Supply Chain Planning Archives

FEATURED

How Supply Chain Planning Can Create Profit in a Declining Market

19 March 2019

When a business finds itself in a declining market, failing to stay in lock step with customer demand poses an existential threat. Trends and other market forces that impact commercial opportunities need to appear on the planning radar. Therefore, traditional[...]

19 March 2019

Supply Chain Planning in Emerging Markets: Four Points to Remember

Supply chain planning in emerging markets is different. And while each market can be unique, we found a few repeating themes in our own experience and from sources including Gartner and our customers Procter and Gamble (P&G) and Cipla Medpro.[...]

19 March 2019

Mid-Market Companies Leapfrogging Supply Chain Planning Maturity Stages

Is the latest technology enabling some mid-market companies to leapfrog supply chain planning (SCP) stages of maturity? The evidence suggests that it is. Publicly, analysts are still cautioning mid-market companies not to aim too high. But in interviewing a number of[...]

19 March 2019

Which Supply Chain Planning Processes Should We Automate?

Now that more companies are embracing supply chain planning productivity and automation, many firms are asking which processes they should automate. Let's first address that question and then look at where this trend is heading in the future. Gartner says that the attitude towards supply[...]

19 March 2019

The Three “Habits” for Successful IoT Implementations

In Lora Cecere’s Supply Chain 2020 study, the Internet of Things (IoT) was considered one of two disruptive technologies with the greatest potential impact on supply chain effectiveness, above technologies such as 3D printing and robotics. The other disruptor was advanced[...]

19 March 2019

Supply Chain Planning for Direct-To-Consumer

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) presents special supply chain planning challenges for both smaller microbrands (e.g., eyeglass brand Warby Parker or mattress seller Casper) and much larger consumer goods incumbents, but the planning challenges are different depending on which type of company you[...]

19 March 2019

What’s Your Forecast Accuracy Target for 2019?

Editor’s Note: Two years ago we posted a blog about how to set an annual forecast accuracy target and it was one of our most popular topics. As we approach that time of year again, we decided to run an[...]

19 March 2019

How Procter & Gamble is Thriving on Supply Chain Complexity

Procter & Gamble (P&G) is known for best-in-class supply chain planning. Now, speaking at September's Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference in London, P&G’s product supply director Onofrio Caradonna reveals how the company is applying planning capabilities to its distributor network. A sustainable[...]

19 March 2019

Three Mega Trends Driving Gartner Stage 5 Supply Chain Planning

Gartner says that clients are increasingly asking, “What will the future of supply chain planning look like?” and in a recent report (Technology Reference Model for Stage 5 Maturity Supply Chain Planning, June 2018) they see three “mega trends” driving[...]

19 March 2019

Gartner Questions Supply Chain “Control Towers”

Gartner's recent research report entitled Don’t Believe the Control Tower Hype — Buyer Beware(August 2018) questions vendor messages that are “loaded with marketing hype”. It describes a disconnect between promise and reality, limitations not addressed by vendors, and their opinion on[...]

19 March 2019

Probabilistic Forecasting – a Primer

At ToolsGroup we have been big advocates of probabilistic forecasting (sometimes also known as stochastic forecasting). Understanding and employing this relatively simple principle can take your forecasting and supply chain planning from ‘good to great’. This primer explains how. There are two ways[...]

19 March 2019

The Nine Top Supply Chain Planning User Concerns

Gartner’s most recent Magic Quadrant for Supply Chain Planning System of Record (21 August 2018, Amber Salley, Tim Payne, and Alex Pradha) calls out the concerns most often cited by users. These are the nine key issues users want to see addressed:[...]

Sales & Operations Planning Software S&OP provides the critical link between inventory, customer service and business performance by enabling cross-functional planning and bridging the gap between strategic planning and operational execution.

Promotions Planning Software Promotions Planning gives cross-functional teams the visibility to synchronize demand shaping campaigns and promotions with supply chain operations ensuring that inventory is in the right place to meet demand on a daily basis, right down to the store level.

Production Planning Software Production Planning provides unparalleled visibility, insight and control of the entire production lifecycle to improve efficiency and quality control, and service demand.

Inventory Optimization Software Inventory Optimization factors in multiple planning variables and probabilities to generate an optimal multi-echelon inventory plan for every item in a portfolio to achieve target service levels.

Allocation and Replenishment Software Allocation and Replenishment automatically calculates optimal inventory levels for both existing and new items to create a phased, time-series plan that achieves target service levels even in the face of demand variability and distribution complexity.

Demand Planning & Sensing Software Demand Planning & Sensing automates the creation of demand plans using machine learning and by incorporating detailed short-term demand signals and demand collaboration, it reduces forecast error and optimally deploys inventory.

Planning as a Service Planning-as-a-Service provides business-focused, technology enabled resources to help customers quickly achieve value from their SO99+ implementation. It accelerates time-to-value over a traditional implement and learn approach.