ore than 50% of client requests in the last several months have related to inventory. In fact, it seems to be a trending hot topic! In today's era of the Amazon Effect where customers expect more and have ZERO patience to wait yet we are in a volatile environment with tariffs and concerns about space, costs and more, more inventory is needed to grow the business yet businesses cannot afford it.
According to a recent project44 report, 94% of business purchasers surveyed expect the same level of customer satisfaction from a business transaction as they do when making a personal purchase. These expectations revolve around “low-cost, fast and highly transparent delivery of goods.”
Since forecasting can deliver significant benefits with increased levels of service, inventory turnover and margin improvement, the question that inevitably arises is whether it makes sense to purchase a forecasting or demand planning system.
According to Gartner statistics, significant bottom line results can occur with just a 1% improvement in forecast accuracy. In fact, there are staggering improvements in lead time, inventory reduction and margins, so why not at least explore the idea?
When clients decide to upgrade ERP, they also look at CRM (customer relationship management) because it makes sense to align the technology infrastructure into a common platform that will be fully integrated and scalable.
Inventory is circling back in importance and will become a hot topic again as customers expect immediate, customized deliveries with the expectation of easy returns and last-minute changes to orders in production, in the warehouse or in transit. What are you doing to get ahead of this ‘new normal’ assumption?
In supply chain circles, there are lots of exciting concepts to discuss and debate such as lean, master scheduling, theory of constraints and many more; however, we have found that our most successful clients start with the customer!
SIOP guides strategic forecasting to determine the optimal horizon for planning and future-proofing your supply chain operations.
When it comes to B and C items, seasonal items and other trending patterns, understanding the demand plan isn’t a “nice-to-have”; it is critical to success.
Talk with your employees about the future. After all, how will they be able to build the right skills if they have no idea what is needed in the future?
