You’ve completed a successful 2017 and you likely have plans set for 2018. Even so, it’s a good idea to take a moment and think about what you’d like to do different this year by looking at areas of your business you’d like to improve. Here are a few “resolutions” for supply chain planning you may want to consider that our customers have told us deliver real results:
1. Use greater intelligence in your cross-functional planning.
There are no wrong plans, just incorrect assumptions. It’s much easier to get agreement on numbers, such as order history, than it is on assumptions. Effective supply chain plans begin with cross-functional collaboration and rely on agreed-upon data and assumptions. With a supply chain planning software solution like DemandCaster, you can plug in order history and get input from sales, marketing, finance, operations, and more to create a holistic plan that includes data—based on assumptions and facts.
2. Gain more accuracy in your plan—beyond a “crossed-fingers” forecast.
A demand forecast is just one input to your overall supply chain plan. Moreover, a “completed plan” is never complete. Demand can shift quickly so your plan needs to be updated with events (even daily) that affect your ability to deliver so then it becomes more accurate, reliable, and achievable. Cloud-based planning software (such as DemandCaster) enables you to actively collaborate with different departments and update your plan with their input and operational data as often as you need so you can be confident that the plan you’re looking at is as accurate as possible.
3. Ditch spreadsheet-based planning and go with a supply chain planning software in the cloud.
While spreadsheets tend to be the “go-to” tool for most planners, you realize that the spreadsheet data isn’t always reliable. One formula error can impact the whole spreadsheet. And if you’re basing your entire supply chain plan on an error-prone process, that could end up costing your business a lot. Collaborating with your teams via spreadsheets is cumbersome and can end up undermining the integrity of the whole process. You also end up spending all your time dealing with version control or security issues. Supply chain planning in the cloud with DemandCaster means you’re using collaborative data to make more informed decisions on how to best deliver on customer demand. And because it’s in the cloud, everyone who needs access gets it anytime, anywhere.
4. Make the planning process a repeatable, monthly practice.
Planning isn’t just a necessary evil. It’s the basis for how your business is going to deliver on customer demand. It’s the difference between you and your next major competitor. The challenge is making sure that the plan periodically adapts along with shifts in demand, supply, and other strategic factors. And it is possible. Also, time spent on a dynamic, monthly plan drastically reduces the time you need to spend at the end of each quarter and year. With DemandCaster, you gain data-driven insight so plans are constantly up to date giving you the agility to adapt no matter how often demand, supply, or capacity shifts.
If these resolutions sound like they may help you achieve your 2018 goals, I encourage you to read about the capabilities of our DemandCaster Supply Chain Planning Software.
