In working across company sizes, industries, and geographies, in almost 20 years of business consulting, every single client without exception needed to better utilize data to improve customer service and bottom line results. Smart clients are turning data into insights so that they can pinpoint where to focus quickly.
There has been a run of strikes or threats of strikes lately with the latest UAW strike impacting the Big 3 automobile manufacturers. If it lasts longer than a few days, there will undoubtedly be a huge impact on the end-to-end supply chain as well as the economy.
Manufacturing is in a state of flux. After seven straight months of contraction in manufacturing, it is not surprising manufacturers are thinking about cutting back. On the other hand, in many industries, manufacturers continue to have a robust backlog and are growing faster than their capacity.
Making the appropriate business decisions will make or break success. Executives get paid the big bucks to make these decisions. Unfortunately, one poor decision can outweigh thousands of good ones rapidly. SIOP (Sales Inventory Operations Planning), also known as S&OP, is a tool that will optimize these tradeoffs for effective decision making.
Manufacturing is on a downward trend after eight months of PMI (purchasing manager's index) below 50. It dropped to 46 in June. China's manufacturing also shrank for a third month in a row to a PMI of 49. Yet manufacturers backlogs remain relatively robust in many industries, leading executives perplexed on what to do about capacity shortfalls.
The best companies focus on production scheduling. Even though Production Schedulers aren't typically highly paid positions, the function will make or break your ability to serve customers, improve operational performance and accelerate cash flow. Thus, it should be a key priority if you want to achieve profitable growth.
According to this week's GDP report, the real growth rate was minimal (around 1.1%) during the first quarter. On the other hand, inflation remains high, around 5.3%. This seems to reflect stagflation. Unfortunately, business equipment spending was around -7.3%, and inventories are down. PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index), an [...]
In an environment defined by volatility and rising expectations, predictability has become a competitive advantage. Companies that consistently deliver on revenue, service, and profitability don’t rely on reactive decision-making; instead, they operate with a disciplined, forward-looking planning process. A well-designed SIOP (Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning) playbook provides the [...]
In the last few weeks, I've participated in three different economic events, talked with trusted advisors and seen what clients are experiencing. From banks to economists to executives, differing views emerge. But, what is the bottom line?
At its simplest, labor scheduling is determining which people (and which skills) you should have at which sites at which work centers at what time (shift) to ensure the right products can be delivered to the right customer at the right time.
