| About Replenishment+® A Quick Introduction to Replenishment+® Replenishment+® Comparison Chart Explanation of Replenishment+® Features Replenishment+® Customer Videos |
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About Replenishment+®
What’s in a name? Replenishment+® has its name for a reason. First, the term “replenishment” means to restore to a state of fullness or completeness. At the heart of Replenishment+® is the concept of a highly visible and dynamic re-order point system. To stop there, however, is to dramatically understate the power of tool. Replenishment+® is much more and that is what the “+” stands for. Replenishment+® is a “multi-echelon” tool. That means that it deals with different tiers in the supply chain AND the bills of material in one integrated tool. It has both revolutionary approaches to analyzing the bill of material, decoupling explosion between strategic stock points and providing visibility and management to strategic non-stocked parts. Furthermore it has a *built in web-based execution and analytics suite that focuses planning and executive attention on what really matters from a service and working capital perspective. It is an unprecedented tool – watch the two videos below to get a better appreciation of how powerful the application is.
Watch this video that explains what Replenishment+® is and what it does:
Download the slides for this video as a pdf presentation.
REPLENISHMENT+® (R+®) is a multi-echelon materials and inventory management software designed to facilitate a demand pull inventory system consistent with the methodology of Demand Driven MRP (DDMRP) and Actively Synchronized Replenishment, an application of the Theory of Constraints. It is the only fully compliant DDMRP software in the world.
Companies that implement Replenishment+® typically see huge jumps in Return on Average Capital Employed through three avenues:
- Service level increases
- Sales Increases
- Reduced total inventory
The above three effects typically happen SIMULTANEOUSLY. Case Studies and examples are available in Orlicky’s Material Requirements Planning, Third Revised Edition.
A Quick Introduction to Replenishment+®
Watch our informative online demonstration of the Replenishment+® product narrated by Chad Smith, co-author, Orlicky’s Material Requirements Planning, Third Edition. Make sure you watch the introductory videos on DDMRP concepts before you watch the online demo.
Demand Driven MRP with Replenishment+®
The demonstration of Replenishment+® shows how the Replenishment+® application brings the first three components of Demand Driven MRP to life.
See how the Replenishment+® application brings Demand Driven MRP planning and execution techniques to life.
Replenishment+® Comparison Chart
Below is a comparison chart between Replenishment+® and the typical types of demand planning and execution techniques in industry today.
Explanation of Replenishment+® Features
Explanation of Comparative Features
It is important to note that while comparing products on a feature to feature basis can be relevant and revealing, it does not represent the true separation of Replenishment+® as a solution in comparison to its competitors. When comparing the feature differences in totality it becomes apparent just how different and advanced Replenishment+® really is. This is due to the fact that many of its features work together to produce a more powerful and elegant materials and inventory planning and execution tool.
5 Zone Buffers
Replenishment+® stratifies buffers of strategically replenished parts through a 5 zone system. These zones are Over Top of Green, Green, Yellow, Red, Dark Red. These zones are managed globally at a “buffer profile” level and give a general reference of priority (color) and a discrete reference (% of buffer remaining) Key Benefit: Highly visible signal allowing planners to focus order creation, scheduling and expediting activities on only what is necessary.
Dynamically Adjusted Buffers
Replenishment+® buffers follow the market by recalculating the average daily usage (ADU) of a part/SKU over a user defined rolling horizon. Some competitive products can be configured to recalculate usage over a defined time period. Key Benefit: Stock positions “flex” with what actually happening in the market.
Relative Priority Based on Buffer Status
All competitive products judge relative priority between parts/SKU and order numbers based on due date. Replenishment+® allows planners to easily and quickly see and judge which parts/SKU need to be focused on. Key Benefit: Focuses planners on what orders specifically need attention over others when there are limitations regarding time, space, cash, capacity and quantity.
Globally Managed Buffer Profiles
Strategically replenished parts are grouped by like part behaviors and attributes. Critical attributes of buffer profiles are variability, lead time, whether they are make, buy or distributed and order multiples. Key Benefit: Easy changes that translate across multiple items as the environment and circumstances change.
Decoupled Bill of Material Explosion
This is a critical attribute of Replenishment+® and separates it from traditional MRP systems which are designed to explode through the entire BoM as well as peg against all requirements. Replenishment+® allows the strategically replenished positions to be independently planned and managed. Key Benefits: Makes order generation, priorities and order sourcing easier to see and manage as well as greatly simplifies the scheduling of resources in complex facilities.
ASR Lead Time Calculation
Replenishment® has a revolutionary way to calculate lead times that are a much superior reflection of realistic lead times. ASR Lead Time is the longest unprotected sequence in the Bill of Material. NO competitive tool has the ability to see this type of lead time. Key Benefits: Realistic lead times for buffer sizing and request dates as well as the ability to effectively see how to best compress item lead times for the least amount of deployed working capital.
Qualified Order Spike Horizon and Threshold
Replenishment+® allows planners to set thresholds based on buffer zone penetration in order to qualify and compensate for Sales Order activity that constitutes a spike. This horizon is set to at least one ASR Lead Time of the part/SKU. Key Benefit: 1) Buffers and customers are safe from large, anomalous Sales Orders. 2) Easy planning visibility without sifting through enormous amounts of data to find problematic future orders.
Material Synchronization Alert Upward Explosion
Replenishment+® provides planners with a focused and highly visible view of misalignments between on-order child supply and parent demand orders. This alert is dynamic with the environment as order promise dates (either Child supply or parent demand) may change. Competitive tools do not allow the upward explosion of the child part availability to the parent part requirement. When it is known that a child part will be late and there is nothing that can be done about it, there is NO warning to the parent part planner that there is an issue at a lower level so that the parent can be rescheduled. Key Benefits: 1) Dramatically reduces the amount of released work orders without full materials/components available. 2) Less on the fly schedule deviations due to shortages.
Multi-Location Buffer Status Visibility
Replenishment+® allows planners to see all locations of part/SKU within a particular supply chain. Each location will often have a different buffer profile assignments. Some competitive products allow planners to see stock levels at different locations but few can display it according to buffer zoning. Displaying relative to buffer zoning is critical in differentiating priority between locations. Key Benefits: The entire company can easily see which location should have priority.
Lead-Time Managed Parts
Replenishment+® allows planners to designate non-stocked but problematic parts as Lead Time Managed in order to get warning/reminder signals in order to prompt communication to a supplier and take preemptive and corrective actions to ensure proper synchronization with the supply chain. This feature also allows a clear and documented trail to be established. Competitive tools essentially lose site of orders after they are launched until it is due. Key Benefits: Focused pre-expediting that reduces shortages and schedule deviations.
Matrix BOM and ASR Lead Time Analytics
Replenishment+® provides a revolutionary way for companies to look at their parts and materials picture in totality in order to indentify:
- Child component parts that lie on the ASR Lead Time paths of the most parent items so that they can be buffered. Once those positions are buffered, parent lead times compress and the working capital in those stocked child positions is best leveraged (See Case Study 2 in Appendix B to see what this can do).
- Child components that are currently stocked but do not lie on parent item’s ASR Lead Time path. These positions can be eliminated and the working capital associated with them redirected.
Key Benefits: Highly leveraged working capital ends traditional trade-off between inventory levels and service levels.
Simple and Visible but Extremely Powerful
Replenishment+® is designed to focus planner attention on what matters both now and in the near term future. It’s unique combination of powerful planning logic and analytics combined with it’s highly visible and focused nature make it the perfect blend for companies looking to embrace Demand Driven philosophies but want or require robust planning visibility and common sense. Key Benefits: Higher planner productivity and an enabler of Lean manufacturing approaches.
