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Recent Posts
Smart Software to Present at Epicor Insights 2022Smart Software CEO will present at this year's Epicor Insights event in Nashville. If you plan to attend this year, please join us at booth #9 and #705, and learn more about Epicor Smart Inventory Planning and Optimization. […]
Smart Software and Arizona Public Service to Present at WERC 2022Smart Software CEO and APS Inventory Manager to present WERC 2022 Studio Session on implementing Smart IP&O in 90 Days and achieve significant savings by optimizing reorder points and order quantities for over 250,000 spare parts. […]
Optimizing Inventory around Suppliers´ Minimum Order QuantitiesRecently, we had an interesting conversation with an inventory manager and the VP Finance. We were discussing the benefits of being able to automatically optimize both reorder points and order quantities. The VP Finance was concerned that given their large supplier required minimum order quantities, they would not be able to benefit. He said his suppliers held all the power, forcing him to accept massive minimum order quantities and tying his hands. While he felt bad about this, he saw a silver lining: He didn’t have to do any planning. He would accept a large inventory investment, but his customer service levels would the exceptional. Perhaps the large inventory investment was assumed to be the cost of doing business. […]
Smart Posts
Coping with Surging Demand During the ReboundBlog, Demand PlanningMany of our customers that saw demand dry up during the pandemic are now seeing a significant demand surge. Other customers in critical industries like plastics, biotech, semiconductors and electronics saw demand surges starting as far back as last April. For suggestions about how to cope with these situations, please read on. […]
Six Steps Up the Learning Curve for New PlannersBlog, Demand PlanningIf you are a new professional in the field of inventory management, you face a very steep learning curve. There are many moving parts in the system you manage, and much of the movement is random. You may find it helpful to take a step back from the day-to-day flow to think about what it takes to be successful. Here are six suggestions that you may find useful; they are distilled from working over thirty five years with some very smart practitioners. […]
5 Demand Planning Tips for Calculating Forecast UncertaintyBlog, Demand Planning, Excellence in ForecastingThose who produce forecasts owe it to those who consume forecasts, and to themselves, to be aware of the uncertainty in their forecasts. This note is about how to estimate forecast uncertainty and use the estimates in your demand planning process. We focus on forecasts made in support of demand planning as well as forecasts inherent in optimizing inventory policies involving reorder points, safety stocks, and min/max levels. […]