In our consultancy practice we find that large numbers of manufacturing companies are struggling with the decision whether to use a Cyclic or Non-Cyclic production system. Cyclic production is often regarded as an inflexible way of production; a pre-defined cycle reduces degrees of freedom in the production schedule. However, cyclic production...
Many companies embrace Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) and consider it the perfect tool to balance out supply and demand. In addition, S&OP can act as a perfect link between the business strategy and operational execution. Sadly all too often, S&OP does not meet expectations. Many companies struggle to implement an effective and efficient...
It is the main theme of 2014. Again. Books, magazines, blogs, opinion and expert articles, advertisements galore! But how often do you happen to bump into something really new? When was the last time that you were surprised by a truly original view? It seems so logical. A process in which the plans of the different business functions are...
Decrease safety stocks with 25% with a decrease in service level. That sounds like a good deal! And it is quite easy to establish by differentiating service level targets. By aiming for high service levels of inexpensive fast movers and a lower service level of expensive slow movers, a good service level can be obtained on average against...
The life cycle of items is getting shorter and shorter. Many items nowadays exist for only one year or sometimes only one season. Just think of items in the apparel industry or consumer electronics. Managing these short life cycle items is complicated. If these items are purchased in Asia, only one purchasing decision can be made, often long...
Most production companies acknowledge the importance of batch sizes. They realize that batch sizes directly contribute to inventory levels, costs, working capital and even capacity. A one-size-fits-all solution, for instance to give every item a batch size of a month, is without a doubt not optimal. There is room for optimization. There are two...
Back in the early nineties, Steve Jobs already realized that a well-designed, effective supply chain was paramount to Apple’s success. Hence he actively participated in managing it. Last year he was succeeded by the man who had been responsible for the supply chain for years. Apple’s story shows that supply chains need not merely be a source of...
Recently I was invited by a production company in the south of The Netherlands. The reason was chronic lack of grip on the production process. This was far from a new problem. However, increasing pressure on cost and reliability, forced the plant manager to take action soon. All efforts to date, including attempts to introduce Lean and Six...
It’s two minutes to twelve, and we continue navel gazing!” said one of the participants during the S&OP mini-seminar recently held at ArlaFoods in Nijkerk. Just before Lourens Schouwink, CFO Samsung Benelux, had talked about their ambitions and approach. Leaving part of his audience behind in wonder and despair. Samsung continues on the...
Recently I was fascinated by the splendid documentary about Hema, a highly successful Dutch retailer, in which CEO Ronald van Zetten was closely followed during a full year. It shows a great example of leadership, this time with supply chain management at the centre of attention. Fast fashion to be exact. The documentary starts with an...