When it comes to strengthening supply chains for resilience, supply chain leaders often turn to technology. It’s a sensible move, as the right system can help shift from manual, short-tern actions to long-term solutions and accelerate your supply chain digital transformation. 

Advanced Planning Systems (APS) are at the core of modern planning organizations. For that reason, we see many supply chain leaders invest in the capabilities of their APS – by either replacing or expanding their set-up – to accelerate their supply chain digital transformation. 

In this blog, we will provide some background by introducing what APS systems are, how they fit into the broader digital planning landscape, and what the key functions of an APS system are.

What are advanced planning systems?

APS systems are decision support tools for planning that use computer-based optimization. APS systems can take into account a wide range of material and capacity constraints, resulting in optimal or near-optimal plans and schedules. And provide an aggregated view of a supply chain, visualizing constraints, stock development, and multi-level alerts.  

They can handle higher levels of complexity (i.e., multi-echelon supply network, high number of decoupling points, dual sourcing options, etc.) and support integrated planning decision making and scenario simulation.

The position of APS in your tooling landscape

Digital landscapes are evolving into multi-layered ecosystems, with different solutions all playing their part. ERP solutions are the fundament. Advanced Planning Systems are at the core – and leading vendors are offering an expanding set of capabilities within the broader planning domain.  

At the same time, we see that the integration of innovative techniques, such as machine learning-based forecasting, into traditional APS systems is not happening at the same pace or depth as for systems of innovation. As such, innovative systems have earned their place in enriching the capabilities of traditional APS solutions. Companies therefore need to make trade-offs in their digital IT strategy on where to position capabilities within their digital ecosystem.

As noted above, ERP and APS systems maintain different positions in the digital ecosystem. This is because there are clear differences in the scope, purpose, and core capabilities of ERP systems (systems of record) vs. APS systems (see figure below). The key differentiator is that ERP systems are designed to support short-term planning and more dominantly execution, while APS systems support supply chain planning for the long-term, tactical and operational planning horizon.

The key functions of an APS system in your supply chain digital transformation 

APS systems enable organizations to achieve higher levels of planning maturity. The key functions of APS systems can be differentiated into 4 different levels: 

1. Supply chain network visibility 

APS systems provide a connected platform with visibility across the supply chain network. The connectivity and multi-level integration of the plan – with clear visibility of the upstream and downstream impact of planning decisions – overcomes silo planning and enables instant impact analysis. In addition, the (near) real-time integration of underlying transactional and operational execution information enables greater plan accuracy and reduced data latency to improve decision cycle time. 

2. Planning core

APS systems are designed to support well-standardized and structured planning processes. As such, they force companies to decompose the planning process into clear execution cycles, standardized logic, and well-defined calculation methods. Done well, this goes a long way toward making the planning process more efficient and effective.  

Another key competency is the ability to support exception-based planning, or what we call smart automation. This means that the system guides the planner to interact where it adds value – through an alert-driven workflow or even by recommending plan updates. 

3. Optimization capability

With continuous improvements in computing power, advanced calculation methods and technologies (such as ML and AI), APS systems have evolved more and more into automation and optimization engines. Ranging from more function-specific optimization capabilities such as MEIO (multi-echelon inventory optimization) to full network multi-constraint supply planning solvers. 

These capabilities enable (semi-)automated planning outcomes that make trade-offs between various constraining factors such as machine capacity, manpower, material availability, and the associated financial implications. 

4. Integral simulation & decision-making 

To support integrated business planning, companies spend considerable amounts of time building different planning scenarios and comparing end-to-end plans at the KPI level. APS systems (to varying degrees) enable planners to create, modify, and compare different planning scenarios in a standardized and time-efficient manner. In addition, the integrated analytical capabilities provide a critical source of information to support the planning decision cycle. Companies with a higher level of cross-functional integration maturity are also able to use their APS system for integrated business planning, bridging the gap between supply chain, finance and commercial, and making the translation from volume to financially driven decisions.

Ready to accelerate your supply chain digital transformation with your next Advanced Planning System implementation?

Our extensive implementation experience has led to the creation of a proven framework that will help you become an APS champion and realize sustainable value. 

Our guide is your essential ingredient for APS success, helping you discover: 

• The essential role of APS in your supply chain digital transformation  
• The position of APS in your tooling landscape  
• The 5 key phases of a successful APS implementation 
• A proven checklist for each phase to get started immediately 

In this guide, we provide an end-to-end APS digital transformation framework and best-practice experiences to help you increase your chances of success and realize sustainable value. Get your copy here.

The post The role of advanced planning systems in your supply chain digital transformation appeared first on EyeOn.

In today’s dynamic and competitive business landscape, collaboration is often the key to achieving sustainable growth and staying ahead of the curve. Recognizing the power of collaboration, OMP and EyeOn have successfully joined forces in a recent multi-echelon inventory optimization implementation. Our customer, a biopharmaceutical multinational with a strong pipeline, has multiple product launches in the 5-year horizon. The upcoming launches will grow working capital, as the supply chain will be increasingly stocked with late-stage development and launch volumes. Strong inventory target-setting and inventory management of both the existing and new portfolios are identified as key enablers for sustainable growth.

OMP’s MEIO functionality as part of the Unison Planning platform, was selected as the inventory optimization solution to complement the already implemented OMP supply planning solution. Together with EyeOn’s MEIO and planning experts OMP worked on designing a fit-for-purpose MEIO solution. Through close collaboration and with applied expertise the project delivered 4 key benefits to the customer:

• Fit-for-purpose MEIO system capability: refinement of the MEIO models, user interface, and reporting outputs to fit the industry dynamics and business needs.
• Solid MEIO data design: bottom-up data design and data analysis to identify, detail out, and validate the key data inputs required for the MEIO model to function in optimal form.
• Enabling business decision-making: embedding the new capability in a comprehensive set of processes, starting from highly frequent exception monitoring up to validation of the complete inventory targets in S&OP – including elements like safety stock, cycle stock, strategic stock, and regulatory stock.
• Day-to-day planning impact: translating MEIO capabilities to making day-to-day planning impact. Delivering a solid pilot design and supporting business readiness to have the solution deliver value from the start.

Interested to unlock the full planning potential of OMP and drive sustainable growth in today’s fast-paced business environment? EyeOn and OMP combine cutting-edge technology with applied MEIO expertise and hands-on implementation experience. Our expert, Bart Paridaen is available to provide personalized guidance and support, or get in touch with us here.

About OMP

OMP helps companies facing complex planning challenges to excel, grow and thrive by offering the best-digitized supply chain planning solution on the market. Hundreds of customers in a wide range of industries – spanning consumer goods, life sciences, chemicals, metals, paper and packaging – benefit from using OMP’s unique Unison Planning.

About EyeOn

With years of extensive experience, EyeOn is the expert in supply chain planning and forecasting. Together with our customers we implement high-impact forecasting and planning improvements. Based not only on the latest techniques, proven innovations & tools, and insights from continuous research, but also on our experience from challenging projects for multinational companies. Our team of pure specialists focuses on complex challenges for ultimately growth of profitability. Challenge us, and we will get the job done.

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 2-minute read 

In the context of rapid business development and a growing supply network, Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharma acknowledged that they needed a more integrated planning approach to increase decision-making speed and planning responsiveness, and enable integral comparison of different planning trade-offs.

Target supply chain operating model

In order to design a fit for purpose integrated planning process, they took the important step to first define what their future mode of planning operations should look like. Following EyeOn’s standard approach for a target supply chain operating model definition, this entailed:

• Translation of strategic objectives and priorities to tactical planning principles
• Mapping of the value chain and key planning constraints
• Assessment of the planning processes and key decisions at different levels and horizons (strategic – tactical – operational)
• A review of the planning control model and required capabilities

Based on the target operating model design, a gap fit assessment was performed to determine the improvement priorities and define a supply chain transformation roadmap.

IBP process design and global implementation

To execute the transformation roadmap, EyeOn has been supporting Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharma with the design, implementation, and roll-out of an integrated planning process. Starting with local level S&OP, stepping up towards a global level executive S&OP, and maturing the process towards IBP with further financial integration and cross-functional collaboration.

From reactive to proactive planning

By growing their planning maturity Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharma has made big advancements to move from a reactive to a proactive planning process. In addition, their planning transformation has helped them realize the following planning benefits that enable better decision making and improvement of bottom-line business performance:

• Integration of processes
• Clear planning objectives
• Proactive planning
• Financial reconciliation
• One set of numbers

Curious about how EyeOn can help you redefine your supply chain operating model?

Contact our E2E transformation lead Bart Paridaen to learn how EyeOn can help you (re-)define your target operating model. Contact Pascal van den Boogaard to get further insights on the Boehringer planning transformation and integrated business planning.

The post Kickstart your planning transformation with a well-defined supply chain operating model appeared first on EyeOn.

For companies that are still at the start, but also for those that are already on the way, we advise you to reflect on your transformation approach taking the following typical challenges into consideration:

• Moving too fast for what the organization can absorb: Transformation requires big efforts of your organization. You need to right-size it to make sure the organization can follow, and you can neatly integrate advanced digital capabilities in your day-to-day operation.
• Moving forward with a suboptimal sequence: It is critical to ensure that there is a balance between processes, digital tools, people capabilities, and data availability and maturity.
• Falling into the trap of a technology push: Rather than trying to force a fit, take the time to properly assess how different digital technologies can best support the dynamics of your business.
• Creating digital silos and black boxes: Advanced planning capabilities have a big potential to create value but also to create new silos you had broken down before. In addition, planner activities need to be well segmented to make sure you don’t fail in adoption because of a black box effect.

Supply Chain Transformation: Doing it the EyeOn way

At EyeOn, we have consolidated our project best practices into guidelines to support you in building sustainable digital planning capabilities and transform your supply chain.

5 focus areas to build sustainable digital planning capabilities

1. Clear direction: As mentioned, before going into execution mode it is essential you define a complete and realistic digital transformation vision and roadmap. Make sure that the long-term development of digital planning capabilities fits neatly with your overall supply chain strategy. Next to that take the time to re-assess your supply chain planning operating model to set clear operating principles that will guide your transformation journey.
2. Foundational capabilities: The success of digital planning applications depends heavily on having good foundational capabilities. That means having well-integrated end-to-end processes, clearly defined and future-proof planning roles, and a master data backbone that supports data-driven planning and advanced analytics.
3. Fit-for-purpose planning tool stack: The tooling landscape is constantly diversifying and offers more and more niche capabilities. With that in mind, you need to assess how different applications, from fast planning solutions, to APS, to systems of innovation, can best serve your needs over time. Also taking into consideration the system integration needs, end-user experience, and capability development requirements.
4. Effective organizational capability building: Digital evolution requires you to re-think your organizational structure (central vs decentral capabilities), planning profiles (digital planning, business IT and data science capabilities) and how to effectively implement these changes in the organization.
5. Smart automation: Using cognitive planning to empower planners to work smarter – automate the obvious, flag where human intervention is required and provide actionable recommendations to planners to improve future planning enrichments.

Co-creating your digital future

Now is the time to build resilient, agile, and sustainable supply chains, maximizing the benefits of digitalization and advanced analytics. Digital transformation in essence is a journey rather than a project. It is more about people than technology. Those companies that focus first on changing the mindset as well as the organizational culture and processes are better set for long-term success. With that said, we believe that the best, most lasting solutions are co-created together. Depending on where you are in the journey, we can help you in any of the above domains with our in-depth expertise and hands-on attitude from end to end.

Curious about how EyeOn can help you right-size your digital transformation? Contact our expert Bart Paridaen or visit the end-to-end transformation page on our website for further inspiration.

Explore our trends 2023 page, where we address further supply chain challenges you will be facing this year.

The post Get digital, stay human: Right-sizing your digital supply chain transformation appeared first on EyeOn.

5-min read

In the Collins English Dictionary ‘Words of the Year’ list 2022, ‘permacrisis’ is at the top. Defined as: “an extended period of instability and insecurity, esp. one resulting from a series of catastrophic events”, it is an ugly reminder that accurately encapsulates today’s world as 2023 dawns.

The invasion of Ukraine has led to the biggest war in Europe since 1945 and the most serious risk of nuclear escalation since the Cold War. High inflation in many parts of the world, fuelled by soaring food and energy costs is posing the biggest macroeconomic challenge in the modern era of central banking. Fundamental pillars of the post-WW2 world order, especially in Europe – inviolable borders, restraint in threats with a nuclear arsenal, controlled inflation, and plentiful energy supplies – assumptions that have held for decades, have all been simultaneously shaken.

The combination of three shock dimensions has made this crisis profound. Dimension one is geopolitical and has roots in the rift on two fronts: the challenging of the post-WW2 world order by President Putin and the increasing divergence between the USA and China. The resolve with which Europe and the USA have responded to the Ukraine invasion has indeed widened the gap between ‘the West’ and the rest of the world.

The second dimension is the commodity shock as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The resulting sharpest energy price increase since the 1970s has led to a warp-speed reshaping of the global energy system. This is further compounded by Ukraine’s importance as an exporter of agricultural commodities, leaving many supply lines at peril with supply chain shortages looming.

The loss of macroeconomic stability marks the third dimension of this crisis. Demand fuelled by stimulus packages met with post-pandemic supply chain constraints and shortages, resulting in accelerating consumer prices. This dramatically worsened with spiking energy prices. Even the most drastic and broadest interest rate increases undertaken in the last 40 years by central banks, have not yet secured price stability. Inflation remains high, still uncomfortably close to double-digit numbers in many countries.

Should we expect supply chain shortages in 2023?

Fundamentally it will all depend on how these three dimensions, geopolitics, energy and commodity prices, and macroeconomic stability will evolve and affect each other. In the short term, the situation looks rather grim. Many areas in the world will be facing a recession in 2023. Economic difficulties in turn could exacerbate geopolitical risks. This is particularly prevalent in Europe. So far European governments have protected consumers with massive subsidies and price caps from the worst of the energy-price shock. The biggest geopolitical risk is Russia, unable to succeed on the battlefield it might try harder to exploit energy supply and cost vulnerabilities as many European economies are already on the edge of recession.

Overall macroeconomic stability remains the other major challenge in 2023. Global GDP growth is predicted to slow to 1.6% in 2023 from 2.8% in 2022. However global inflation will likely remain high at 6%. This will maintain pressure on further interest rate increases to curb inflation. The higher interest rates needed to dampen inflation will further sap consumer spending and impact increasing unemployment.

China in contrast will likely maintain a loose monetary regime with low-interest rates, seeking to stimulate GDP growth and boost trade. Nonetheless, China is entering 2023 enfeebled by policy mistakes (Covid-19) and a festering property crisis. As we have seen during the Covid-pandemic in 2021 a stuttering China will impact worldwide supply chains.

At the start of 2023, the US maintains a fundamentally stronger economic position in comparison to China and Europe. Although curbing inflation remains in focus and a mild recession is on the horizon, being a big energy producer, the country has benefited from the soaring energy prices globally.

Is there room for optimism?

There is some good news amidst today’s turmoil. Some countries and industries will prosper even in these difficult times. Resource-rich countries will continue to benefit from high commodity and energy prices. Concurrently the energy shock will accelerate the shift to renewables further. The IEA – International Energy Agency – is calling it “a turning point in the history of energy” that will quicken the clean-energy transition.

Simultaneously, the present situation will also advocate greater realism about the continuing role of fossil fuels. In particular, the role of natural gas as a bridge fuel in the energy transition is under scrutiny. Long-standing hypocrisies need to be confronted on a multilateral political level. Every crisis spawns new possibilities and the result, if tackled diligently, could be a global energy system that is more secure, greener, and diverse.

Turning chaos into opportunities: Are you ready for the challenge?

As highlighted above, a multitude of disturbances could impact your supply chain in 2023 and might result in supply chain shortages. Building a more robust supply chain environment seems to be a true panacea. Therein lies the question of “How to build a more resilient supply chain for your business in 2023?”.

Corporations on their part should embrace opportunities that will present themselves even in these difficult times. Transitioning from a reactive post-pandemic modus operandi to a proactive outlook-adjusted approach is the way forward.

As industries are rebalancing their supply chains in 2023, the art will be not to overreact when any of the above shock dimensions impact your business. Remember the long-term view, keeping strategic goals and fundamental trends in mind when making decisions. With proven expertise in navigating the challenges of global supply chain management, EyeOn advocates two ways of embracing the volatilities in 2023; Material allocation optimization as well as using a flexible resource pool, among other solutions. Sales and Operations Execution (S&OE) capabilities will support you in optimizing resource planning through the establishment of a dependable planning and execution framework. In addition, getting external support such as interim demand planning with skilled, experienced professionals and process outsourcing are robust methods of mitigating risk.

Technology that prioritizes data and enhances visibility can greatly help in managing and optimizing supply chains from end-to-end. Furthermore, the right technologies will enable you to make better-informed decisions, faster and with much more confidence.

In short, we anticipate a year of ongoing changes and disruptions that will keep supply chains on the volatile side. However, supply chain leaders should not take this as an excuse to remain reactive. Instead, now is the best time to turn threats into opportunities.

At EyeOn we help you navigate these challenges and support you in taking decisive actions to ensure your supply chain will thrive beyond this ‘permacrisis’. Feel free to get in touch with our expert Alexander Wenk, or any of our other specialists to discuss how you can navigate these disrupting times effectively.

Remember to keep an eye on this page where we will address further supply chain challenges you will be facing this year.

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The rapid evolution of advanced digital tools and data science techniques such as machine learning and digital twins have become a powerful means to driving planning parameter insights, predictions, and accuracy improvements. However, in practice, the typical tendency of a planner is to apply additional information or assumptions, not known to an algorithm, to come to a final implementation.

Smart automation of planning parameters – the best of both worlds

At EyeOn we believe that by creating smart-touch planning solutions you can combine the best of both worlds. We can automate the planning parameter review process for elements that are easy to predict, provide recommendations for the more challenging ones, and flag where human intervention is needed. We call this smart (planning parameter) automation.

As shown in the figure below smart automation means that:

• Your planners obtain a planning parameter alert/recommendation from a control tower solution
• They receive feedback on their enrichment behavior while interacting with the planning tool
• The algorithm picks up on the behavior trends to drive better proposals and facilitate integral process automation over time

The smart-touch connectivity between the system and planner results in the optimal and most accepted parameter setting.

How to get started

• Create awareness: The use of advanced data science techniques and digital tools requires that you understand the ins and outs and the dynamics of your process. Create awareness in the organization that smart-touch combines the best of both worlds. No planner likes to hear that the system will take over.
• Alert driven: An important starting point is to create full visibility and enable an alert-based way of working. A control tower solution will enable users to get into a flow of parameter review and focus their time where it adds value.
• Assess previously performed adjustments: Understand why planners deviate from parameter proposals. It will help to identify process exceptions, outliers, and human intelligence. Make that an integral part of your process and digital infrastructure to develop even better algorithms.
• Activate planners in providing effective enrichments: It is key to find a good balance in planner behavior. To ensure awareness, you must get the organization onboard to play an active role in executing the parameter review process. In addition, it is essential that there is organizational acceptance and support for applying a segmented approach.
• Automate predictable changes where possible: Apply automation – first in a defined scope – and learn from it before scaling too quickly. There inevitably will be flows, maybe even a considerable amount, where full automation is not the right fit. However, where possible, it will help drive efficiency and improve planner value add.

Want to know more on driving planning parameter insights?

Is your company experiencing significant deviations between plan and execution? Are you under the impression that you are keeping inefficient stock levels (either over or under-stocking)? Your planning parameters probably need review, and we can help you do this in an efficient, controlled, and automated way.

If you are interested in learning how to transform a tedious review that never happens, to a meaningful continuous automated process, please watch our on-demand webinar, or reach out to us directly!

The post Drive planning parameter insights, and accuracy with smart automation appeared first on EyeOn.

Foundational planning capabilities

To make sure that supply chain transformation initiatives are well aligned with your future supply chain vision, we emphasize the importance of defining an updated supply chain target operating model (TOM) at the very start. A target operating model focuses on translating your strategic principles and vision into a concrete operating model for planning and execution of the end-to-end supply chain. In addition, a TOM outlines the maturity of your supply chain focus areas looking at the axes of processes, organization, data, and tools. It’s the ultimate starting point to refine your foundational planning capabilities to accelerate digital transformation.

Supply chain model: doing it the EyeOn way

At EyeOn, we have consolidated our project best practices into a standard approach to define your supply chain target operating model:

• Scoping and planning principles: A key first step is to go back to your strategic guiding principles (such as visibility, agility, and reliability) and confirm the scope and depth of your model.
• Supply chain mapping: An updated mapping of your supply chain flows (both physical and financial) is crucial to identify bottlenecks and understand planning critical constraints. It is important to map the current state and to visualize the future state.
• Decision mapping: Write down how, where, and when you are forced to make key planning decisions at different horizons and planning levels. Based on a mapping of the decisions, horizons, level of detail, and frequency you can work out an (updated) planning cycle.
• Supply chain control model and organization: As a last step, think about how you are going to organize the decision-making and information flow of your end-to-end supply chain. Determine which activities require a central vs decentral level of control, and what the required planning roles and communication lines are.

Defining a supply chain target operating model sets the base layer of your supply chain planning foundation. From there you can detail the further transformation roadmap to realize step-by-step planning improvement.

Want to know more?

For more information on how we can support you in (re-)designing your foundational planning capabilities please contact one of our planning transformation experts.

The post Supply chain target operating model: The foundation for success appeared first on EyeOn.

Business challenges in supply chain planning

Looking at the state of business and current capability levels in the area of planning parameter management, we clearly see that companies with a competitive edge are able to overcome the following business challenges:

• The lack of data quality awareness: Even though master data management is on a rise we still see that companies poorly maintain master data and constantly postpone its assessment. As a result, there is no visibility and awareness of underlying master data quality and the impact it has on overall planning performance.
• The lack of ownership: Planning parameters are not a simple siloed matter; value creation lies in connecting the different functional contributors to achieve cross-functional alignment regarding a representative planning parameter value. To govern this, it is key to have a clear governance and ownership structure in place.
• The lack of a standardized review process: Defining a parameter at initial creation is one thing. At the same time, it is essential to have a well-structured and standardized review process in place. Ensuring that the supply chain planning parameters used day-to-day reflect reality, are robust, and well aligned.
• The lack of automation: The biggest struggle in planning parameter management is that it requires time and manual effort invested to align different data sources, calculate review, approve, and enter master data into different planning systems.

Impact on bottom-line performance

What is the impact when a transportation lead time between two production locations is actually 4 days instead of the 7 days currently registered in your ERP system? In this case, you are most likely holding excessive inventory. Goods will therefore stay in stock for a longer period than necessary. At our customers, we continuously come across real-life examples where unreliable supply chain planning parameters have a negative impact on bottom-line performance. Discrepancies between actual performance and maintained planning standards mean that projected plans and inventory projections are inaccurate, leading to supply chain impacts such as overstocks or underutilization of production assets.

How to build a solid data foundation

To overcome the key challenges in supply chain planning parameter management and to build a solid data foundation, we are strong advocates of taking a step-by-step approach while at the same time keeping the end goal in mind. So, foundational capabilities first, followed by smart automation. Now, what do we exactly mean by that? Our approach for building foundational capabilities consists of the following blocks:

• Focuses initially on defining clear business rules and parameter definitions. Ensuring that there is cross-functional alignment.
• Relies on automatically retrieving all necessary transactional and master data, consolidating it, and applying calculations based on predefined business rules.
• Entails meaningful dashboards enabling the user to easily derive insights into the data.
• Creates alerts to directly inform users about major discrepancies.
• Outlines the review process per parameter: who is responsible for doing what, by when, and how.
• Deals with change management. Operationalizing the process is what matters most.

Want to know more?

Is your company experiencing significant deviations between plan and execution? Are you under the impression that you are keeping inefficient stock levels (either over or under-stocking)? Your planning parameters probably need review.

If you are interested in learning how to transform a tedious review that never happens, to a meaningful continuous automated process, please watch our on-demand webinar, or reach out to us directly!

Next steps

Once you have a solid supply chain planning parameter framework in place, you can start thinking about smart automation to improve efficiency in the data workflows and eliminate human bias in the process. For more on smart automation please stay tuned for our next blog post. Follow us on LinkedIn so you don’t miss it.

The post Resilient supply chain planning requires strong master data foundation appeared first on EyeOn.

More questions about organizational design, capability building, and how to take your organization and employees along the transformation journey? Reach out to our expert Bart Paridaen!

The post Design your future supply chain organization appeared first on EyeOn.

This is an article by the Supply Chain Magazine. Read it here in Dutch!

“If you look at the past few years, there are two developments that organizations have to deal with: For one, COVID-19 has made consumer demand more volatile and uncertain than ever before. Three or four years ago, organizations were already experiencing changes, but it often happened step by step. Volatility has now taken on a whole new dimension,” says André Vriens.

Uncertainty in the supply chain

“Furthermore, we see that the uncertainty on the supply side has also increased enormously in the past year and even more so in recent months. Due to developments in the market, raw materials are no longer reliably available, and organizations are faced with price increases or are struggling, for example, with finding containers. That has to do with the war in Ukraine, but events like the blockade in the Suez Canal or a strike in a port also have an impact.”

End-to-end insight into the supply chain

“The first step that organizations can take to meet these challenges is to gain insights”, says Vriens. “What is the biggest challenge for your company? And what happens there? We call that end-to-end insights. Try to understand the consequences of the volatility of demand for your organization and your supply chain. How can I be more flexible and agile, when supply becomes unpredictable?”

There are several possible solutions, explains Vriens: “For example, if you have parts produced in Asia and goods do not arrive on time, should I operate closer to home? Or do I need to create buffers? Or do I have to make other agreements with supply chain partners? By creating end-to-end transparency, you understand whether your current supply chain setup is still smart.”

Developing scenarios on how to manage the supply chain

The second step in finding solutions is to connect your forecast and planning with the insights you gained in step two. “How do you ensure the best possible forecast? We know that it is not completely accurate anyway, but it does allow you to create scenarios on how you could manage your supply chain. How can you take the uncertainties into account as best as possible?”

Advanced models can help you overcome your challenges, but implementing a model or system alone is not the answer. The idea that good people who can work well with Excel are the solution is also outdated, says Vriens. “And you cannot expect a system to be able to calculate the correct scenarios if the basic data is not in order or incomplete.”

Knowledge and experience in forecasting and planning

To help organizations with these challenges, EyeOn offers knowledge and experience in the field of forecasting and planning, says Vriens. “We help companies with end-to-end transparency, creating a roadmap for digitalization, developing models, and developing capabilities. We help people grow their knowledge by facilitating master classes, for example.”

Vriens is positive about the coming year: “The field is becoming increasingly important and is also receiving more and more attention from C-level. In addition, you see that organizations are increasingly focusing on how they can extract more value from data. Especially now that the labor market is under tension, it is good to see how data can help you. It is therefore not without reason that more than a third of our organization consists of data scientists.”

Learn more about supply chain resilience on our website! We often discuss how to deal with disruptions in our webinars and events. Check our event calendar!

The post Supply chain uncertainty: How to be more flexible? appeared first on EyeOn.