You must take into account several factors when it comes to global supply chain management, including inventory planning, network planning, capacity planning, and sales and operations planning. This article covers a few topics you need to know to succeed in your global supply chain management.
Distribution Planning
Distribution planning in global supply chain management is crucial to delivering goods and services to customers. It includes logistics, warehousing, packaging, shipping, and order fulfillment.
The main goal of distribution planning is to maximize efficiency and ensure the timely delivery of goods. A robust distribution management system is critical to a company’s profitability. This requires a firm understanding of the business and its environment.
Developing a distribution management plan requires a lot of knowledge and training. Companies with the right expertise can mitigate many potential challenges. However, a lack of knowledge can also deter a company from becoming a success. Logistics professionals are trained in supply chain management at the bachelor’s level to maximize delivery efficiency from suppliers to customers. A supply chain management bachelor degree online will be an advantage if you want to possess expertise in supply chain management and, ultimately, executive leadership. Having the correct people is crucial whether you’re a retailer, wholesaler, or manufacturer. Not only does it allow you to meet demand, but it can be beneficial in terms of expanding your profit margins.
Inventory Planning
Inventory planning is a process that entails making strategic decisions on the mix of items to keep in stock, the level to buy, and the most efficient route to get those products from the warehouse to the customer. This process can be time-consuming and expensive. However, it is essential to do so, as it can help improve profitability, prevent obsolescence, and reduce theft.
Inventory management aims to ensure that customers are satisfied with the merchandise they receive. It also protects customer service performance from supply variability and operational inefficiencies. In addition, it can boost cash flow, reduce redundancy, and even help apparent perishable goods.
Demand forecasting is a valuable process that allows you to determine how much you should order based on the market. An accurate forecast ensures you order the correct inventory for your business.
Capacity Planning
Global manufacturers need help with capacity planning. These challenges include the need for a more global view of demand and supply. Managing a complex supply chain is no small feat.
A well-planned supply chain helps boost profits by lowering the capital trapped in inventory. It also improves operational efficiency. Taking advantage of technology, such as artificial intelligence, can lead to a more accurate estimation of resource availability.
Capacity planning is crucial for businesses looking to scale up or down. The best way to do it is to utilize specialized software. The process can be more cumbersome and error-prone if your company uses manual spreadsheets.
Using a consolidated database is a good start, but verifying the data is the key to the process’s success.
Network Planning
Network planning is an essential element of supply chain management. It helps businesses maximize profits while keeping costs low. In addition, it provides flexibility.
Several factors should be considered when deciding on a network design. They include the cost and revenue of the plan. The plan should also be easy to implement.
Developing a successful network design requires evaluating a variety of complex tradeoffs. An adequate supply chain can help a company improve customer satisfaction, reduce the cost of operations, and increase its competitive advantage.
A network plan should accommodate changing consumer demands and changing order profiles. Keeping up with changes in the market means that a company must constantly evaluate its network. This is why keeping up with regular supply chain network design assessments is essential.
Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP)
Sales and operations planning is a tactical planning process that allows companies to achieve a competitive edge in a global marketplace. The goal is to align a company’s activities with corporate strategy. S&OP enables companies to improve performance, cost optimizations, and service levels.
An S&OP plan can range from a simple spreadsheet to a unified cloud-based platform. However, it’s essential to keep in mind that a successful S&OP requires well-functioning building blocks.
An effective S&OP will involve six interconnected dimensions. These include the production plan, the supply chain, the sales and operations plan, the marketing plan, the financial plan, and the balanced scorecard.
Understanding how the various components interact will help you make the most of your S&OP. It’s also helpful to make use of the metrics available to you.
