Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic character Sherlock Holmes famously said ‘it is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data’. We certainly agree, as data is the foundation of any optimization process. Here, we discuss what companies that collect data can do and tackle the myth that data has to be "perfect" for a machine to be able to work with it.

Open-to-Buy is a budgeting and planning process that is commonly used in the fashion industry to drive purchasing decisions. In this episode, we discuss why this approach is so popular and discuss whether modern technology can provide alternative approaches to keep up with the ‘fast fashion’ culture.

With a product's success so often relying upon the latest trends, the ability to capture initial demand and detect new crazes is becoming increasingly sought after. Here we discover whether the rise of social media means that forecasting these trends is now possible and what companies can do to react based on early signals.

Market analysts and consultants can be a useful aid in assessing the multitude of different supply chain software. However, too frequently, those 'experts' hide behind weak and irrational methodologies, instead of providing opinionated insights which would require a lot work from them. Far from being irrational, high-quality subjective reviews nearly always outperform cheap and naive methodologies.

Supply chains have historically been built with forecasting at their centre, with the actual decision making process left to the intuition and experience of senior staff. We explore the alternative approach of putting ‘decisions first’, and how this philosophy vastly improves the supply chain performance.

ERPs are misnomed. It should have been ERM standing for Enterprise Resource Management. It's a class of enterprise software that support many routine operations of a company. When it comes to choose an ERP, one must first understand the design and driving forces behind those products.

Covid19 has unleashed havoc for supply chains worldwide. Supply chains have recovered fast, but most realize they could have done better. In this episode, we are joined by Cédric Hervet (Kardinal) and Stefan Gstettner (BCG), to discuss how supply chains can fair better during a pandemic crisis.

A competent and capable network of suppliers is a critical ingredient of the supply chain performance. In this episode, we are joined by Muddassir Ahmed (Regional Planning & Operations Manager at Bridgestone) to discuss how both parties can extract maximum value from these relationships and what companies can do to maintain and build solid relationships with their suppliers.

The nature of the hard luxury market means that despite a growing online presence, the vast majority of purchases are still made in store. With sales reaching as low as one or two units per year, it can often be challenging to know what to display in stores and how best to capitalize upon a demand that is so sporadic. For this episode of LokadTV, we discuss this dilemma and learn what hard luxury stores can do to optimize their assortment.

As supply chains have never been so dependent on technology and, in particular, on software technologies, hiring talent is more pressing than ever. The working world is changing and it seems like candidates are now asking more and more of businesses. We're joined by Radu Palamariu, Managing Director of Alcott Global to discuss what modern companies can do to find and retain talent and how supply chains can recruit experts with the right skills.