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Rockin’ the S&OP Process at Fender Musical Instruments Corporation
Monday, 8:05am: your boss calls you into his office and says, “I just got back from the Supply Chain Forecasting & Planning Conference. We need to start a S&OP process!” He hands you a 9 inch thick textbook and barks “get it going!!.” So you dutifully read the textbook, gather your team, collate the data,... »
To Prepare Demand Forecasts, Should We Listen to Our Customers?
If the answer to this question appears to be obvious, please read on! There’s been lots of discussion about how forecasting is done, but much less about what is forecasted. Now, this is an important issue for all forecasters, but none more so than Supply Chain forecasters. Let’s suppose you’re using a particular... »
IBF Webinar Q&A: What Management Must Know About Forecasting
Below details Questions & Answers from IBF’s Webinar “What Management Must Know About Forecasting.” If you missed it, no worries. You can view it complimentary by clicking HERE. 1. If a product is not forecastable, what’s the most appropriate step to move the product to become forecastable? Answer: The most effective way to improve forecast... »
What Management Must Know About Forecasting
Are there some things you wish your organization’s management knew about forecasting? Those of us who have served time in the forecasting profession know that “serving time” is an apt description of the job. Being a business forecaster is sort of like being in county lock-up – without the benefit of free meals, charming... »
Falling Asleep at Your S&OP Meeting?
I remember the day very clearly when I read Donald J Wheeler’s book “Understanding Variation – The Key to Managing Chaos.” What grabbed my attention was the sterility of the traditional monthly report and, furthermore, the potential for it to be truly misleading. Let’s consider what is usually provided to managers prior to and, worse,... »
Building Demand Forecasting Models for ATM Machines & the Time Value of Money Risk
The “time value of money” is at stake when you are trying to forecast demand at ATM machines and of course, customer satisfaction. Trying to get the right amount of cash for pay day and holidays requires some pretty complicated models to get this right. The reality is that these methods and approaches of... »
The Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) Journey Continues at IBF
Last week, I attended IBF’s Executive S&OP workshop with Tom Wallace and companies such as LG, Celegene, Integra Life Sciences, UGG Boots, and more. Some folks flew in to New Jersey from beautiful Southern California just for the S&OP education. Bless them for coming to the North East. If that doesn’t show dedication to... »
Cleaning Up with Supplier Collaboration from the Makers of Hoover and Dirt Devil
Do you have nightmares that your critical suppliers will make short or no notice revisions to your critical component supply orders? How would your company adapt if suppliers decided to switch to buying their components from low-cost, low-quality countries and delivered unreliable or faulty parts for your products? How would your delivery performance fare... »
The Social Supply Chain, An Interview with Jeff Ashcroft
I have been following Jeff Ashcroft’s informative tweets and interacting with him for some time now even though we never actually met in person prior to last month. It was at the IBF booth at the APICS annual conference last month when Jeff approached us unassumingly. As soon as I looked up and saw... »
Demand Planning & Forecasting in Mexico City: A Snapshot of IBF’s Experience
I recently returned from Mexico City from our Spanish based Supply Chain Forecasting & Planning Conference: Latin American Experiences, produced together with Corporate Resources Management – Mexico City and IBF – New York USA. As the IBF continues to deliver more International programs, it is clear that many of the challenges we face in the... »