Associating intuition and S&OP processes may seem… counterintuitive, right? For most companies that practice it, the S&OP process involves gathering information, facts, and hypotheses to analyze and then use to develop an action plan — a roadmap for negotiating changes in the coming months. It’s all about data crunching, logical reasoning, putting together elements from … Read more
It’s hard to pass up a good deal from one of your preferred suppliers. But when the inventory piles up in your warehouse because you don’t have the other materials you need to manufacture your products? That good deal starts to seem less attractive. Frustrated by inventory inefficiencies, supply chain leaders at Ukrainian pet food … Read more
International organizations often struggle with the question of whether and to what extent they should centralize their supply chain functions. Should demand and supply planners be integrated into a central function, at a group level or at a cluster level (whether by region or by business unit)? Or should these functions be as close to … Read more
Most companies are experiencing difficult times on the supply side. Containers are piling up on one side of the globe and are sorely lacking on the other. Delays are piling up, and variability is clearly at a maximum on the supply side. Can our supply chains really be demand driven in this context? Does pull … Read more
Every planner today has hundreds or even thousands of references to manage. Often, these references must be synchronized during the assembly of products with complex bills of materials, where the slightest shortfall stops the flow. If you manufacture an electronic assembly with hundreds of components, a simple diode that costs nothing can stop everything. How … Read more
You have probably already seen this diagram, which summarizes different manufacturing typologies, in one form or another: Is the Demand Driven model a good fit for these typologies? How would your demand driven manufacturing implementation change to support each environment? In each of these flow typologies, with the exception of Engineering-to-Order (ETO), customer demand moves … Read more
Adaptive forecasting. Driverless trucks. Autonomous planning. AI is coming for your supply chain. Right? In many ways, industry watchers can be forgiven for having a little skepticism when it comes to AI in supply chain. According to research by Deloitte, only 40% of supply chain executives said they are actively using AI. The 2021 MHI Annual Industry Report put that figure … Read more
What is the relationship between submarines and the global supply chain? Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to do with underwater container ships, and Elon Musk hasn’t floated the idea of a silk road via an underwater Hyperloop. Well, not yet, I guess. But what is it about? We have recently seen in the press the … Read more
Supply chain leaders have dealt with disruption since well before the pandemic. Strategies for addressing VUCA—an acronym that stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity—have circulated in business management journals for the better part of a decade. Industry watchers have warned about dangers that range from natural disasters to trade disputes. And then, in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic gave … Read more
When you learn the principles of MRP, you use a view like the one below. Periods 1 2 3 4 5 6 Forecast 40 50 40 40 70 20 Registered orders 80 45 30 50 50 5 Requirements 80 45 40 50 70 20 Projected Inventory 50 170 125 85 35 … Read more
The pandemic dealt an unprecedented blow to global supply chains, with virtually all business leaders reporting disruptions to their strategic sourcing and supplier management processes. Yet some companies found ways to mitigate the impact to their operations. In Demand Driven Technologies’ Pandemic Planning series, we take a look at their stories—and how they leveraged DDMRP … Read more
Hm, seeing the visual illustrating this post I had some objections: is it really reasonable to represent the measures of a supply chain in the 21st century as following a normal law? No, certainly not – the measures do not follow the normal law, while we live more than ever in a new (ab)normality. However, … Read more
