How to Modify Your Supply Chain System for Your Best Results
How’s your supply chain system working? Understanding and responding to customer demand is essential to developing supply chain systems that work over the long term. There are lots of ways to get ahead of your customers’ wants and needs–one of which is to develop a demand-driven philosophy that incorporates a complete order fulfillment, packaging, delivery methodology, and returns policy. How do you do that?
- Begin at the beginning to determine how “change-worthy” you are. By switching to Demand Driven Supply Chain (DDSC) planning, you’ll be ready to collaborate across your entire organization, adjust to market changes and reap the many benefits. Want to get ahead of your competitors? A “whiteboard” mentality lets youdevelop a DDSC strategy as if unencumbered by an existing model.
- Fully understand the demand-driven supply chain (DDSC). DDSC’s ‘demand pull’ technique provides more elasticity than traditional supply chain systems and methodologies and lets you share more information. With DDSC, all your company’s departments win since you can adapt to ever-changing market conditions with real-time data. DDSC can even help you deliver benefits to all supply chain participants, including raw-material suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, and even end consumers. Ultimately, you can achieve business continuity and greater short and long-term visibility; remove days from inventory; reduce headcount, S&OP planning time, working capital, operating costs, and transportation costs; and improve forecasting accuracy, customer sell-through, and satisfaction.
- Boldly go forward. After you’re satisfied with your whiteboard plan, selecting a few customers, and asking them to participate in a supply chain system optimization exercise with you is a great idea. They will appreciate your interest in their success and admire you for taking their feedback and turning it into action. Measure the results with the select customers, adjust where necessary, and keep moving forward.
- Talk to your customers–even the ones that got away! Don’t guess what your customers want. Ask them! If possible, you should survey customers who considered your company and services but didn’t follow through. Query them about the established and new competitors’ services and benefits. What supply chain systems and supply chain software do they use successfully? These insights will take you even further in developing your best supply chain strategy. It may even make sense to interview a select group of existing–or potential–customers every 2-3 years to keep your plan fresh.
When designing a strategy, beginning with the end in mind is always the best place to start. You’ve got to know where you are going before you can draw the map. BrillDog can help you strategize for a demand-driven supply chain model and give you the tools to deliver it. Contact BrillDog today at info@brilldog.com.
