Is your Supply Chain T2T or Just E2E? Yes, supply chains need to be end-to-end. But that is only one dimension of the supply chain. As the recent trend suggests supply chains are not unidirectional and the impact of circular economy can be highly impactful. But there is more than just connecting horizontally or bi-directionally. We also need to go vertically, i.e. top to toe or toe to top (T2T). Gartner’s CORE model of the supply chain starts at the network or Configuration level, to Optimization to Respond planning and finally Execution level. Many companies that have implemented the S& ..read more

Shared Memory Technology Eliminates the need for Integrating Supply Chain Planning and Execution Systems Almost all companies that are using or implementing S&OP solutions have run into a wall because of the system’s lack of capability to produce executable plans. The answer, has been and continues to be, get an execution system such as factory planning and execution and “integrate” the two. This approach leads to inconsistency of plans, and data and decision latency. Plans are too much or too little for execution and issues in execution are not communicated to the planning process in r ..read more

Supply Chain Planning – If Ain’t Real-time Why Bother? Most supply chain leaders would agree that supply chain disruptions are not exceptions anymore and they have to be considered as part of the plan. In fact, the so-called antifragile planning implies that exceptions and disruptions should be considered in the plan such that we benefit from them; and not just be resilient to them. As exceptions become more frequent on the demand side as well as supply side, the frequency of planning should be adjusted such that either we can predict events, desirable or not, and be able to respond to them ..read more

Join Adexa @ Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo™ 2024 conference About the Event Are you ready to elevate your supply chain game? Well, mark your calendars because this May, the Gartner Symposium/Xpo is where the magic happens! Adexa’s BOOTH #813 is your gateway to the future of supply chain planning. Our team of seasoned experts is revved up and ready to chat with you. These aren’t just any experts; they’re the supply chain whisperers who’ve guided Fortune-class companies across five continents. But wait, there’s more! Brace yourselves for the ultimate fusion of planning and execution. Ad ..read more

Generative AI and Supply Chain Planning In a recent survey by Gartner more than one third of the respondents indicated that improving decision making robustness, speed and quality are their top three goals. Furthermore, 85% of business leaders have experienced decision stress, and three-quarters have seen the daily volume of decisions they need to make increase tenfold over the last three years. When it comes to supply chains, decision making is key to reducing costs, delivering on time and increasing market share. In a large company, typically there are tens of planners trying to plan, res ..read more

Supply Chain Visibility. So what? Supply chain planning is a very complex process but if it is done right, the benefits are enormous. There are so many moving parts to decide what to do, let alone in real time. How can the planners get so many messages each day and decide how to prioritize tasks and know the consequences of their decisions? Planners are human. Humans are limited to dealing with a handful of variables at a time. Systems can deal with millions. But not all systems are the same. There are those that can help the planners, and there are those that need the planner’s help. By fa ..read more

Improving Planner Productivity So called autonomous supply chain planning is all about improving planner productivity. Will the day come when a system can perform all your planning functions and respond to events without human intervention, just the way you want it? Yes, but not soon. Automation simply helps to improve productivity, and in most cases relieves humans from laborious and repetitive tasks that require either little thought or involve some complex mathematical calculation with thousands or millions of variables, so called optimization. Operations Research (OR) techniques help in ..read more

Advanced Planner-Assisted Systems (APAS) There has been a lot of talk regarding autonomous planning systems and the use of AI/ML to make the planning process more productive and the operations more optimized. Just like autonomous cars, the planning part is not too hard, i.e. the use of GPS as to where to go and when we get there. The uncertainty and how we respond when disruptions occur, are the key issues to be addressed. Planning must be done with uncertainty in mind, execution must be done with the impact of disruptions in mind. Ironically, almost all supply chain planning systems availa ..read more

Explanation-Based Supply Chain Planning Almost all supply chain planning solutions deploy some types of heuristic and/or optimization algorithms to come up with a plan that meets the material and capacity constraints as well as management objectives. Some use primitive techniques such as scenario planning to examine a handful of scenarios, amongst thousands of others, to see which one they like better. Some systems adopt mathematical algorithms to come up with optimal results that need tweaking by the users to make it work, since mathematical techniques are not capable of handling many comp ..read more

Machine Learning Techniques to Optimize Inventory and Improve Service Levels Companies are all looking to keep inventory costs as low as possible while keeping customer service at its highest level.  More recently, resilience of the supply chain has taken the front seat to cost and profit! To this end, zero-inventory and just-in-time concepts of past decades have lost their validity. The use of AI and machine learning techniques has opened many new solutions to tackle what is known as one of the oldest problems in the world: How much do I need? There are four main areas of supply chain ..read more