Introduction and challenges
A clearly defined supply chain planning model (organisation, responsibilities for inventory, costs or processes, internal service contracts etc.) with clear rules and indicators is essential to have before a company can consider improving its performance.
Defining the model is about determining the split of roles and responsibilities between planning and other company departments (manufacturing, marketing, trade, finance, and development). It is also important to consider the collaboration models with other internal or external factors such as mutual commitments, key processes, and performance indicators.
In our view, the appropriate planning model design depends on two factors:
- The respective level of complexity of the offer or “industrial” complexity
- The commercial level of sophistication
The company’s positioning on these two axes determines the most appropriate governance model(s) for resolving planning trade-offs.
These planning models can be applied to all the main links in the company’s global supply chain: suppliers and supplier relations, manufacture of semi-finished products, manufacture of finished products, and distribution of products to the different levels of the distribution network.
How we can help
We support our clients in adapting their planning model and organisation:
- Organisational diagnosis (roles, responsibilities, key indicators, collaboration models)
- Definition of the target planning model based on the ambitions of general management and the specific context of the company. It can also speed up the design and alignment of stakeholders
- Planning process design and collaboration contracts based on the governance model and best practice for each process
- Selection and implementation of target IT solutions based on our knowledge and expertise of the relevant systems
- Design of the planning organisation including location(s), team size and skills development plan
- Supply chain planning transformation with support for the implementation of the target organisation and collaboration model