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…
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…
Its Counter intuitive. But true.Ordering more than you actually need makes shortages worse. Typically, a retailer or manufacturer only orders as much as they think they can sell or consume until the next cycle begins. But sometimes a hot seller comes along, or you hear a part is going to Read more…
๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ข๐๐๐ง๐๐. Overconfidence is a set of biases rooted in an unjustified certainty in the legitimacy of oneโs opinions.In a study done, demand planners were more than 10% more likely to be overconfident that non-demand planners. This phenomenon is consistent with other research that finds for groups of people whose opinions Read more…
Yogi Berra once said, โItโs tough to make predictions, especially about the future.โ While thereโs no magic formula for forecasting, there are several steps that companies can take to mitigate uncertainty and improve their demand planning capabilities. Knowing these steps is critical in helping companies avoid issues further down the Read more…
A Spanish clothing retailer, Zara, can bring new products to market in three or four weeks by holding materials in undyed form and regularly feeding information about market demand back to its suppliers. This allows it to react quickly to changing demand patterns. When it figures out which items are Read more…
How can startups aim to compete with international corporations where many larger, established Indian companies are still dipping their toes? Many large companies have become ‘Vetocracy’. The system of checks and balances, replicated at every level of functioning, ensures that someone, somewhere can always block a positive action. Companies become Read more…
Supply chain management (SCM) is much more than a materials movement or transportation initiative. It is also a new way of thinking about business relationships. Some organizations, however, are trying to adopt supply chain management practices (such as just-in-time replenishment or strategic sourcing) without also implementing an organization-wide supply chain Read more…
There are four basic types of supply chain drivers: constraints, variability, velocity, and life cycle. The best teams design their supply chains based on these factors. There are five basic types of constraints: material, manufacturing, transportation, financially imposed, or regulatory constraints. The bottlenecks shift depending on volume and mix. Skilled Read more…
4 deep seated obstacles to change 1. ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐Managers may worry that if they set specific targets, their people canโt achieve, they too will look like failures. 2. ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐๐ฅ๐ฌHaving to play nursemaid to so many activities saps executivesโ time and energy. Yet, Read more…