DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--o9 Solutions, a leading enterprise AI software platform provider for transforming planning and decision-making, and research firm Supply Chain Insights today jointly announced an open call for business manufacturers to participate in pilots testing outside-in supply chain planning concepts.
Through a reverse RFP process, a panel of business leaders, academics, and o9 leaders will select two companies to participate in the research.
This open call to businesses builds upon Project Zebra — an open-source think-tank initiative to drive supply chain improvement that began in January 2021 and was initially funded by o9. Project Zebra’s goal is to define, test, and validate the value proposition of an outside-in approach for planning and decision-making. A departure from traditional ways of thinking about supply chain management, outside-in planning requires a process redesign to minimize latency in aligning supply chain response with shifting market demand. Currently, approximately 60 business leaders are participating in Project Zebra’s outside-in planning training — a testament to both the need and potential of this new supply chain management approach.
The results from these two pilots will help redefine the cross-industry global standard for supply chain excellence, the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model from the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM). SCOR is the world’s leading supply chain framework — linking business processes, performance metrics, practices and people skills into a unified structure.
“For two decades, as an industry analyst, I have written about the need for outside-in processes but failed to define them to drive the required shift in the industry,” said Lora Cecere, Founder of Supply Chain Insights. “I am proud to work with o9 to build a safe way for business leaders to test and learn the value of an outside-in approach. I am excited to support this work and celebrate the leadership of o9 to drive this industry open-source initiative.”
“Today’s supply chains are not very good at sensing, so it is difficult for them to respond,” said Igor Rikalo, President & Chief Operating Officer, o9. “The majority of market, channel, and supplier data is available but is not used to help companies make decisions at the speed required by the business. New planning capabilities exist but cannot be leveraged to their full potential unless business leaders change their business models and planning processes. That’s why we are excited about the potential of Project Zebra and support this open call to companies to help redefine supply chain processes based on this outside-in approach and new forms of analytics.”
“Lora and I have spoken about the necessity of outside-in processes and the differences between inside and outside-in approaches many times in recent years,” said Peter Bolstorff, ASCM Executive Vice President, Corporate Development. “I am now more convinced than ever that Project Zebra will redefine planning and set the bar on how organizations need to relearn how to leverage data to improve the forecast-ability of their plans. ASCM looks forward to supporting the pilots and continued engagement in both process and data standardization.”
To learn more about Project Zebra and download the application form, go to zebra-project.org.
About o9 Solutions
o9 Solutions is a leading AI-powered platform for integrated business planning and decision-making for the enterprise. Whether it is driving demand, aligning demand and supply, or optimizing commercial initiatives, any planning process can be made faster and smarter with o9’s AI-powered digital solutions. o9 brings together technology innovations—such as graph-based enterprise modeling, big data analytics, advanced algorithms for scenario planning, collaborative portals, easy-to-use interfaces, and cloud-based delivery—into one platform. For more information, please visit www.o9solutions.com.
About Supply Chain Insights
Founded in February 2012 by Lora Cecere, Supply Chain Insights LLC is in its tenth year of operation. The company's mission is to deliver independent, actionable, and objective advice for supply chain leaders. The goal is to help leaders understand supply chain trends, evolving technologies, and which metrics matter.
About ASCM
The Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM) is the global pacesetter of organizational transformation, talent development and supply chain innovation. As the largest association for supply chain, ASCM members and worldwide alliances fuel innovation and inspire accountability for resilient, dynamic and sustainable operations. ASCM is built on a foundation of world-class APICS education, certification and career resources, which encompass award-winning workforce development, relevant content, groundbreaking industry standards and a diverse community of professionals who are driven to create a better world through supply chain. To learn more, visit ascm.org.
