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Simon Ellis

Practice Director, Supply Chain Strategies; BOVC

Simon Ellis currently leads the supply chain strategies practice area at IDC Manufacturing Insights, one of IDC’s industry business units that address the current market gap by providing fact-based research and analysis on best practices and the use of information technology to assist clients in improving their capabilities in key process areas. Within the supply chain practice, Mr. Ellis specializes in advising clients on LCS (Low Cost Sourcing), Lean, Six Sigma and more. Mr. Ellis also contributes his supply chain expertise to IDC Retail Insights research.

Mr. Ellis blogs in the IDC Manufacturing Insights Community (http://idc-insights-community.com/manufacturing) and contributes to the IDC Retail Insights Community (http://idc-insights-community.com/retail). His Twitter handle is simellis.

With over 20 years of experience in the industry, Mr. Ellis most recently was the Supply Chain Strategy Director/Futurist for Unilever North America, a $12 billion division of Unilever, the maker of such well-known products as Dove, Suave, Wisk, All, Q-tips, and Vaseline. Mr. Ellis was responsible for leading the implementation of key new technologies that impacted the future of the Unilever Supply Chain. Specifically, he led the North American RFID and e-Catalog teams, and was the project leader for the new Data Management Organization.

Having been with Unilever since 1985, Mr. Ellis has also worked within the sales and finance organization, thus bringing a well-rounded business side background to the practice he directs. Prior to Unilever North America, Mr. Ellis worked for Unilever subsidiaries Lipton/Foods in finance from 1985-1990, and Lever Brothers in finance and logistics from 1990-1997.

Mr. Ellis received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia University.



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Research Authored by Simon Ellis

Worldwide Supply Chain 2010 Top 10 Predictions: A Midyear Update
Simon Ellis
Aug 2010 - Doc # MI224565      Perspective
This IDC Manufacturing Insights Perspective looks at the top 10 supply chain predictions for 2010 and where they stand at about the midpoint of the year. purchase document
GlobalTrak Private Vendor Watchlist Profile: Combining Hardware and Robust Data Management for Global Asset Tracking and Security
Simon Ellis, Ryan Patterson
Jul 2010 - Doc # 222838      Vendor Profile
This IDC Vendor Profile analyzes GlobalTrak, a company playing in the smart sensors, asset tracking, and visibility market, and reviews key success factors: market potential, technology/solution, corporate strategy, force multipliers, an ...
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Business Strategy : 2010 Supply Chain (Innovation) Survey Results
Simon Ellis, Kimberly Knickle
Jul 2010 - Doc # MI224073      Business Strategy
This IDC Manufacturing Insights report looks at the results from a recently completed supply chain survey. The survey asked 415 respondents for their top business objectives, supply chain priorities, and IT application investments for th ...
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Business Strategy: Sales and Marketing in the Brand-Oriented Value Chains
Simon Ellis, Kimberly Knickle, Mary Wardley, Michael Gerard
Jun 2010 - Doc # MI223834      Business Strategy
This IDC Manufacturing Insights report presents our view on the state of sales and marketing in the consumer products industry, starting with an overview of current conditions and followed by analysis of areas where we see either the hig ...
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JDA FOCUS 2010
Simon Ellis
Jun 2010 - Doc # MI223852      Perspective
This IDC Manufacturing Insights Perspective looks at the recently concluded 2010 JDA FOCUS industry conference, and how JDA is managing the integration of its recent acquisition — i2 Technologies. purchase document
Methods and Practices: Brand-Oriented Value Chain Industry Update and Specialty Vendor Highlights
Benjamin Friedman, Simon Ellis
Jun 2010 - Doc # MI223405      Methods and Practices
This IDC Manufacturing Insights report looks at the current state of the brand-oriented value chain segment of the manufacturing industry. We look at the recent sales, profit, and industry trends in the industry, based on our global perf ...
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JDA FOCUS 2010: Will "The Supply Chain Company" Deliver?
Leslie Hand, Simon Ellis
Jun 2010 - Doc # GRI223669      Perspective
This IDC Retail Insights Perspective reviews JDA's FOCUS 2010 end-user event, and IDC Retail Insights and IDC Manufacturing Insights share what they learned at the event. JDA had much to prove to existing and potential customers, after i ...
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Best Practices: The Use of Sensor Technologies to Enable an eFleet
Simon Ellis, Kimberly Knickle
Apr 2010 - Doc # MI222801      Best Practices
This Manufacturing Insights report looks at the applicability of sensor and mobile technologies to fleet assets within logistics and distribution. : "IDC Manufacturing Insights views logistics and distribution to ...
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Best Practices: Formula and Specification Management in Brand-Oriented Value Chains
Simon Ellis, Joe Barkai
Apr 2010 - Doc # MI222771      Market Overview
This IDC Manufacturing Insights report examines the current state of formula and specification management in brand-oriented value chain manufacturers.: "Formula and specification management is an increasingly imp ...
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Reassessing Supply Network Risk
Simon Ellis
Apr 2010 - Doc # MI222770      Perspective
This IDC Manufacturing Insights Perspective looks at how companies are reassessing supply network risk in light of the recent global recession — particularly as it relates to suppliers and supplier insolvencies.:
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More Research authored by Simon Ellis