Supply Chain Planning systems are a critical area for investment to ensure operational efficiency and resilience, as well as for their potential to provide value as a strategic asset in delivering high levels of service to your customers. Starting with data collection to demand planning all the way to order fulfillment, it is important to begin with fundamentals, but also to extend the analysis and system selection into vision and strategy. In disruptive times, effectively leveraging and investing in your SCP systems contributes to profitability and viability through strong and lean times.
Our advisors provide clarity in assessing capabilities relative to industry peers – identifying opportunities for improvement and differentiation. We bring perspective to challenge organizational norms and help to re-envision how your supply chain can benefit from a planning processes and systems that brings value and differentiation as a strategic asset of your company.
SCT’s Opportunity Assessment Approach
Interviews with the client leadership team and key stakeholders to define the existing pain points and areas of concern often set the tone of innovation and operational improvements. SCT selects a cross-reference of stakeholders affected by planning practices and visibility across demand planning, manufacturing, procurement, distribution and finance.
SCT performs deep dive process reviews with key users to identify bottlenecks and blind spots preventing accurate planning, issue identification, and issue resolution. In the process, we will document critical capabilities and evaluate the key business processes including forecasting, inventory optimization and replenishment planning, customer collaboration, asset optimization and manufacturing planning, supplier collaboration and procurement, promotions planning, sales and operations planning, and issue management while discussing potential challenges from the business and potential impacts to the customer organization.
Market dynamics and shifts in consumer behaviors are driving changes in supply chain network footprints and distribution approaches and driving tighter collaboration with business partners. Our advisors will facilitate visioning sessions and drive conversations considering your supply chain strategies, risk, and opportunities. SCT provides an educational update on the latest trends and innovations—such as AI-enabled supply chain visibility, demand forecasting, inventory optimization, and advanced analytics—helping align our recommendations with the greatest potential value. Focused conversations on existing and needed competencies, discussions on insourcing and outsourcing will help guide well-aligned organizational strategy and investment plans.
The culmination of the opportunity impact assessment comes together during the evaluation exercises. SCT will review the comprehensive listing of opportunities with operational stakeholders, combining the complexity of implementing the improvements with the likely impact on the organization to develop a sense of urgency. Further considering the bundling and interdependencies of the initiatives allow a sequenced grouping of opportunities for recommended implementation.
If justification is required for the funding requests, or if leadership simply wants directional guidance on likely savings from the implementation of recommendations, SCT will develop a business case for review inclusive of key improvements that will result in savings – whether it be improved reductions in out of stocks, transportation costs, customer satisfaction, through improved inventory planning and management, SCT will translate the improvements into defensible cost justifications to ensure your supply chain planning program gets the attention it needs. The output is a list of quick hits and a high-level roadmap recommendations report to improve supply chain planning processes.
