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IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Supply Chain Planning for CPG Industries 2026 Vendor Assessment

Eric Thompson — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC study for Manufacturing Insights uses the IDC MarketScape model to provide an assessment of 18 providers participating in the worldwide supply chain planning market for consumer packaged goods. The IDC MarketScape is an evaluation based on a comprehensive framework and a set of parameters that assesses providers relative to one another and to those factors expected to be most conducive to success in a given market during both the short term and the long term.

"Supply chain planning is a critical capability in a resilient consumer packaged goods supply chain. The ability to pair a promotion-aware demand forecast with a credible supply-side plan, while optimizing necessary inventory positions and respecting shelf life, and then agreeing to a consensus plan through S&OP are all critical components in managing an efficient and effective supply chain," says Eric Thompson, research director, Worldwide Supply Chain Planning at IDC.

IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Supply Chain Planning for Distribution Industries 2026 Vendor Assessment

Eric Thompson — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC study uses the IDC MarketScape model to provide an assessment of providers participating in the worldwide supply chain planning market for distribution industries. This IDC MarketScape is an evaluation based on a comprehensive framework and a set of parameters that assesses providers relative to one another and to those factors expected to be most conducive to success in a given market during both the short term and the long term.

"Supply chain planning is a critical capability in a resilient distribution industry supply chain. Planning demand and supply, optimizing inventory positions, and then agreeing on a consensus plan through S&OP are all critical components of managing an efficient and effective supply chain," says Eric Thompson, research director, Global Supply Chain Planning at IDC.

IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Warehouse Management for Retail 2026 Vendor Assessment

Stephanie Krishnan, Simon Ellis — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC study evaluates software vendors serving retailers' warehouse management system (WMS) needs. This document covers vendor capabilities and strategies for inventory control, omni-channel and store-based fulfillment, peak-period order release, and AI-enabled operational decisioning. The study is based on customer interviews, vendor briefings, and standard IDC MarketScape methodology, and includes vendor profiles, strengths and challenges, and buyer guidance.

"Retailers are not replacing WMS platforms because they failed; they are replacing them because the fulfillment network got bigger than the system was built for. Nearly a third of retailers point to a lack of real-time, networkwide inventory visibility as their top omni-channel challenge, and that is exactly the gap a modern WMS has to close," says Stephanie Krishnan, associate vice president, Manufacturing and Supply Chain, IDC Insights.

IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Airlines Professional Services 2026–2027 Vendor Assessment

Ravikant Sharma — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC study analyzed the solution offerings and go-to-market strategies of professional services firms that serve airlines and airports worldwide.

“Airlines and airports are under growing pressure to modernize passenger experience, operations, and enterprise systems, even as budgets and timelines stay tight. Given the scale and complexity of that work, they rely on professional services partners not just for delivery capacity but for owned platforms, AI-augmented delivery models, and pricing structures that reflect how the work actually gets done. Vendors that can pair that capability with durable technology partnerships and a track record in aviation standards work will be positioned to lead this market,” said Ravikant Sharma, research director, IDC Public Sector.

IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Warehouse Management for Manufacturing 2026 Vendor Assessment

Stephanie Krishnan, Simon Ellis — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC study evaluates software vendors serving manufacturers’ warehouse management system (WMS) needs. This document covers vendor capabilities and strategies for inventory control, warehouse workflows, integration with manufacturing execution and warehouse execution/control systems, and AI-enabled operational decisioning. The assessment is based on customer interviews, vendor briefings, and IDC MarketScape methodology, and includes vendor profiles, strengths and challenges, and buyer guidance.

“Manufacturers running WMS platforms installed 5 to 10 years ago are reopening decisions they thought were settled, not because the old system failed to deliver but because of what AI and tighter automation integration might now make possible. Vendors that can show a production customer behind every AI claim will separate themselves from the ones still selling a road map,” said Stephanie Krishnan, associate vice president, Manufacturing and Supply Chain, IDC Insights.

Consumers Against or With Retailers? A 2026 Comparison by Geographies

Ornella Urso, Ananda Chakravarty, Margot Juros, Filippo Battaini — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC presentation compares consumers and retailers across four regions (LATAM, NATAM, EMEA, and APAC), theme by theme, by placing two 2026 IDC retail studies side by side. Data is gathered from both IDC’s May 2026 Worldwide Retail Consumer Insights Survey and IDC’s 2026 Retail Technologies and Business Process Trends Survey.

Gloves Off in US Cellular as SpaceX Buys 800MHz Spectrum to Set Up Fourth Carrier Service

Simon Baker, Jason Leigh — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Note looks at the rationale for and impact of SpaceX’s announcement that it is purchasing low-band frequency in the US in the 800MHz band as part of a plan to offer a hybrid satellite-terrestrial cellular service to compete with the main US cellular operators.

“SpaceX did not waste time in snapping up attractive and rare ex-T-Mobile low-band frequency to help it launch its US cellular ambitions — a classic Musk move. It is not yet clear whether this will be enough to let Starlink really compete with the American cellular Big Three. SpaceX has to get the ground network built out first,” says Simon Baker, Senior Research Director at IDC.

Addressing Critical Data Challenges in Retail: Fast-Evolving Data Management Roles and Strategies for Successful AI

Cristiano Quattrini, Margot Juros — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Perspective discusses how retailers are accelerating investment in AI, but IDC’s 2026 Global Retail Survey shows that scaling AI depends heavily on the maturity of the underlying data environment. While 42% of retailers identify digital skills and talent as the largest individual barrier, poor data synchronization and integration at 34%, limited access to real-time data and analytics at 34%, and insufficient operational and customer data visibility at 29% form a significant cluster of structural constraints.

The same pattern appears in individual retail functions. Real-time network-wide inventory visibility remains a leading operational challenge, while difficulty personalizing at scale highlights persistent customer data fragmentation. Retailers therefore need to treat data integration, semantic consistency, ownership, real-time information, governance, and observability as core elements of their AI strategies.

Successful AI will depend less on the volume of data a retailer owns and more on its ability to provide trusted, timely, semantically clear, and appropriately governed information to humans, applications, and increasingly autonomous AI systems.

“Retailers are discovering that scaling AI is often less about finding a better model and more about giving this model a reliable representation of the business. Data synchronization, real-time access, and visibility sit immediately behind talent among the main barriers to AI execution. As AI moves closer to inventory, customer decisions, fulfillment, pricing, and store operations, data management becomes part of the operating model itself. Retailers that treat integration, inventory visibility, customer data unification, and governance as core AI capabilities will be much better positioned to move from experimentation to scalable business value,” says Cristiano Quattrini, senior associate advisor, IDC Retail Insights.

IDC MarketScape: Worldwide AI-Enabled Adobe Professional Services 2026 Vendor Assessment

Douglas Hayward — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC study represents a vendor assessment of the AI-enabled Adobe professional services ecosystem through the IDC MarketScape model. This assessment discusses both quantitative and qualitative characteristics that explain success in the AI-enabled Adobe professional services market. This IDC MarketScape covers a variety of vendors participating in the Adobe professional services space. The evaluation is based on a comprehensive and rigorous framework that assesses vendors relative to the criteria and to one another and highlights the factors expected to be the most influential for success in the market in both the short term and the long term.

"Marketing is in transition, driven both by AI's promise of revolutionizing the customer life cycle and by demand from CEOs and CMOs for CMOs to drive profitable net-new revenue growth after years of disappointing returns on enterprise martech investments," says Douglas Hayward, senior research director for Customer Experience Services and Strategies at IDC. "To drive that new revenue growth using AI-enabled Adobe technology, CMOs and CIOs must work with CX services vendors that understand the intersection of marketing and new AI technologies, who can credibly model and then deliver business results for their clients."

IDC’s Worldwide Smartphone ODM Tracker Taxonomy, 2026

Sean Kao, Kiranjeet Kaur, Nabila Popal — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC study provides a taxonomy for segmenting smartphone ODMs. Historical data in IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Smartphone ODM Tracker examines the upstream supply chain for smartphones, which is increasingly shifting toward a different ODM ecosystem. This service provides quarterly insights into which ODMs manufacture for which branded vendors, along with breakdowns by product technologies, supplier relationships, and other categories.

“The smartphone ODM taxonomy and market coverage extend IDC’s mobile phone market research by overlaying technical specifications for these systems and the main ODM market players,” said Sean Kao, senior research manager, Worldwide ODM research at IDC.