Over the past several weeks, encouraging news has emerged for some of us in the supply chain business and should have many others wondering if they’ve planned accordingly. The media tends to focus on the doom and gloom, but let’s focus on a few bright spots and opportunities that signal the better times around the corner.

Retailers have been on an emotional roller coaster trying to balance prudent business decisions with inconsistent consumer demand. In fact, many would rather forego sales rather than run the risk of carrying too much inventory. Frankly, I think that’s an overly cautious strategy that illustrates poor planning and inadequate forecasting in inventory management. There are far too many tools available where leaving money on the table is simply not an option. For example, collaborative flowcasting provides a high-level of visibility so that changes at the store level are immediately visible to the manufacturer. I’ve often talked about the importance...