Category Archives: Inventory

Recession? What Recession? Here’s 91M for Inventory Software

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I couldn’t help but notice this recent article in Intelligent Enterprise that noted that “SAP offered 91M for SAF”. Now, good inventory management software is extremely valuable because it can significantly reduce the 30%+ overhead (on product cost) that many organizations lose in inventory each year, but SAF is a little company of about 100 employees that only had 19M in revenue last year. That’s a 4.8 multiplier … in a down economy!

Forget the current share price, which likely skyrocketed on the rumor alone. You invest based on the likelihood of getting your money back in a reasonable time-frame. Considering that most small company sales drop considerably when they’re swallowed by an 800 lb gorilla, SAP will be lucky to get their money back in five years.

But more importantly, if that 91M had been funneled into an R&D group with some freedom, imagine what that could have built! Maybe they could even realize their Vision of the Future. Instead, as far as I can tell, they’re just spending more of their customer’s money on empty calories by paying too much of a premium. Well, at least they ain’t spending 5 Billion for Business Intelligence.

Why Do We Still Have The Seven Timeless Challenges of Supply Chain Management?

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A recent article in Supply Chain Digest listed “the seven timeless challenges of supply chain management”, as described by Dr. J. Paul Dittmann, the Director of the Office of Corporate Partnership at the University of Tennessee. While I have to agree that these challenges are “timeless” in that we (needlessly) see them again and again and again, I don’t understand why … since all of them are solveable with today’s technology. More specifically:

  • Too Much Product Complexity
    Most companies have too many SKUs, and, to be precise, too many underperforming SKUs. But a good “spend analysis” with a modern data analysis package, which includes profit and loss data, can easily identify these SKUs which can be phased out and eliminated when contracts end.
  • Too Much Slow-Moving and Obsolete Inventory
    While good forecasting and demand planning can never eliminate obsolete inventory, a regular “profit” analysis that factors in the carrying cost to date and current price point makes it easy to identify when it costs more to hold on to inventory than to get rid of it at a discount, making it an easy decision from a loss-prevention perspective.
  • Supply Chain Considerations Not Part of the Product Design Process
    Simply do a total cost of ownership in the design phase and your critical supply chain considerations come into play right away.
  • No Supply Chain Strategy
    This is an easy fix. Sit down and define one.
  • Ineffective Matching of Supply with Demand
    With a slew of (near) real time supply chain visibility solutions on the market, all you have to do is implement one.
  • Physical Network Problems
    There are a number of strategic sourcing decision optimization platforms on the market that can perform detailed network analysis at very reasonable price points. Get one, and if necessary, get the consulting help to do it right. A few hundred K on a network optimization project can easily save you a few million.
  • Global Issues and Outsourcing Problems
    With a number of expert niche consultancies and deal architects that are very affordable, this problem is easily solved as well.

If There’s No Uncertainty, You’re Not Managing Your Inventory

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As noted in a recent Industry Week article on “Inventory Optimization” that noted how it’s all about uncertainty, these days, volatility and uncertainty pummel the network of suppliers, producers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers that convert raw material to finished products for our homes and offices. That supplier in China may ship you 100,000 units this week, but only 20,000 units next week. That shipment may take 10 days to arrive or 20. Demand can be steady for weeks, then spike or drop unexpectedly, confounding the forecasts and causing excess inventories or product shortages. There’s uncertainty everywhere, and if you’re not managing it, you’re just waiting for a disaster.

The only way to thwart the problems caused by volatility and uncertainty is to gain visibility into all the factors needed to improve inventory decisions across the supply chain. The best way to do this is to implement a multi-echelon inventory visibility and optimization solution that keeps track of inventory levels, demand changes, real-time shipment updates, and uses inventory optimization to recommend optimal updates to forecasts, inventory levels, and shipments. Such a solution can often reduce inventory by 20% to 30%, improve service levels, ad cut cycle times by 10% to 20%, especially when guided by an expert that uses the visibility to make manual adjustments as soon as new information is available.

Inventory is Very Expensive

A classic article in the Supply Chain Management Review does a great job of overviewing the cost components of inventory and breaking down what the total cost of ownership really is.

Simply put, the following costs are associated with holding inventory:

  • Product Costs
  • Warehousing
  • Depreciation
  • Obsolescence
  • Pilferage
  • Damage
  • Insurance
  • Taxes
  • Capital Cost
  • Administrative Costs

And that’s why, in an average scenario, in an average organization, the total cost of holding inventory is over 30% of the base purchase cost.

And that’s why you need to examine that special volume discount carefully next time your supplier offers you a special, limited-time, “buy more now, save more now” offer. Chances are, the supplier is just trying to pass their inventory costs on to you … which far exceed the meager discount they are offering.

What Comes After Just-in-Time? (Inventory Management)

The World Trade Magazine recently published a very good article that noted that the new premiums placed on cost control, speed-to-market, and credit as a result of the global economic crises are in direct opposition to the need for inventory buffers when sourcing globally … creating a dichotomy between the goals of minimizing inventory (the goal of Just-in-Time) and maximizing supply chain resiliency (through reduced risk). As a result, it noted that change, a constant in the supply chain, is coming and that we probably need to be asking “What Comes After Just-in-Time?”

So it gathered a panel of eight practitioners and asked the question. Most of the responses, as one might expect, centered around risk management, finance management, and better visibility. Only one pointed out that, in the purest sense, there’s nothing better than just-in-time — because in an optimal scenario, if you need a widget for manufacturing, you’re never waiting for the widget, but it also never sits in inventory. It arrives just-in-time. There’s nothing beyond just-in-time, it’s the perfect supply chain model in theory … the problem is that it’s original implementation didn’t account for all of the risks that have materialized in today’s global supply chains since it’s initial definition and implementation in a market where supply was local, reliability of delivery was more predictable, and financing was easier to obtain.

The model just needs to be extended to take into account the risks and incorporate the appropriate responses to changes in the global market. And this, as a third contributor pointed out, requires more real-time information and visibility into your supply chain. Just plug the holes and deal with the risks, and you’ll find the model will work as well as it always has.