takes over. Instead of a simple bullseye,<br />
we end up with silos and factions, each with slightly different agendas.<br />
The pervasiveness of technological innovation seems to have sped up the process of compounding complexity<br />
as a business grows. When it comes to technology, a single component or addition can be the difference<br />
between hitting that bullseye target, or descending into chaos.<br />
In my business, I attempt to combat potential confusion between siloed departments by starting every<br />
meeting or consultation with a simple question: what are the participants’ departmental or business goals?<br />
There are usually some individuals present that have no idea. In some cases, no one knows. This simple exercise<br />
illuminates the importance of having a common target in defining exactly what the business’ bullseye is<br />
across departmental chasms, and once this common goal is defined it’s much easier to work together. There’s<br />
less arguing and more gets done.<br />
Warren Whitlock<br />
Influencer | Social Media<br />
| Content Marketing |<br />
Growth Advocate<br />
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