- Seven key strategies for supply organizations in the next decade:
- Developing robust and forward-looking category strategies
- Developing value-added relationships with suppliers
- Designing and operating multiple supply networks to meet the needs of specific market segments
- Leveraging technology for internal productivity and external effectiveness
- Collaborating internally across functions and externally with suppliers and customers
- Attracting and retaining supply management talent
- Managing and enabling the global supply management organization
The time where you just do things is over. Companies were not used to look at alternatives because there was not many alternatives. Nowadays, there is so many options out there that SCM can and should always be improved. If a SCM is not effective, the customer will simply go somewhere else and therefore your business will suffer and possibly go bankrupt, and this will have an impact on other entity's of the SCM.
Which leads me to think that every entity of a SC should constantly look for improvement because it will benefit not only to them, but to their supplier and customers as well. Two important questions should be asked:
1) What can I do to make my part of the SC more effective and profitable?
2) What can the SC as a group do to make the process more effective and profitable?
Of course we want our entity to be profitable, but what will happen if we communicate more with other entity's of the SC? Entity's that work with "blinkers" (advise me if there is a better term), will not survive today's industries. We have to collaborate and look for improvement together.
Which leads me to think that every entity of a SC should constantly look for improvement because it will benefit not only to them, but to their supplier and customers as well. Two important questions should be asked:
1) What can I do to make my part of the SC more effective and profitable?
2) What can the SC as a group do to make the process more effective and profitable?
Of course we want our entity to be profitable, but what will happen if we communicate more with other entity's of the SC? Entity's that work with "blinkers" (advise me if there is a better term), will not survive today's industries. We have to collaborate and look for improvement together.
I always bring SAP, and Oracle up, because the CEO's and VP's are counting (trusting) on it. It's a "priority" with many Executives. Better strategic planning should be the "priority", not the MRP/ERP software fads. I've experienced it. The CEO's gets confused trying to figure out what happened to the inventory surplus (or shortage). He put his faith in the software, and not having a good strategy. A shotgun approach to the strategic manufacturing game plan, happens all the time. I've witnessed it. Also have read dozens of articles about tens of millions in over inventory, based on poor planning. It's not about the software fads, or the Lean Manufacturing "certifications". Speaking of which, this whole Lean-Manufacturing "certification" fad, is another popular thing for the lemmings, chasing "new" solutions. The terms have changed, but the concepts are old. "Lean-Manufacturing" is a rip-off of Deming's efficiency teachings.
Wrestling with the Bullwhip Effect
The 2007-2009 recession brought about shifting consumer demand that left wholesalers and manufacturers grappling with how best to change inventory and production strategies. These changing demand patterns wreak havoc up and down the supply chain, challenging manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to match supply with demand. The challenge is greatest for manufacturers and wholesalers, however, because they are furthest away from the customer and therefore are often the slowest to react to changing demand signals -- a phenomenon known as the bullwhip effect.
The 2007-2009 recession brought about shifting consumer demand that left wholesalers and manufacturers grappling with how best to change inventory and production strategies. These changing demand patterns wreak havoc up and down the supply chain, challenging manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to match supply with demand. The challenge is greatest for manufacturers and wholesalers, however, because they are furthest away from the customer and therefore are often the slowest to react to changing demand signals -- a phenomenon known as the bullwhip effect.
Buyers Beware: Your Supplier May Be Your Next Competitor
When executed correctly, strategic sourcing -- a multi-faceted approach to purchasing contingent on types of goods and services -- yields many benefits for both buying companies and their suppliers. But, by ignoring the complexity of strategic sourcing and focusing only on cost reductions, some aerospace buying companies have unintentionally turned their suppliers into competitors, according to new research by W. P. Carey professor of supply chain management Thomas Choi and his former doctoral student, Christian Rossetti.
When executed correctly, strategic sourcing -- a multi-faceted approach to purchasing contingent on types of goods and services -- yields many benefits for both buying companies and their suppliers. But, by ignoring the complexity of strategic sourcing and focusing only on cost reductions, some aerospace buying companies have unintentionally turned their suppliers into competitors, according to new research by W. P. Carey professor of supply chain management Thomas Choi and his former doctoral student, Christian Rossetti.
For any shopper who noticed how the price of hamburger and lettuce jumped after gas prices soared last year, this should come as no surprise: Buyers eventually feel the pinch when their suppliers' expenses surge. The reason? Buyers and sellers operate within networks that exceed the one-on-one, buyer-seller bond. That's why Thomas Choi, a professor of supply chain management at the W. P. Carey School of Business, thinks supply chain professionals would be wise to look beyond the supplier to its supply network. Without it, he argues, buyers are not examining all the factors affecting the strength and reliability of the suppliers they
choose. Such shortsightedness leaves buyers vulnerable to supply troubles and missed opportunities
Help Improve Sales Analysis and Forecasting with Better Demand Planning
Without insight into historical trends and upcoming events, predicting customer behavior isn't much better than making an educated guess. How can manufacturers and distributors avoid a hit-and-miss approach and make use of the facts to accurately forecast needs? With the right tools, you can look to the data inside your systems to help.
Applications designed specifically for demand planning provide automated tools for mining applicable data deep within your systems, and delivering it to those who need it in a familiar format they can use right away. Your decision makers can then plan based on your company's demand history, current or upcoming events and promotions, insight from customer data, and input from trading partners.
When integrated with your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, demand planning applications can help you:
· Compare calculated forecasts to actual results over time for trend analysis.
· Focus on "hot spots" to prepare for what's coming into high demand.
· Share forecast information securely via the Web through role-based portals.
· Reduce operating costs.
· Streamline production.
The end result: lower inventory costs, fewer stock outages, faster time to market, and happier customers..
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