1. MYTH #1: Aggregation or Disaggregation has no impact on variation. At a store, an item may sell between 10 to 100 pieces (10x Variation)For manufacturer, the difference might be 1,000 to 2,000 pieces (2x Variation). The more disaggregated the data is, the higher the variation. 2. MYTH #2: Sophisticated Read more…
It was 2009, and I was struggling .. I was head of Merchandise planning and replenishment for a 500+ store chain. My target was to get 99% availability with less than 2% stock which was more than 6 months old in my stores. I tried many forecasting techniques to ensure Read more…
Imagine a manufacturer producing a variety of products. These products are then sold through stores which are serviced by a few warehouses. Usually, the retailer will order an entire season’s supply of an item. The retailer will want the items to arrive before the season begins based on a forecast Read more…
Stockouts can be defined as the unavailability of specific items or products at the point of purchase when the customer is ready to buy. Many retailers underestimate the cost of stockout by as much as 300%. Focusing on increasing availability of your merchandise can be the single biggest leverage for a Read more…
By definition, good demand planning is customer focused. Therefore, it should be led by those who have the most contact with and the greatest understanding of the customer – that is, Sales and Marketing, and not the Supply Chain team. Demand planning MUST be integrated with marketing planning process, so that Read more…
Are you building your company to be Lean or are you building it to be Agile? Cause building your company to be BOTH Lean and Agile, will only mean that you are NEITHER! Ask yourself the below 4 questions.If you really want to be good in answering Questions 1 & Read more…
To get at the roots of profit-destroying complexity, companies need to identify their innovation fulcrum, the point at which the level of product innovation maximizes both revenues and profits. Complexity doesn’t appear on balance sheets or on quarterly reports, but its impact can be conspicuous. Below, we offer a simple set Read more…
Supply chain management (SCM) has become a complex, technology-driven discipline that reaches across functions, business processes, and corporate boundaries. Nevertheless, some CEOs pay little attention to SCM as a strategic concern and thereby squander its potential to improve overall performance. Executed well by experienced professionals, SCM can deliver significant, tangible benefits Read more…
Looking to make the perfect cricket team, would you stumble on a Sachin Tendulkar and then ignore him? People say ‘No’ to the above question, but then go ahead and do exactly that in their business! Let me prove this to you. Lets take the case of jewellery industry where Read more…
The biggest cost for your company is: The imbalance between the demand for your products and your ability to supply them. Even in Supply Chain functions, many do not understand how their work can drive growth. Unfortunately, companies stuck in a cost-focused paradigm with significant gaps in horizontal organizational alignment Read more…