Replenishment, Distribution & VMI Planning
Every client wants to support growth goals while improving service levels (OTIF, on-time-in-full), operational efficiencies and inventory turns. These are timeless objectives for every planner. During the pandemic, the priorities shifted to service levels because clients struggled to keep up with dramatic increases in demand and extreme volatility. There has been an all hands on deck focus to improving OTIF (on-time-in-full), OTD (on-time-delivery), and fill rates.
How Do You Benefit from Production & Materials Planning?
Sales & Marketing
Sales and Marketing leaders will gain high levels of service for their customers with on-time-in-full (OTIF) levels in the high 90’s, shorter lead-times, and high ratings on customer scorecards. They also will gain improved levels of responsiveness to customer needs and confidence in new product rollouts.
Engineering
For engineer-to-order (ETO) and configure-to-order (CTO) businesses, Engineering leaders will gain visibility into workload requirements to support drawings, customer approvals, and bill of material designs. They will be able to plan for the appropriate level of engineering capacity and capabilities.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing leaders will gain visibility into work center, machine, equipment, tooling, maintenance, staffing, and training requirements so that they can plan accordingly. They will also gain visibility into the master production schedule so that they can optimize run sizes with changeovers and costs.
Purchasing
Purchasing leaders will gain visibility into raw material, component, ingredient, and outside processing requirements so that they can work with suppliers to set up the appropriate programs and contracts to meet customer requirements. Suppliers will have visibility to capacity and scorecards.
Logistics
Logistics leaders will gain visibility into storage, warehousing, handling, picking, packing, shipping, transportation, returns, and equipment requirements so that they can plan accordingly. As gaps arise, service and cost options can be analyzed to expand capacity or capabilities as needed to support customers.
Finance
Finance leaders will gain visibility into sales forecasts, engineering and manufacturing plans, capital expenditure needs, purchase forecasts, staffing and support resource requirements, logistics forecasts, and inventory projections. Thus, they will have revenue, cost, profitability, and cash flow projections.
Planning
Planning leaders will gain visibility into the demand plan, sales orders, quotes, replenishment orders, and work order status so that they can develop the best master production schedule (MPS) to optimize customer service, operational efficiency and working capital. They will gain high service levels and increased margins.
Blog posts for Production & Materials Planning
Taking your supplier / customer relationships to the next level of partnership is integral to supporting profitable growth with exceptional customer service and cash flow (ie. inventory turns) levels. Vendor managed inventory (VMI) can be integral to maximizing revenue/ service, profitability, and working capital.
VMI (vendor managed inventory) is the process where the supplier manages the customer’s inventory so that the customer has the “right” item in the “right” place at the “right” time to ensure high service levels, efficient and productive operations, and the least amount of inventory tied up unnecessarily. The best VMI programs ensure that the end-to-end supply chain gains with both the supplier and the customer achieving improved results or benefits.
We live in a supply chain disrupted world, and there is no end in sight. It started with the pandemic as the global supply chain got out of alignment. The ‘right’ inventory wasn’t in the ‘right’ place at the ‘right’ time to support basic needs let alone nice-to-have items. […]
