Lowest Total Cost of Inventory Calculating the cost of holding inventory is typically not available in supply chain applications. But this is one of the required inputs for establishing and maintaining an Inventory Policy. Approaches to determining the amount of inventory needed to satisfy customer expectations range from a ‘rule of thumb’ approach such as ‘order X weeks of stock … Read More
Container ports congestion and delays in supply chains
Visibility by Logistics Service Providers The wish for visibility through supply chains has risen in surveys over the past twelve months. However, the current congestion and delays at some ports illustrate that whenever the movement of items is controlled by Logistics Services Providers (LSPs), there is a limited range of options for the shipper. Even if you are aware or … Read More
Visibility through Supply Chains is more than IT
What is Visibility? Visibility has been a supply chain buzzword over the past twelve months. The better a Logistician can view what is happening through their supply chains, then responses when activities go ‘off plan’ should improve. But what does visibility mean for Logisticians? There are two aspects; one is to ‘see’ the physical movement and storage of goods and … Read More
Climate Change action process for your Supply Chains
Few years remain to make climate change decisions Success and failures in responses by governments and business to the COVID-19 pandemic has been a learning exercise for all. These lessons will be useful concerning the disruptions that are likely to occur due to climate change. In 2019, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ()IPCC) stated in its report “limiting global … Read More
Supply Chains need to measure the accuracy of forecasts
Forecasts are always wrong This statement is true, but forecasting helps to be less wrong. Forecasts of future sales will never be ‘correct’, but they can be made more accurate by using ranges in forecasts and measuring ‘forecast error’. The market demand (and supply) for an item is a ‘continuous variable’ consisting of multiple variables that interact dependently, independently and … Read More