The key to effective cycle counting is to not get bogged down in resolving every dollar, but rather focus on the significant discrepancies. The main goal of cycle counting is to cycle through your inventory to ensure inventory accuracy on a consistent basis. (In contrast, a physical inventory is [...]
By definition, a forecast is always wrong, so why bother? The main reason is because your customers are key to your business, and your forecasts/ demand plans represent your customer demand. And, if you provide excellent service to your customers in the most efficient and consistent manner, you will [...]
Customer collaboration is always a good idea; however, leveraging customer collaboration during challenging economic times can be one of the keys to success. Pick up the phone - some of the largest successes I've seen result from simple yet critical conversations. It can be as simple as calling a [...]
In today's new normal business environment, characterized by sluggish growth, tight liquidity, elevated customer expectations and a general theme of "more for less", there's no doubt revenue has to be a top priority. Add demographic trends, and revenue becomes a critical priority. As baby boomers begin retiring, spending will [...]
Inventory accuracy is often overlooked, but it is vital to to bottom line business results. Although a bedrock topic, inventory accuracy is often overlooked in operations strategy discussions as it becomes an assumption or something that just should occur. However, I am constantly reminded of its vital importance and [...]
The need for improved capacity and staffing analysis and decision-making arises frequently as a critical success factor with my clients, and so I thought a few tips would be beneficial: Start simple - Complex models don't drive results. Simple, easy-to-understand data will give you what you need to succeed. [...]
Published in Industry Week on May 11, 2007 It seems very common that people get on the bandwagon of some of these philosophies like JIT, and they give up as opposed to understanding that it's not something trendy to do," says Lisa Anderson, president and founder of business processes [...]
