As a vital part of overall business planning and strategy, supply chain planning can lower costs and improve growth opportunities. Resilient and agile supply chain planning also enhances customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. But an inefficient supply chain can place constraints on an operation.
Drawbacks of Traditional Supply Chain Planning
Traditional supply chain planning was a loose collection of manual processes, including written reports, spreadsheets, and human-based analysis. These processes were very subjective and prone to bias and error. Since they relied on people to provide the inputs, time was also a factor. Data entry for manual planning was also error-prone. Missing data, transposed numbers, bias, and other errors crept in and impacted the quality of the data. Unfortunately there were so many disparate elements, much effort was put into reconciling the numbers, and human analysis could only go so far.
The Benefits of Cloud-Based Supply Chain Management Systems
Today, agile and resilient supply chain planning software from Plex DemandCaster offers a cloud-based solution for the drawbacks of manual planning. It’s data-driven and unifies a company’s data, creating a single version of the truth across the organization. Advanced, cloud-based analytics offer actionable insights and uncover trends at a level not accessible by humans. Tasks are automated, and responses and alerts are created to help reduce the time-consuming and error-prone data entry requirements. Planners can use the analysis to create accurate and robust demand forecasts and to plan all aspects of the supply chain. This capability creates end-to-end visibility to optimize the supply chain and meet order requirements by providing material at the lowest cost and in the best timeframe.
Improving Your Supply Chain Planning
Armed with advanced Demand and Supply Planning software from Plex DemandCaster, operations can focus on process improvements to the planning process. Since the data is accurate and real-time, and the analysis eliminates bias and error, new processes have a more significant impact and the chance for success. Improving supply chain planning means companies can:
Automate Purchasing
With manual tracking a thing of the past, many purchasing tasks can be automated. Automatic reorder quantities are ordered as the system detects the need, and purchase orders are placed and confirmed without human intervention. Demand and supply software by DemandCaster lets you link to your ERP and other systems, so the transactions and purchase requirement data are accessible by other systems.
Improve Decision-Making
The system is at or near real-time and uses powerful cloud-based analytics, so managers and executives can confidently make decisions based on data. With insights generated by the analysis, new trends and demands become visible. This helps teams plan effectively and forecast accurately.
Deploy Real-Time Inventory Management
A perpetual inventory system is problematic in manual tracking environments. But with automated transactions and movement of inventory, purchase requirements, delays, and other important information can be tracked accurately in real-time.
Manage Vendor Performance
With demand and supply planning software, the old days of written vendor report cards are gone. Planners can track, monitor, and gauge vendor performance based on data and decide on vendor improvement and retention.
Realize End-to-End Visibility
Using a control tower strategy is possible with software. By looking at the entire process - from purchase order through delivery of finished goods - planners have complete control over the whole process. This transparency lets companies standardize and optimize processes across the supply chain and in areas like manufacturing and finance.
Improving Supply Chain Planning with Software
Demand and Supply Planning software from Plex DemandCaster enables you to improve your planning process with accurate, real-time data and advanced analytics. Use it to automate your supply chain planning process and take your operation to the next level. Contact us to find out how we can help.
Related Articles