Posts Tagged ‘Demand Curve’

Problems and solutions for the planning of supply and demand in an outsourced manufacturing environment

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

The greatest threat to your business is the lack of timely and accurate information’ Without all the facts, to shoot a business decisions and assess risks and opportunities based on conjecture’ These decisions in May because of major financial loss or loss of revenue opportunities for your business’ Electronics manufacturers face a number of problems when trying to predict the supply and demand’ Web-based solutions are available to address this complex problem and allow companies to model multiple levels of the supply chain network and share data on supply and demand’ Supply chain collaboration in aligning business processes and suppliers to reduce inventory, has the right product at the right time, and reduce inefficiencies’

APPLICATION

Problem:

It is very difficult to forecast demand’

a’ Unstable environment? competitors, prices, technologies, rapid changes

b’ Many customers, complex and overlapping distribution channels, direct sales, indirect sales’

c’ Lengthy sales cycles, from design wins, the interdependencies of software, hardware, design and systems integration’

Solution:

Collaborate online with customers, distributors, sales force, and retail POS’ This is where knowledge of customer demand is true’ Staff through a dialogue, not only the aggregation of demand forecasts from various sources’

FOOD

Problem:

It is very difficult to answer the question, my suppliers can supply enough to meet demand forecasting?

Solution:

Collaborate online with their key suppliers through the exchange of demand forecasts, to offer their predictions, and identify and quickly resolve the obstacles’

a’ Concentrate on the main suppliers of critical components (A and B)’

b’ C’ Ignore suppliers

c’ Browse through several levels of the supply chain to determine the limitations or exceptions’

THE KEY TO SUCCESS OF COLLABORATION:

Bring value to its suppliers and customers, as well as for you’ This ensures accurate and enthusiastic participation’

a’ Make reliable forecasts can not be overstated or updated’

b’ Allow providers to publish their true abilities in its ability to signal through the service level agreements and soft capacity in the system’

c’ Keep the simple model of supply chain and allow suppliers to maintain its own line, rather than creating a fixed, complex, in the model of supply chain’ This ensures that the suppliers? capacity is accurate and current’ As providers add lines or plants or to transfer the production, can change their piece of the supply chain model with the simple point and click Tools’

d’ Access to simple, intuitive and easy to connect to other enterprise systems’

i’ The use of a Web application so that no client software, you can access from anywhere

ii’ Data can be entered in multiple ways: through manual entry of the Web browser, the transfer of EDI, XML for the transfer and exchange files in Excel’

iii’ Make the screen and easy access to data on the screen through the web browser, export to Excel, export via EDI or XML’

e’ It’s easier to send and receive alerts when changes to critical data

i’ Via email, pager, cellular phone’

ii’ Configure the reporting of events and exceptions’

iii’ Through board type of application to make changes and alerts

f’ Implement performance measures in the supply chain

i’ Standardize performance metrics and definitions for the various algorithms to measure performance at all levels of the supply chain’

ii’ Report and daily monitoring of results and corrective actions’

The strategic vision

Beyond the tactical benefits of reducing inventory across the supply chain and thus reduce costs for OEMs, and more responsive to the supply chain less lost sales due to products not available when necessary, collaborative planning Collaborative Planning of supply and demand, offer important strategic advantages for the user’ The outsourcing of manufacturing, ultimately, the battle is won by competitive firms which can operate an engineering and supply chain for greater efficiency and greater responsiveness’ The strategic imperative is not only a manufacturer to select lower cost (tactics discussion today), but to make sure you can create a lower cost, more flexible supply chain on an ongoing basis in the future’

The design of a supply chain to demand and supply uncertainty

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

Supply Chain Management is a powerful tool for winning the competition’ Well-designed supply chain for different products are different’ The supply chain for the supply of pulp will be different from the supply chain for the sale of fashion jewelry or precipitate airlines spares’ The supply chain for the production and delivery of pasta is designed for productivity and efficiency’ The supply chain for airlines of the spare parts or equipment for offshore drilling of the utmost importance to the delivery and availability at any price’ The nature of the product, the customer expects, production method and the parts used are all factors to consider when designing an assembly supply chain’ Supply and demand uncertainty are the determining factor in designing a supply chain of a product’ Well-designed supply chain is appropriate for a product or category is a competitive advantage’

Nature of the product may be classified as functional or aesthetic’ Functional products like pasta with a stable demand, while demand for products such as the way of aesthetics is erratic’ Innovative cosmetic products with high profit margins, while the seasonal demand and short product life cycle’ It is difficult enough stock of each of the broadest product portfolio, but a condition of an item may tarnish the reputation of the brand’ Moreover, functional products, like pasta or pain are foreseeable demand’ The nature of the product that determines the uncertainty in turn, determine the nature of the supply chain’ Although the nature of product demand is uncertain, the uncertainty of supply may result from several factors’ Uncertainty in production performance may come from unpredictable changes in the shape or the production technology or process change’ Certain time, a small supply base and the weather conditions are also among the non-production of the factors contributing to the uncertainty of supply’

When supply and demand, fluctuations are small, operational efficiency is the key to the success of the supply chain’ Industries can improve operational efficiency by optimizing the production process and eliminating the value-added activities’ An important issue to take into account when designing the supply chain visibility is a real demand of the customer’ The stability of consumer demand in late May they become irregular and unpredictable, in the second and third tier suppliers because of the practice of orders at wholesale distributor and retailer’ Planning the supply chain becomes difficult when demand is unpredictable’ Of collaboration based on trust between supplier and buyer to share actual demand information is the solution to most of the supply chain’ Stable and able to facilitate the submission of the anticipated demand, effective planning, an optimal level of safety stock, improved service levels, less waste and improved margins’ Logistics is at the heart of the exploitation of the distribution companies’ Distribution companies in sectors such as retail and 3PL should focus on improving logistics efficiency’ A careful examination of transport, storage and distribution network and practice through the light of tasks of value-added logistics’ Recast the entire supply chain can improve the logistics efficiency’ WalMart, a pioneer in the retail supply chain, stability of demand for vessels to store the products directly from their supplier, which eliminates costs due to handling, inventory management and transportation’

When supply is high uncertainty, the risks of raw materials can contribute to the inventory can be stacked for the raw materials of little value’ Usually there is a risk associated with the creation or pieces of great value’ Stocks can be shared, managed and shared with other users, if inputs are rare in high-value products that are difficult to obtain in large quantities’ The maintenance of alternative materials and suppliers is a time tested tactic used to manage the risks of supply’ The practice of replacing the parts or materials in the previous design time is also a supply risk management known as the famous “Design for Supply Chain’” Companies in the supply chain with parts adapted to differentiate their products from competitors’ Special attention is necessary to maintain an uninterrupted supply of these essential parts for product differentiation’ Several suppliers of strategies such as control of the game, the association, the future supply contracts and other coatings to ensure a regular supply of critical parts’

Demand is unpredictable, for items such as clothing and fashion accessories of high technology’ These products rarely meet the conditions of supply uncertainty’ The demand for items like clothing fashion, film and books are known only when the product reaches the store shelf’ If the market reception of new evidence is not good, the excess inventory is sold at a discount’ Strategies such as store configuration, in parallel and the Internet can help in the fight against the orders of surplus stock due to unpredictable demand’ HP, a leading manufacturer of electronics, a problem of uncertainty in their demand for high-end printers as the ratio of the minor, but important tasks of mounting regional distribution centers’ Generic products are personalized, just before the deadline for meeting the demand for different types of identical products’ Seller or distributor in the configuration can be used to customize products that are easy to configure’

Low value such as self-service manuals and warranty cards, printing and packaging in multiple languages is an effective strategy for multi-cultural and multi-national supply chains’ Opening in May of channels for the objects of work as well as music, games, etc’ Apple’s iTunes website for iPod is a notable example’ Dell? Gathering people for the manufacture of PC is an example of the revolution in the supply chain for the design of the volatility of demand’ Products with variable demand and supply can use a combination of the above’ Anticipating the demand for collaboration with clients and collaborative planning with suppliers can maximize the value of the entire chain’