The Smart Forecaster
Pursuing best practices in demand planning, forecasting and inventory optimization
MAX-MIN OR ROP – ROQ
This guest blog details the differences between Min-Max and Reorder Point- Order Quantity replenishment logic and why it is important. It is authored by Phillip Slater, Founder of SparePartsKNowHow.com the leading educational resource for spare parts management. Mr. Slater is a global leader and consultant on materials management and specifically, engineering spare parts inventory management and optimization.
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Worst Practices in Forecasting
Companies launch initiatives to upgrade or improve their sales & operations planning and demand planning processes all the time. Many of these initiatives fail to deliver the results they should. Has your forecasting function fallen short of expectations? Do you struggle with “best practices” that seem incapable of producing accurate results?
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Forecasting and the Rising Tide of Big Data
“Trillions of records of millions of people…Finding the useful and right information, understanding its quality and producing reliable analyzed data in a timely and cost-effective manner are all critical issues.”
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Handling Extreme Supply Chain Variability at Rev-A-Shelf
Does your extended supply chain suffer from extreme seasonal variability? Does this situation challenge your ability to meet service level commitments to your customers? I have grappled with this at Rev-A-Shelf, addressing unusual conditions created by Chinese New Year and other global events, and would like to share the experience and a few things I learned along the way.
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Riding the Tradeoff CurveIn the supply chain planning world, the most fundamental decision is how to balance item availability against the cost of maintaining that availability (service levels and fill rates). At one extreme, you can grossly overstock and never run out until you go broke and have to close up shop from sinking all your cash into inventory that doesn’t sell. At the other extreme, you can grossly understock and save a bundle on inventory holding costs but go broke and have to close up shop because all your customers took their business elsewhere. […]
Quantum Inventory Theory?Physics at the quantum level is quite weird – not at all like what we experience in our usual macroscopic life. Among the oddities are “superposition”, “entanglement”, and “quantum foam.” Weird as these phenomena are, I cannot help seeing analogs in the supposedly different world of supply chain management. […]