The Problem-Solving Dilemma
When trying to implement a culture change or a lifestyle change or any kind of a change, you need to be intentional.
When trying to implement a culture change or a lifestyle change or any kind of a change, you need to be intentional.
Aligning for Agility. Where is the Disconnect?
What is the purpose of starting a Sales and Operations Planning process? For many, S&OP is a process to get information to flow between various parts of the business, the most obvious being Sales and Operations (hence the name). The premise, I believe, is that if Operations knows what is happening in Sales, then they will be able to respond. Great starting point. At some point, perhaps it worked well.
We can embrace the complexity and build a system where everyone is judged on the preciseness of their input and their output. Aligning the various complexities along the various steps of a process so that each step is exactly and precisely in line with the preceding and proceeding steps. Sound simple?
We all can agree that having the right amount of inventory is valuable. Yet most businesses have too much of the wrong stuff and too little of the right stuff.
Demand Driven MRP results in having the right amount of inventory for strategic parts. Because it creates decoupling points that absorb the variability of the bullwhip effect, I have less surprises regarding inventory. And if I focus on having the right inventory, I can eliminate shortages by only buying the parts I need. At the same time, I can allow the excess inventory to reach its proper level.
Today, companies of all sizes and industries are solving their inventory firefighting chaos by using Demand Driven Material Requirements Planning, a method to model, plan and manage supply chains while protecting and promoting flow.
It doesn’t matter if you’re in upper management or deep in the trenches, neither side seems to be able to see the perspective of the other. Is the gap between these positions just too great? Is one side or the other incapable? Are we attempting to achieve opposite goals? Or are we speaking different languages?
The way we thought at the time made it seem true, but we sometimes aren’t able to connect the newly acquired information with the old knowledge. One I’m thinking about is related to supply chain, purchasing and inventory management.
Let’s think about travel. It’s a great analogy for our supply chain challenges. You know where the event is going to be, but not when.
I came across an interesting discussion the other day. The initial question? Who in an organization is responsible for resource planning and scheduling? The responses
traditional planning tools are A) Not designed to do that and B) Designed Not to do that. No wonder they fail.
Inventory Positioning and the resulting Inventory Availability can prevent the negative impacts of many issues.
I can’t think of any decision, big or small, anywhere in life, where you have a 100% guarantee that you’re making the right choice.
There is always a bit of a conundrum when talking with potential clients. One common conversation sounds like, “We need to get our data clean
Because, by design, the execution is left up to individual participants. And, by design, those changes are not connected to the other players or back up to the customer due date.
We’ve all had the opportunity to arrange a small dinner gathering of friends. What can we learn about supply chain and inventory management from that
The two basic problems of inventory management: A—The supplier lead time is not achieved. B – The customer has impossible expectations and constant changes. If
