Supply chain resilience is an imperative in a VUCA world. The tremors of recent years, from Brexit and Covid to the war in Ukraine, have prompted many companies and governments to realize how fragile supply chains can be. In the western press these last months, there is talk of reshoring, reindustrialization, and shortening our supply … Read more
Our clients across the globe have claimed that average lead time from their overseas suppliers increased by 30% and order fulfillment rate decreased by 6% compared to 2019.
To size our stocks and replenish our products, we need to use a demand assumption. In a Demand Driven approach, the supply chain is scheduled based on real consumption, but for consumption to occur, it must have been initiated by available products, supplied based on a demand hypothesis.
The old-fashioned S&OP is a laborious and sequential process. The end of the month has just been closed. We know the sales, after aggregating inputs from all countries. We compare actual sales with forecasts, we generate statistical forecasts for the coming months, and we start the process of collaboration with the different marketing and sales … Read more
The concept of the supply chain control tower has become very popular. But what exactly does it mean? Magic keywords abound in this field: Digitalization, advanced analytics, end-to-end, big data, collaborative, real-time, etc. All this sounds attractive, but what is the reality behind the gimmicks? What is a supply chain control tower and what does … Read more
Competition is more intense than ever. Companies closely monitor consumers and track the actions of their rivals. New products are rapidly copied and replicated. Companies must maintain a compelling and thoughtfully priced product range, but they will have difficulty standing out in the market without excellent service levels. In fact, research suggests that 80% of … Read more
The bullwhip effect is one of the common problems of supply chains, affecting manufacturers, distributors, and retailers alike. The cause of the bullwhip effect is difficult to recognize in a large, rapidly growing company. Pay attention to the symptoms. Some of the most common are raw materials, finished products, stock outs, and over stocks. Such … Read more
The S&OP process plays a vital role in how companies function, enabling executives to: Forge a strong connection between the two planning horizons: Operational activity and strategy. Reconcile and develop a culture of interaction between key departments, including sales, marketing, operations, finance, logistics, and R&D. Create an integrated and coordinated plan for the above functions, … Read more
In last week’s post, we introduced some of the lessons we’ve learned about implementing new supply chain technology. This week, we’ll take a look at some case studies from companies in Russia to the countries of the Central Asian region. Case #3: The Disappearing Team Lead As we mentioned last week, the project teams that … Read more
Every manufacturer is faced with change sooner or later. In the 21st century, there have been many such changes, from innovative supply chain technologies to new methods to improve the quality of products, or even the entire supply chain management system. Before you embark on such a time-consuming change, you may have some fear: what … Read more
Even without demand variability, production schedules cannot be executed. Any planner with shop floor experience knows that demand variability is not the only source of distortion. Suppliers, employees, and equipment can also let you down. Usually, this type of variation is known as operational variability. Below is a chart that shows the BOM and Routings … Read more
Before MRP, the most popular approach to inventory management was Order Point, where each point is independent. Yet the more complex an operational environment becomes — thanks to a broader SKU list or changes to assortment and demand — the more likely you are to see bimodal inventory distribution, when too little of the right … Read more
