Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 13, 2024

How aligned do you believe your organization is to drive these metrics? Observations on What It Takes In the Mea Culpa post, I wrote that I used to believe that excellence in S&OP was a ratio of 60/30/10. (60% P&G did not appreciate the work Gilette accomplished on form and function of inventory and using market signals.

S&OP 349

S&OP Supply and Demand Inventory Reduction Expense Reduction 349

Supply Chain Shaman

OCTOBER 5, 2018

The award, based on beating the industry peer group on rate of improvement on the key metrics of growth, operating margin, inventory turns, and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) while outperforming their peer group, is tough to achieve. The orbit chart below illustrates L’Oréal’s performance at the intersection of two metrics.

Case Study 261

Case Study Inventory Reduction Agile and Lean Supply Chain Study 261

Supply Chain Shaman

OCTOBER 11, 2012

This year supply chain leaders will celebrate thirty years of progress in supply chain management; but we have not made progress on one of the funamentals: inventory management. I think that it is time for us to take the litmus test and ask the hard questions, “Have our practices impacted days of inventory? I want to believe.

Inventory Reduction 247

Inventory Reduction Vendor Strategies Resource Reduction Cost Reduction Strategies 247

Supply Chain Shaman

JANUARY 9, 2024

How Do You Define Excellence? In retrospect, I find that technology is an enabler, but only if we are clear on what defines supply chain excellence. Many believe that an ex-supply chain exec knows the definition of supply chain excellence. An average margin of 21% with inventory turns of 1.58 I admit it. Lora was as well.

Supply Chain Planning Software 299

Supply Chain Planning Software Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Planning Gartner 299

Supply Chain Shaman

JULY 25, 2021

Orbit Chart of Four Industry Sectors at the Intersection of Operating Margin and Inventory Turns (Year-over-Year Averages for the Sector). Lack of Focus on Form & Function of Inventory and Designing Network Flows. As supply chains moved from regional to global, intransit and cycle inventories increased. Winners Over Time.

Procurement Analytics 370

Procurement Analytics Supply Chain Design Software Agile and Lean Supply Chain Supply Chain Planning Software 370

Supply Chain Shaman

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Clear operating strategy and definition of supply chain excellence across plan, source, make and deliver. Most companies buy decision support technology, but do not redefine work to improve decisions. A shift from functional metrics to a balanced scorecard. The focus on functional metrics sub-optimizes balance sheet results.

S&OP 333

S&OP Supply and Demand Forecasting Supply Chain Design Software 333

Supply Chain Shaman

JANUARY 8, 2014

Interview for Metrics That Matter. My kitchen table is piled high with interviews for the upcoming book, Metrics That Matter. I recently interviewed him for my upcoming book, Metrics that Matter, that publishes in August 2014. Which metrics do you think matter to supply chain excellence? I am behind.

Procurement Analytics 260

Procurement Analytics Manufacturing Procurement Metrics Procurement Solutions 260

Logility

MAY 22, 2020

Users are accustomed to building everything in Excel and manipulating the data as needed for their own particular use, typically using static reports or spreadsheets that are siloed in specific departmental needs. A key first step is to have buy-in at the highest level of the organization. Starting at the Top. Other Suggestions.

Analytics Software 148

Analytics Software Metrics Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Software 148

Supply Chain Shaman

JULY 6, 2020

Tom, the colorful warehouse manager, constantly heckled Frank for the increasing inventory levels while Ed, the quiet material/logistics manager, constantly questioned if there was a better way. He felt that inventory was no problem, he would just cut it at the end of each quarter to make the balance sheet goals. The So What?

Agile and Lean Supply Chain 297

Agile and Lean Supply Chain Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Strategy 297

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 21, 2013

In the last five years, while the physician is still important, the buying decisions transitioned from the supplier to the care provider. They are primarily focused on cost management on new purchase decisions. Be sure to not overlook the inventory carrying costs and the impact of demand latency. It is now shifting again.

Modeling 240

Modeling Modeling Software Pharmaceutical Procurement Analytics 240

Kinaxis

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

While there was always passionate discussions on companies and metrics, the end goal was to raise awareness of supply chain as a practice. While other “lists” use ROA, Inventory Turns and Revenue Growth, I find Lora’s science very objective. Most of this middleware was Excel and Meetings. So, drum roll please….

Supply Chain Planning Software 279

Supply Chain Planning Software Gartner Supply Chain Design Software Agile and Lean Supply Chain 279

Supply Chain Shaman

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

Optimization engines to improve functional metric performance resulted in an exploding number of planners. Rolling up a perpetual inventory signal takes eleven hours. days to get a perpetual inventory signal and 2.2 days to receive a purchase order confirmation. The average purchased order changes 3.5

Supply Chain Planning Software 342

Supply Chain Planning Software Optimal Sourcing Manufacturing Procurement Waste Reduction 342

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 29, 2014

With the purchase of i2 by JDA, and Logictools by IBM, manufacturing companies serious about network design started looking for a company, with a well-established community, that was more serious about network design. It could no longer be just about inventory levels. Instead, the design needed to be more encompassing.

Supply Chain Design Software 268

Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Design Network Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software 268

Supply Chain Shaman

JANUARY 14, 2013

It was a story where people believed that functional excellence leads to supply chain superiority. Year after year, well intentioned people toiled against improving metrics that reduced, not improved, the effectiveness of the supply chain. Metrics comparison of Kellogg Co. You got it! vs. General Mills, Inc. A Case Study.

Supply Chain Planning Software 260

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Optimal Sourcing Modeling 260

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 1, 2023

We find that companies with an analytics center of excellence drove progress faster than those with a supply chain center of excellence. While companies build Supply Chain Centers of Excellence, most are not clear on what good looks like. When you ask, “What defines supply chain excellence?” The other issue?

Inventory Reduction 246

Inventory Reduction Cost Reduction Strategies Waste Reduction Resource Reduction 246

Supply Chain Shaman

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Get Good at Having a Real-time Perpetual Inventory Signal. Foundational for ecommerce is a real-time perpetual inventory (PI) signal. If you are going to be excellent at ecommerce fulfillment, you need to have great perpetual inventory capabilities. No matter where inventory is, put it to work. 3) Test and Learn.

Packaging 290

Packaging Inventory Reduction Supply Chain Design Software San Francisco 290

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 3, 2015

When it comes to the management of inventory in value chains, frustration abounds. Executive, after executive, lament, “They have purchased many technologies and sponsored many projects to reduce inventories, but they are not seeing results.” Inventory is the culmination of many business decisions.

Inventory Reduction 150

Inventory Reduction Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Inventory Management Software 150

Supply Chain Shaman

DECEMBER 4, 2018

For the past five years, the team at Supply Chain Insights identified Supply Chains to Admire Award Winners by analyzing performance by peer group on the key metrics of growth, operating margin, inventory turns and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC). The total cost of ownership analyzes the total costs of the buying decision.

Supply Chain Software 30

Supply Chain Software Case Study Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software 30

Supply Chain Shaman

SEPTEMBER 3, 2015

We were discussing the results of the planning benchmarking work that we have just finished, and I was sharing some insights on inventory management when one of the panelists emphatically stated, “Inventory is a waste to manage. We feel so strongly about this that we do not have an inventory planning role.”

Waste Reduction 150

Waste Reduction Inventory Reduction Inventory Optimal Sourcing 150

Supply Chain Shaman

AUGUST 12, 2020

When Gartner purchased AMR Research in December 2009, the methodology became the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25. The first step was to charter a research project with the Arizona State University statistics department to analyze which combination of metrics drives the highest market capitalization. The result? The reason?

Gartner 243

Gartner Supply Chain Software Procurement Analytics Manufacturing Procurement 243

Logistics Viewpoints

MARCH 9, 2023

The classical approach involves functional silos, sequential decisions, and Excel and people to render a plan executable. CPG companies that utilize an autonomous supply chain technology see a reduction in their inventory and cost and an increase in revenue. each with discrete plans generated typically in sequential batch runs.

Supply Chain Planning Software 233

Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Forecasting Software Optimization Software 233

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 7, 2018

Or agreement on the definition of supply chain excellence. As a result, functional excellence anchors action. The focus is on digitization—automating today’s processes—versus rethinking process excellence based on the art of the possible. An orbit chart is a plotting of data at the intersection of two metrics.

Supply Chain Planning Software 231

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software Optimization Software Forecasting Software 231

Supply Chain Shaman

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

Most of the business networks were hollowed out by venture capitalists or purchased by opportunists. Yawn and walk on if the answer is i mproving demand error or reducing inventory levels. At the session, we will discuss the choice of metrics for a balanced scorecard to improve market capitalization/employee by industry.

Supply Chain Planning Software 367

Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Software Modeling Supply Chain Network Software 367

Supply Chain Shaman

OCTOBER 29, 2014

By purchasing planning and transactional systems for a common vendor, they had one throat to choke and they were familiar with the architectural elements. It is tough for me to see that nine out of ten companies are stuck, and not making progress, at the intersection of operating margin and inventory turns. The book is a story.

Supply Chain Planning Software 312

Supply Chain Planning Software Modeling Demand Planning Software Optimization Software 312

Logility

AUGUST 7, 2017

Ask yourself, “Are your supply chain metrics bogging you down?” ” To manage a supply chain containing complex dependencies between teams, departments and partner companies across international boundaries requires a rich set of metrics. Functionally isolated metrics lead to sub-optimized supply chain performance.

Procurement Analytics 121

Procurement Analytics Metrics Gartner Supply Chain Planning Software 121

Supply Chain Shaman

SEPTEMBER 20, 2015

How do they buy from you? How do they buy from you?” Instead, in the SanDisk journey , they adjusted the speed of response to their customer segments, and actively designing inventory postponement strategies. The discussion of customer-segmented supply chains happens often. Why does it matter to you? It is systemic.

Inventory Reduction 150

Inventory Reduction Cost Reduction Strategies Sourcing Strategies Supply Chain Strategy 150

Supply Chain Shaman

MAY 1, 2014

As hospitals adopted consignment planning programs, inventory progress slowed. The turns are the lowest of any industry, and despite investments in technologies and processes, inventory turns have only improved 3%, and Cash-T0-Cash (C2C) cycles have declined 4%. This precipitous drop in margin hurts. Companies are feeling pain.

Supply Chain Planning Software 290

Supply Chain Planning Software San Diego Supply and Demand Pharmaceutical 290

Supply Chain Shaman

JANUARY 2, 2023

The Center of Excellence at the company wanted to improve base-level capabilities but struggled to move forward due to the traditional views of the planning team, which they felt were self-serving. (The The team was not calibrated on the role of forecasting and the basics around process excellence. Models Matter. Let me explain.

Supply and Demand 373

Supply and Demand Modeling Demand Planning Supply Chain Planning Software 373

Supply Chain Shaman

MARCH 9, 2020

As I shopped at Best Buy for office supplies, I struggled to not think about the massive disruption of electronics supply chain. I find three: organizational design, executive understanding of supply chain, and the lack of a clear definition of an optimization function for supply chain excellence. Clarity of Supply Chain Excellence.

Supply Chain Design Software 309

Supply Chain Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Optimal Sourcing Supply Chain Design 309

Supply Chain Shaman

MARCH 8, 2016

As an analyst in the supply chain market for 15 years, I have written many articles on best-of-breed technology companies purchased by a larger company. In 2007-2014 Terra added inventory management, multi-tier demand sensing, transportation forecasting, and long-term forecasting. However, there are no sure bets.

Supply Chain Planning Software 150

Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Network Software Forecasting Software Demand Planning Software 150

Supply Chain Shaman

OCTOBER 29, 2020

Inventory, in this time of uncertainty, is the organization’s most important buffer to protect against variability. However, organizations are not good at managing inventory. Cash-to-Cash Metrics. Cash-to-cash is a compound metric: (Days of Receivables+Days of Inventory)-Days of Payables=Cash Conversion Cycle.

Optimal Sourcing 236

Optimal Sourcing Supply Chain Design Software Waste Reduction Inventory Reduction 236

Supply Chain Shaman

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

Companies tightly coupling the budget to S&OP have significantly higher inventories and lower growth than their peer group. Demand latency is two-eight weeks delayed from consumption purchase to translate to an order. Industries carried on average 32 days more inventory in 2020 than in 2007. (I Mistake #3. My challenge?

S&OP 195

S&OP Supply and Demand Procurement Analytics Manufacturing Procurement 195

Supply Chain Shaman

JUNE 16, 2014

Despite two decades of advancement in supply chain technologies, companies are struggling to gain balance at the intersection of operating margin, inventory turns and case fulfillment. I have learned that supply chain systems are more complex than I originally thought, and that the relationships between supply chain metrics are nonlinear.

Supply Chain Design Software 287

Supply Chain Design Software Network Design Software Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Network Software 287

Supply Chain Shaman

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

This team is not buying the message. So much so, that three years ago, I founded a research company to focus on understanding supply chain excellence. I also believed that this company would have the best inventory and customer service. My favorites are customer service, operating margin, inventory turns, and ROIC.

Manufacturing Procurement 286

Manufacturing Procurement Optimal Sourcing Benchmarking Supply Chain Design Software 286

Supply Chain Shaman

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Pharmaceutical companies are struggling with falling margins and rising inventories. They each lag in their understanding of supply chain excellence, and are now struggling to build effective supply chain teams. In our work with pharmaceutical companies, most executives wince when we mention inventories. What Can We Do?

Pharmaceutical 170

Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Network Software Eliminating Excel in Purchasing Procurement Analytics 170

Supply Chain Shaman

DECEMBER 17, 2018

Nick Lynch is the Global Excellence Manager at Shell Lubricants, a division of Shell Global. Completed in 2012, the ERP project forced the company to standardize organizational design, roles, and metrics. What can often look like compliance in APO could actually be numbers calculated in Excel and posted into the SAP system.

Demand Planning Software 255

Demand Planning Software Supply and Demand Supply Chain Planning Software Supply Chain Design Software 255

Logistics Viewpoints

DECEMBER 14, 2021

Millions of shoppers, like my Dad, are not going back to their old habits because there are now faster and more convenient ways for buying daily household needs. It excels on a union of E-Commerce mobile apps and last-mile delivery innovations. Inventory Optimization. Supply Chain Digitalization & Autonomous Planning.

Supply Chain Planning Software 223

Supply Chain Planning Software Forecasting Software Supply Chain Design Software Optimization Software 223