Better Planners make Better Plans.
I came across an interesting article about how Supply Chain Management is finding a new level of importance on the agenda in many Boardrooms. Supply chains have often fallen under the VP of Operations responsibility on many boards. It was often seen as the simply moving around the output from operations. But in many corporations…
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As expected supply chains are starting to strain and links break post Brexit. I always believed this would happen but I also always believed, and still believe, this would be a temporary issue. 6-8 weeks. By then companies, hauliers, customs officers etc. will all have adapted to the new requirements. A few things to remember:…
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We are in a period of perhaps unprecedented strain for many businesses. Covid 19 is still having a crippling, and deadly impact in countries around the world. Brexit is starting to cause problems in Europe especially for the UK and Ireland where buffer stocks that were built up are starting to run low and there…
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It is great to see another direct route opened up between France and Ireland to help bypass the UK land bridge. However the land bridge still remains a significant element in the supply chain to and from Ireland. After some long delays in Kent just before Christmas when France closed the border with the UK…
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If you are importing to, exporting from, or even just transiting across the UK you need to take steps to prepare. No matter what the outcome of the last-minute talks you will need to have new customs documentation. That is certain. Your goods simply will not be allowed to move if all the documentation is…
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In the last post we looked at what types of customer demand you can expect to see in your system. Now we will look at what information will be on the actual order that you get from the customer. This is important because by accepting the order you are in effect entering into a form…
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Now that we have talked in depth about forecasting what the customer will order we finally get to talk about what the customer will actually order. So what are the different types of customer demand Sample Requests: This may be the first order for an item you will get from a customer. Often your sales…
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Now that you hopefully understand the forecast process you can start to create one into the future to the end of the “forecast horizon”. So, is it best to use the quantitative (numbers) method or the qualitative (personal experience & opinion) method? My personal preference was to use a combination. I would use forecasting tools…
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Continuing on our look into the Forecasting process now we will look at the data you will use. Now that you know the method(s) you will use you have to start to Gather the data you need. We have covered some of this when discussing the types of forecasting methods (Qualitative or quantitative). You could…
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Continuing on our look into the Forecasting process now we will look at some forecasting methods. A key decision you will have to make is Choosing what method you will use. Qualitative or quantitative or most likely a mix of both. Quantitative methods look at historical data. Qualitative methods look at opinion. This can be…
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