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Articles by Magnus Meier
Гайд по overload: как написать один код на Python для разных бэкендов
Разработчики часто сталкиваются с задачами, в которых одна функция должна работать с разными типами данных и количеством аргументов. Чтобы каждый раз не создавать множество функций с разными именами, существует перегрузка (overload). Она позволяет использовать одно имя операции для обработки различных комбинаций входных данных. Благодаря перегрузке одна функция может адаптироваться под различные сценарии и делать код лаконичным и понятным.
ERP selection: A playbook for choosing the right system
0 shares Listen to article There comes a time for most companies when the basic software and spreadsheets on which they’ve been relying can no longer keep up with the needs of the business. If that rings true for your organization, then it’s time to find a better way forward with a single, integrated system for managing core business processes—in short, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system suitable for a growing, ambitious company.
All too often, a rising company is so focused on the daily work of developing new products and services, exploring new markets, expanding its workforce, and serving customers that it overlooks the bigger-picture, longer-term needs of the business itself. This is especially the case when it comes to IT infrastructure.
10 steps for a smooth and rewarding ERP journey
Magnus Meier It’s not easy for a company to say goodbye to the spreadsheets, manual processes and entry-level software that got them this far, even when they’re showing their warts. But as difficult as change can be, sometimes committing to modernize core components of a business software stack is the best way forward for an organization to continue growing and maturing. You’re essentially selling employees on the ERP system’s ability to help them do their jobs better.
Beyond spreadsheets: A playbook for choosing the right ERP system
Magnus Meier There comes a time for most growing companies where it’s clear the basic software and spreadsheets on which they have been relying can no longer keep pace with the needs of the business.
To scale your business, is it time for a true ERP system?
Magnus Meier I see it frequently in my line of work: A rising company is so focused on the day-to-day work of developing new products and services, exploring new markets, expanding its workforce, and serving a growing customer base that it overlooks the bigger-picture, longer-term needs of the business itself. Commit to finding a better way of doing business under a single system of record for managing core processes, including finance, manufacturing, procurement and supply chain.
Wholesale distribution trends 2025: Doubling down on transformation
0 shares Listen to article Wholesale distributors keep the economy going, buying large quantities of products from manufacturers, then storing and distributing to companies that sell those products to consumers. They’re vital intermediaries in the global supply chain. But they’re an industry undergoing profound disruption, as illustrated by the wholesale distribution trends for 2025.
Looming above all the day-to-day business pressures that wholesale distributors face is one overarching strategic requirement: Find ways to grow profitably — without increasing staffing levels.
How distributor sales reps can reduce customer churn
A foodservice distributor sales rep’s smartphone pings. It’s an alert from her personal sales analyst, offering fresh intel about one of her larger operator accounts. The rep opens her mobile app and views the notification. The message tells her that not only has the customer’s spend declined in recent months, but that the key contact on the account hasn’t been opening emails with promotional deals as frequently as before.
How Intelligent Tools Help Sales Reps Counter Customer Churn Original
A foodservice distributor sales rep’s smartphone pings. It’s an alert from her personal sales analyst, offering fresh intel about one of her larger operator accounts. The rep opens her mobile app and views the notification. The message tells her that not only has the customer’s spend declined in recent months, but that the key contact on the account hasn’t been opening emails with promotional deals as frequently as before.
2024 Wholesale distribution trends driving growth and profitability
0 shares Listen to article If 2023 (and the years before it) taught us anything, it’s that we need to be able to adapt, as well as react. The question isn’t whether things will happen – they will – it’s how businesses will respond, and in doing so, stand out and succeed. So, what are the wholesale distribution trends we can expect in 2024?
Rethinking the Role of IT in the Digitalization of Distribution
By Magnus Meier, Global VP for Wholesale Distribution at SAP Why do some digital transformation initiatives in the wholesale distribution sector produce results that far surpass expectations while others fall short? It’s a question I’ve been contemplating a lot recently both in my work supporting wholesale distributors in executing their digital strategies, and in my other gig as a college professor who teaches a Master’s-level “Digital Distributor” course.
Digitalization of wholesale distribution: A new role for IT
Why do some digital transformation initiatives in wholesale distribution have amazing results while others fall short? Not having a clear goal is a big factor. But there’s another common culprit: Not giving IT the lead role in digitalization of wholesale distribution. Digitalization of wholesale distribution is a fundamental, technology- and data-driven shift in how an organization operates and serves its customers.
SAP BrandVoice: Why Growth-Focused Distributors Are Betting Big On Business Networks
According to recent IDC research, 51% of surveyed midsize distributors are leveraging networks that connect buyers and sellers to available services as an essential way to drive growth. Distributors have started to use technologies like blockchain and the Internet of Things to blur traditional divisions between the four walls of the company and outside elements to encourage smoother collaboration and access to vendors, logistics providers, and customers.
The Bold Moves That Pay Off For Midsize Distributors Considering Mergers And Acquisitions
By Magnus Meier, Global Vice President, Wholesale Distribution, SAP Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity continues to shake up the wholesale distribution industry. To date, the top three pharmaceutical distributors in the United States gained a majority of market share, while megamergers form multibillion-dollar firms serving every sector from industrial manufacturing and high tech to food service and chemicals.
SAP BrandVoice: The Bold Moves That Pay Off For Midsize Distributors Considering Mergers And Acquisitions
By Magnus Meier, Global Vice President, Wholesale Distribution, SAP Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity continues to shake up the wholesale distribution industry. To date, the top three pharmaceutical distributors in the United States gained a majority of market share, while megamergers form multibillion-dollar firms serving every sector from industrial manufacturing and high tech to food service and chemicals.
Make Procurement Strategic (Again)
Time was, wholesale distribution harnessed something approaching the best IT technology available for strategic advantage in procurement. That technology was material resource planning (MRP). These systems started rolling out in the 1950s and had largely matured by the 1980s. MRP is still a mainstay four decades hence. For a long time, it sufficed. Customers placed orders predictably. Lead times were mercifully long. Demand was mostly consistent.
IT, as in Integral to Transformation
Magnus Meier Magnus Meier is the Global VP for Wholesale Distribution at SAP, where he provides industry thought leadership, portfolio direction, and drives the global go-to-market strategy. He’s a senior lecturer at Texas A&M, where he teaches the ‘Digital Distributor’ course in the Master of Industrial Distribution program.
IT, as in Integral to Transformation
Magnus Meier Magnus Meier is the Global VP for Wholesale Distribution at SAP, where he provides industry thought leadership, portfolio direction, and drives the global go-to-market strategy. He’s a senior lecturer at Texas A&M, where he teaches the ‘Digital Distributor’ course in the Master of Industrial Distribution program.
SAP BrandVoice: From Inflation To Recession: How Midsize Distributors Can Defuse Economic Tension
By Magnus Meier, Global Vice President, Wholesale Distribution, SAP As the global economy swings between inflation and a potential recession, wholesale distributors feel squeezed by rising expenses, tightening margins, and higher customer expectations for personalized services. And this reality is compelling them to trade their reactive buy-hold-sell model for a revenue-assurance model that emphasizes flexibility, resilience, and diversification.
2023 wholesale distribution trends transforming the industry
0 shares As distributors continue to reset and recalibrate in a constantly changing market, what are the 2023 wholesale distribution trends ahead? From all indications, the intense pressure on wholesaler distributors to transform during the pandemic isn’t going away. Economic turbulence, an influx of new competitors, and a talent shortage will force them to find new ways to remain competitive and drive growth.
SAP BrandVoice: Sustainability: Hype Or Necessity For Growing Distributors?
By Magnus Meier, Global Vice President, Wholesale Distribution, SAP Today's supply chains and brand reputations are so fragile that one regulatory violation or contamination event can shut down a business, sometimes with little to no notice that a problem ever existed in the first place. And with margins averaging between 0.5% and 1.5% industry-wide, it’s no wonder that midsize distributors are considering sustainability-related investments to protect themselves.
SAP BrandVoice: The Secret To Easing Global Supply Chain Disruption Is Not What You Think
By Magnus Meier, VP and Global Head, Wholesale Distribution Business Unit, SAP When Nintendo sold 4.73 million consoles of the hugely popular Switch in the final quarter of fiscal 2020-21, the performance was twice the estimate and it was poised to sell another 25.5 Million this year. Recently though, the Japanese gaming major announced a reduction in its sales forecast for the product by 5%. Why? Production disruptions owing to chip shortages.
Using technology to predict and prevent supply chain shocks
Manufacturing News By Magnus Meier for Forbes Dec 14, 2021 When Nintendo sold 4.73 million consoles of the hugely popular Switch in the final quarter of fiscal 2020-21, the performance was twice the estimate and it was poised to sell another 25.5 Million this year. Recently though, the Japanese gaming major announced a reduction in its sales forecast for the product by 5%. Why? Production disruptions owing to chip shortages.
Profitability with Purpose
Every industry is advised to go green because it’s a smart business practice, a good thing to do, and everyone wins. But businesses that face relentless margin pressure may view the time, money, and effort needed to meet sustainability goals as too disruptive, lacking a desirable payback, and, therefore, a risk to their survival. Wholesale distributors are no exception. From an economic perspective, sustainable distribution can be challenging.
CPGs Use AI-Based Datoin to Build Sales Teams
Artificial intelligence (AI) is giving sales managers and their teams the trusted data to significantly improve performance. Eclipsing last-generation sales automation, one example is the latest tool from Indian startup Datoin that delivers more than sales targets or even insights. This AI-based intelligence layer tracks and analyzes real-time sales performance trends – upward or downward – making teams and their managers accountable to act on the next best strategy.
SAP BrandVoice: #WorldFoodDay2021: Empowering Food Heroes Across The Supply Chain
By Magnus Meier, Vice President and Global Head, Wholesale Distribution Business Unit, SAP My local food bank, like many others worldwide, has relied on the kindness of generous donors throughout the pandemic. But when six truckloads of perishables – milk, cheese, fruits, and vegetables – from a nearby farm unexpectedly arrived, the staff needed to decide whether they could move the food fast enough from the trucks to family tables.
How to improve the employee experience in wholesale distribution
The pandemic has been a significant catalyst for change, spurring business leaders to reevaluate their strategies. For wholesale distributors, one area that’s gaining momentum is how to improve the employee experience. The wholesale distribution industry employs approximately 6 million people, representing 4% of US employees. Despite the industry’s size, many distributors have been slow to drive digital transformation.
Teamcore | Keep Up with Retail’s Consumer Demands | SAP News Center
Nobody understands the frustration of consumers who can’t find the products they’re looking for more than the experts at Teamcore, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based startup with operations in Latin America and the United States. Teamcore’s cloud-based software platform uses machine learning to power intelligent workflow automation that tells consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and retailers why products aren’t selling and what they can do about it fast.
Wholesale Distribution Transformation Excellence
The 2022 SAP Innovation Awards are now open. We are excited to celebrate wholesale distributors that are leading the way in their industry by their use of SAP intelligent solutions to transform the way they do business. As we enter a new chapter of the pandemic, the use of technology within the wholesale distribution industry continues to accelerate. Distributors are in the perfect position to showcase their successes and innovation leadership as an essential member of the supply chain.
Finding your place in the new B2B marketplace battle zone
It was the American politician and women’s rights advocate Jeannette Rankin who said, “You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.” This line of thought is especially fitting for wholesale distributors that need to face the reality of marketplaces posing an increasingly bigger risk for their business. The tumultuous past year has left distributors grasping for any and all opportunities to maintain business continuity and continue to deliver on customer needs.
SAP BrandVoice: On World Environment Day - How BayWa Is Working With Farmers To Increase Yield And Protect Biodiversity
By Magnus Meier, Vice President and Global Head, Wholesale Distribution Business Unit at SAP Floods. Droughts. Hail. Wildfires. Our environment is increasingly impacted due to climate change. It is here and it is happening now. In recognition of the problem, companies and governments around the world have made commitments to prioritize sustainability and become carbon-neutral over the next decade. But is that enough?
Complexity, competition
While the general wholesale distribution business of pick, pack, and ship may sound simple, the industry has several unique challenges that add pressure on these organizations to continuously evolve and optimize processes.
A Primer With Examples
The process of wholesale trade fills a crucial function in modern commerce and manufacturing industries for both B2C and B2B markets. The workings of this vital industry may be something of a mystery to those outside of it, however. So how does wholesale distribution work? Let’s break it down. How does wholesale distribution work? First, we need to understand what wholesale distributors do.
Definition, Examples, Benefits, Stats
What is wholesale distribution? By definition, wholesale distributors buy products from manufacturers or suppliers in large quantities and sell them at wholesale prices to customers, which are often commercial establishments, business professionals, or retail stores. The wholesale distribution industry acts as a vital link in the global supply chain and is responsible for distributing the majority of products between business partners around the world.
SAP BrandVoice: The Interconnected Distributor: Creating Customer Experiences That Last
While customer service is still a critical advantage, 40% of midsize distributors cannot keep up with evolving customer preference and needs to provide personalized, innovative buying experiences. getty By Magnus Meier, Vice President and Global Head, SAP Wholesale Distribution Business Unit, SAP Disrupted supply chains, unexpected customer behaviors, and limited resources – this past year has tested the capabilities of business buyers and sellers alike.
2021 Wholesale distribution trends: More competition, supply chain disruption
As a central link within the economy and supply chain, wholesale distributors act behind the scenes to source and distribute goods to customers around the world. After a tumultuous 2020, what are the 2021 wholesale distribution trends to watch? Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, distributors have been challenged with unpredictable demand, increased strain on customer relationships, supply chain disruptions, and an intense need to safeguard the workforce.
Accelerate Technology for Sustainable Impact
Global business drives global production and consumption, leading to increasingly high standards of living — but at what expense to future generations and our planet? While companies play a crucial role in creating solutions to prevent environmental and health crises, “business as usual” will not get us close to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) within the next 10 years.
New Release of SAP Business Logistics Network
WALLDORF — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced a new release of SAP Logistics Business Network, with new capabilities to increase logistics network visibility, collaboration and reach. SAP Logistics Business Network is a cloud-based network platform designed to seamlessly connect SAP customers’ back-end systems to their freight collaboration, tracking, order fulfillment and material traceability networks.
How Leading B2B Companies Invest In Innovation
getty By Magnus Meier, Global Head of Wholesale Distribution, SAP It was American investor Warren Buffett who said, “We continue to make more money when snoring than when active.” This line of thought is not lost on many other financial experts who also favor long-term investments and believe “market timing” does not actually yield results and can be stressful, time-consuming, and risky.
Customer Experience
If given the option of having one of your favorite sweet treats now, or waiting and getting two of those treats later, which would you choose? That’s the question professor Walter Mischel of Stanford University asked in the early 1970s, when he and his colleagues conducted the now famous Marshmallow Experiment. In the experiment, he offered children a choice: a small, immediate reward (a marshmallow or pretzel stick, depending on their preference), or a larger reward later.
Opportunities In The Circular Economy For Wholesale Distributors
Opportunities In The Circular Economy For Wholesale Distributors Magnus Meier Global business and political leaders are coming together again in Davos at the World Economic Forum to discuss how we can work toward a better world. As in prior years, they will define a variety of initiatives of focus. One of those key initiatives is the so-called Circular Economy.
Why Midsize Distributors Are Due For A Great Comeback
Why Midsize Distributors Are Due For A Great Comeback Magnus Meier As the old saying goes, everyone loves a great comeback story. From our favorite sports teams and movie characters to news about everyday people, we enjoy celebrating moments of overcoming adversity, achieving impossible dreams, and experiencing the redemptive power of personal transformation. The same could be said for midsize wholesale distributors.
Are Midsize Distributors Due For A Great Comeback?
Midsize wholesale distributors are beginning to balance cost efficiency with sustainable growth and profitability to deliver experiences that meet, or even exceed, customer expectations. Getty By Magnus Meier, Global Vice President, Wholesale Distribution Industry Business Unit, SAP As the old saying goes, everyone loves a great comeback story.
Why Midsize Wholesale Distributors Are Re-Thinking The Employee Experience
Distributors hold tremendous promise for their workforce. From stable, well-paying jobs to career growth, distributors are highly competitive – especially when they rethink their employee experience with the latest digital technologies. Getty By Magnus Meier, Global Vice President, Wholesale Distribution Industry Business Unit, SAP Wholesale distribution always seemed insulated from the rapid, unpredictable changes introduced by digitalization.
Trends that will shake-up the wholesaling industry
The B2B market is in a major period of disruption—for the better—thanks to a growing global e-commerce market, a recovering economy and demanding consumers who expect to do business when they want to do it and via the channels they prefer.
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