Learn how digital platforms are allowing supply chain businesses to better weather the storm, facilitating better planning, forecasting and performance. When the coronavirus pandemic first hit China at the start of 2020, commentators immediately saw the danger it posed to supply chains. The combination of changing patterns of demand, delayed shipments, and factory closures all…
Got limited materials? Which customers do you supply first? Times of crisis can put enormous strain on your ability to supply customers with orders. In some cases, you may not be able to meet demand. For that reason, you need some kind of strategy to prioritise customers to ensure that you lose as little business…
It is always a struggle to get it right: at which level should you forecast to obtain maximum accuracy for your demand plan, but without spending too much time in the detail. Is there an easy solution? Not really. It’s really a blend of effort vs reward. Do you spend your time improving the forecast…
Mid-market companies are investing heavily in digital transformation of their supply chain in an attempt to improve both efficiency and competitiveness. The hope is that digitising aspects of their operation will drive improvements in key business metrics and, ultimately, enhance corporate performance. In Europe, 62 per cent of organisations expect a “significant increase” in the…
If you’re a manufacturer that distributes its products through various regions, you will, undoubtedly, come into various supply chain issues. Hub and spoke systems are used to ensure that, when a system needs urgent servicing, the right parts are available in a region to get the show back on the road. One particular problem is…
Get the Most out of Your Supply Chain Demand Solutions is excited to share our cognitive planning platform with you. Responding to and navigating today’s changing supply chain landscape requires agile decision making with the most current data available. The DS Platform has been engineered to deliver the data you need to make the decisions necessary.…
Let’s face it; the only constant in life is change. Furthermore, that sentiment rings especially true in the world of business, particularly in relation to the digital supply chain and demand planning systems. Technology evolves, new data systems become available, products become modernised, employees grow, and customer demands become greater too. Consequently, then, if your…
Serving the Market Free of Charge Supply Chain Precision is the trading website for Demand Solutions (Europe) Limited We have all heard the term; “we are living in unprecedented times”. What does that mean to your demand plan today and tomorrow? Businesses are struggling today to balance demand with resources. Demand Curves all over the…
In these times of unprecedented change and myriad challenges that businesses are facing as a result of the Covid 19 impact on the world, the Demand Solutions team has taken comprehensive measures to ensure our employees, solutions and services continue to operate at the highest levels of performance and support for our Customers and their…
No matter where you look, there’s no shortage of online articles and guides that talk about the key skills every supply chain professional needs to have. More often than not, this advice is wishy-washy at best. That’s not a dig at the people providing this advice, it’s just a comment on the type of tips…
The Coronavirus is receiving a huge amount of attention from world leaders and healthcare providers. One of the less-discussed aspects of it is the impact it will have on the global supply chain. Supply chains are becoming more and more intertwined and complex. In order to improve efficiency while also getting a greater return, firms that are involved in the supply…
The Theory Of Constraints – Five Focusing Steps In our first Theory of Constraints blog, we examined the purpose of the theory, where it came from and the many benefits it has for lean manufacturing. Didn’t see it? Catch up here before reading this blog. Now, as a second step, we will explore in more…
What Is The Theory Of Constraints And How Can It Make Manufacturers Money? Identifying potential bottlenecks in your supply chain, in-house manufacturing processes or route to market is nothing new for a growing production business. But taking this basic common-sense approach to running a tight ship and evolving it into a set of processes carefully…
SUPPLY PLANNING – MAN VS MACHINE When it comes to supply planning, you may be highly experienced in micromanaging large numbers of moving parts. You may be meeting demand and you might be managing budgets just fine. But are your methods agile and cost-effective? Do you meet demand by the skin of your teeth or…
During one of our recent meetings with a prospective customer, we got onto to talking about Expiring goods and the problems this can cause within the business. For the Company we were speaking to this was a huge problem, leading to the write-off of more than £1m of stock last year alone, so I thought…
VISUALISE THE POSSIBLE – INTELLIGENT INVENTORY CONTROL For many companies, inventory control is a linear process controlled by a simple increase or decrease in purchasing or manufacturing. Crude measures are often employed to determine when inventory should be adjusted and these processes, all too often, are implemented too late to satisfy customer demand or solve…
The 2008 recession has been one of the biggest downturns in living memory. That said, many of the most severe effects of it have now eased. Most UK businesses have managed to get out the other side of it; but the fact is that it’s only a matter of time before they find themselves facing…
NO MORE “I DIDN’T KNOW” Proactive alerts to keep business on track In busy manufacturing, warehouse or sales environments, manually keeping track of every business variable is virtually impossible. A dip in sales on a certain product group, deliveries that haven’t arrived as expected and many more moving parts can set things into a downward…
What is integrated business planning (and why do you need it)? You may have heard about integrated business planning and the IBP software that can help your business and supply chain to move towards this next phase of digitisation. But what is it and why do you need it? What is integrated business planning? Largely…
It’s already a given that, assuming some kind of firm Brexit deal goes through, UK businesses can expect to experience a wide range of disruptions. Changes will potentially take place at every stage of the supply chain, and most businesses are putting contingency plans in place for the most likely outcomes. However, it’s fair to…
Fix The Forecast, Fix The Business According to the Microsoft Midsize Business Centre, inventory is among the most significant sources of revenue for a business – a notion which is seconded by many in the manufacturing sector. So why then, do so many businesses still hold a poor inventory position? Poor inventory position for many…
