Sales and operations planning is a dark art, and most organizations typically have a very ad-hoc process of forecasting due to its nature. But it's critical to be directionally correct with your plan. Or you might end up missing opportunities or losing customers. [...]
At least 80% of clients contact us to find out how to predict the unpredictable. This is especially true in custom manufacturing, high growth and promotion-heavy industries; however, it remains accurate across the broad spectrum of manufacturing and distribution companies. Predicting the unpredictable demand plan starts by asking common [...]
To thrive post COVID, manufacturing resilience will be cornerstone. Customers expect personalization, customization, and rapid deliveries without disruption, and they will change suppliers, substitute products and do whatever is required to satisfy their customers or get what's needed. For example, although the preference is for online purchasing, consumers will return to stores to ensure quick, reliable supply of critical items.
2021 was plagued with shortages. As discussed in clients’ demand planning/ forecasting meetings, history is not representative of the future. In one example, the client experienced material shortages and couldn’t sell what customers requested, and so carrying that forecast into the New Year would deliberately carry that issue into 2022.
In recently talking with the US Glass Network, the constant state of supply chain disruption was in the forefront. In fact, the White House launched a supply chain dashboard to track progress. However, if you are hoping the supply chain will realign on its own anytime soon, unfortunately, it [...]
The pandemic has spurred on the need to work smarter, not harder. In our Brushware article, the Digital Transformation Fueled with Business Intelligence, we talk about the critical importance of making meaningful decisions with data. As discussed in the SIOP client success story, data was a key driver of SIOP results. The key was in understanding data, the sources of data, cleansing data [...]
In working with clients across multiple industries including industrial equipment, food and beverage, building and construction products and healthcare products, there is no doubt that clients using a SIOP (sales, inventory and operations planning) and integrated business planning process are pulling away from the competition.
Schenck partnered with LMA Consulting Group to connect customer demand with operational execution through SIOP, CRM, CPQ, and SAP. The result was greater visibility and predictability across the business, enabling the company to double output in a critical manufacturing area, reduce inventory by 50%, grow more than 20%, and sustain customer service throughout the pandemic.
We are in peak season in a peak year. Capacity is limited across the board. From a supply chain perspective, there is extremely limited availability of containers, chassis, port resources, trucks, warehouses, etc. From a manufacturing perspective, it isn't much better as materials, supplies, people and more are in [...]
According to a recent National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) survey, the vast majority (88%) expect sales, production and prices to increase next year despite the supply challenges. In working with clients across multiple industries such as biotech, building and construction products, and food and beverage, there is no doubt [...]
