Planning is critical. For the flows of materials and money into, through and out of your business to be effective, they must be planned. Planning is a core capability of a successful business; without it, staff become reactive to events. This looks good as a ‘can do’ attitude, running around to ‘put out fires’, but it is an ineffective and … Read More
Logistics strategy needs a defined process to succeed
Logistics Strategy relies on the Business Plan. Logistics, like other functions in your organisation requires a plan to operate against. Importantly, it should be a part of the One-Plan process shown in the diagram, whereby each stage of planning is linked to others, so there is traceability of information and data. To start the Logistics Strategy planning process, the inputs … Read More
Your Business Model will influence the Business Plan
Inputs to your Business Plan. There is not a ‘best’ way to design your Supply Chains and plan Logistics operations. It depends on multiple elements, including the business model, approach to markets and geographical locations, industry type, products and processes. But, you can use the ‘One Plan’ approach for a structured way to identify the Supply Chain objectives, structure and operations … Read More
Use external inputs to your Business Plan with care
About your Business Plan. Forecasts of future demand and supply are full of uncertainties, especially when considering future business conditions that your organisation will need to operate within. To give some authority to the numbers used, models and estimates of the future should be substantiated by assumptions. These limits provide an understanding about the level of acceptance and use of … Read More
The value of customer service for your Supply Chains
Positioning customer service. Delivering a product or service in full, on time, with accuracy (DIFOTA) is the major challenge of Logistics Management. A consistent 100 per cent customer service is not possible statistically and, as service levels increase so do costs (such as the cost of holding inventory), often without a commensurate increase in sales. The role of Logistics is … Read More