Supply Chain Management

On July 28, 2014, Dollar Tree, Inc. announced its intent to takeover Family Dollar for $8.5 billion. Will the merged company, with more than 13,000 stores in 48 states and five Canadian Provinces, create significant competition for big box retailers, like Walmart?

Tyson Foods President and CEO Donnie Smith says that the company lacked then necessary scale to gain lading share positions in these markets.

New research finds that more than half of business leaders place digital strategy and data analytics high on their agenda. Yet, 32 percent of respondents currently see themselves as having weak or no capabilities in these areas. Meanwhile, the supply chain was rated by consumer goods and retail executives as the No. 1 challenge for their companies and is also the most likely to receive increased investment this year.

The merger expands ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston operations in a market that has growing demand for frozen potato products.

A new report from IDC Manufacturing Insights concludes that big data and analytics will remain one of the top investment priorities for manufacturing organizations of all sizes for the foreseeable future. In fact, nearly 51 percent of respondents expect to generate new revenue streams from big data and analytics projects.

Flowers Foods names a new EVP and COO, a President of Flowers Bakeries (DSD operating segment), and an SVP of Flowers Bakeries West Coast region.

The combination of the two companies is expected to create a product portfolio that is uniquely positioned to meet the advancing needs of retailers, distributors, manufacturers, and logistics service providers to manage complex order fulfillment cycles and collaborate with supply chain partners.

The company will focus efforts on branded products and growth categories such as "better-for-you" snacks.