Once the basic problem of aligning manufacturing schedules with demand is taken care of, the greatest bottleneck to improved supply chain efficiency is often the disconnect between internal scheduling processes and those of external suppliers. Companies that are vendors to major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) know that large manufacturers are working to eliminate this bottleneck, and are often working with suppliers on a proactive basis to help them become more responsive.
Technology can play a vital role in eliminating this constraint. In the case of our paint and coatings manufacturer, one of their main bottlenecks was packaging. They outsourced printing on the cans their product was shipped in, which meant that the supplier cannot finalize their own can production schedule until they know the exact product numbers that will be filled. Their packaging actually took longer to produce than the manufacture of the product itself. Even though the cost of the packaging is low in comparison to the actual product to be filled, the scheduling of the packaging supply is one of the most critical and difficult parts of production planning.
The solution was to set up a supplier portal, so that the packaging vendor and other suppliers could look into the production plan and prepare their own schedule accordingly. This eliminated a lot of the manual and administrative work involved with interfacing with a supply chain partner in real time, removing all manual intervention and administrative delays. Portals of this nature can also provide a longer view of anticipated production so that vendors can manage their own inventories and plan their own capacity according to anticipated demand.
Figure 1. A supplier portal eliminates administrative waste and integrates the supply chain in real time.
Tip Three: Run Parallel MRP Processes
To clarify, this tip does not have as much to do with running parallel systems for manufacturing resources planning (MRP) as much as it is about delaying the commitment to manufacture to a point where demand is visible, known or certain.
Even as companies try to focus on the disciplines normally associated with the idea of a lean supply chain, this another fundamental paradigm shift that must take place within their organization, and it is often overlooked.
For instance, many companies operate with one single MRP process. Consider that company that manufactures in a make-to-stock (MTS) mode, whose executives feel that this single MTS enterprise system is adequate for their needs. This attitude is fine—if a manufacturer has a stable, predictable demand for all of its products. But in reality, few manufacturers have the luxury of flat demand. More often the rule of Pareto is applicable. This rule suggests that 20 percent of products have a stable demand, and you can manufacture them efficiently in large quantities. But the other 80 percent of a manufacturers' part numbers are ordered less frequently, and therefore need to be treated differently in the company's processes, systems, and scheduling. This is why virtually any MTS manufacturer should run in multiple manufacturing modes. Most MTS manufacturers would gain from a parallel make-to-order (MTO) system. This will avoid the stockpiling of a large number of items that are more effectively handled in MTO mode, freeing up both capital and production capacity for other products, all without sacrificing responsiveness or customer service. By continually analyzing demand patterns and inventory turns, the point of postponement can be changed over time to achieve the optimal balance between efficiency and responsiveness.
A modern, agile enterprise application will include all of the necessary tools to handle these multiple modes. Apart from ensuring that they have the proper enabling technology, manufacturers will need to carefully analyze the demand patterns for their finished goods and divide them into MTS and MTO.
Figure 2. Demand Planning—Minimize the forecast error and improve customer service without sacrificing inventory turns.
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