Ultriva Blog

Exception Driven Management Rare in Demand Driven Technology Solutions

Posted by Narayan Laksham on 9/3/14 10:23 AM

Recently there has been a wave of newcomers to technology solutions providers claiming to know and understand demand driven supply chain solutions.  Some are renamed companies, as if putting a fresh coat of paint on the old technology addressed real issues.  Many of these new (or newly disguised) solutions have significant limitations, functioning predominantly within the four walls of a manufacturing plant or with scheduling as the primary foundation of their technology.

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Topics: supply chain, manufacturing, lean manufacturing

The Five Components of Demand Driven MRP

Posted by Narayan Laksham on 8/25/14 1:42 PM

Chad Smith is the co-author of the third edition of Orlicky’s Material Requirements Planning 3/E (Ptak and Smith, McGraw-Hill, 2011) and the co-author of Demand Driven Performance – Using Smart Metrics (Smith and Smith, McGraw-Hill, 2013). He is a co-founder and Partner at the Demand Driven Institute, an organization dedicated to proliferating demand driven methods globally.  Smith serves as the Program Director of the International Supply Chain Education Alliance’s Certified Demand Driven Planner (CDDP) Program.  Clients, past and present, include Unilever, LeTourneau Technologies, Boeing, Intel, Erickson Air-Crane, Siemens, IBM, The Charles Machine Works (Ditch Witch) and Oregon Freeze Dry.  Chad is also a certified expert in all disciplines of the Theory of Constraints studying directly under the tutelage of the late Dr. Eli Goldratt. 

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Topics: supply chain, inventory, Ultriva, lean manufacturing

Inventory Velocity in Consumer Packaged Goods Environment

Posted by Narayan Laksham on 8/18/14 10:33 AM

Living in a world of speed, immediate accessibility, and instant gratification, consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers have to procure raw materials, build components, assemble finished goods and physically ship them across the world. Challenged with shorter lead times and exploding finished goods SKUs, selling goods and procuring materials globally increase pressure to do more with less.

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Topics: collaboration, inventory, lean manufacturing

Ultriva Content Featured on Supply Chain Brief Website

Posted by Narayan Laksham on 8/14/14 5:00 AM

Supply Chain Brief, an aggregate website for supply chain content officially launched today, Thursday, August 14. The website is a combined effort with The Logistics and Supply Chain Management Society and The Logistics of Logistics blog. The creators have started a supply chain community to encourage sharing of best practices as well as provide a forum for thought leadership.

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Topics: supply chain, Ultriva

Demand Driven MRP Focus of Consumption-Based Replenishment Event

Posted by Narayan Laksham on 8/8/14 2:18 PM

Last Tuesday, August 5, 2014 Chad Smith, a Supply Chain expert and co-founder of the Demand Driven Institute presented a webinar about consumption-based replenishment.

Smith argued that forecast error is on the rise and that supply chain complexity and volatility are increasing; he also noted that legacy planning tactics and tools are breaking down.  Co-hosted with Narayan Laksham, founder of Ultriva, Smith noted during the webinar, “Worldwide there are more complex planning and supply scenarios than ever – the past is NOT a predictor for the future.”

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Topics: supply chain, Ultriva, lean manufacturing

Omnichannel and Supply Chain Optimization

Posted by Narayan Laksham on 8/1/14 11:17 AM

Omnichannel has become the buzzword of the moment for retail supply chains. 

Recently, four hundred retail CEOs were surveyed by PwC, for a study commissioned by JDA Software. The survey is titled “Retail’s New Imperative: Supply Chain Optimization as a Growth Strategy.” The study revealed a large number of these retail CEOs reporting that their supply chains were not optimized to support the new omnichannel. 

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Topics: supply chain, inventory, NetSuite

Reducing Supply Chain Costs Starts With Supply Chain Visibility

Posted by Narayan Laksham on 7/21/14 8:36 PM

Everyone in the manufacturing industry wants to reduce inventory costs; easier said than done and there is no magic bullet. Simultaneously there is little appetite for inventory reduction solutions with a big price tag. The closest any manufacturer can get to the magic is supply chain visibility.

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Topics: supply chain, manufacturing, collaboration

Eliminating Excess Warehouse Inventory Through Right Sizing Demand Driven Production

Posted by Narayan Laksham on 7/16/14 11:16 AM

Warehouse’s inventory at an all-time high, choosing a location for storage is tougher than ever. Demand for space is causing prices to go up, and manufacturers want to make sure they are still getting top notch service, especially when expenditures are higher than previous levels.  DC Velocity reported U.S. warehousing costs spiked in 2013 as retailers, incented by low interest rates and inventory carrying

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Topics: inventory, lean manufacturing, end-to-end pull

Adopting Cloud-Based Supply Chain Technology

Posted by Narayan Laksham on 7/7/14 10:14 PM

Recently, Supply Chain Brain (SCB) published, “A Forecast for the Cloud in Supply Chain and Logistics.” Tom Boike, VP of supplier management with UPS, offered his perspective regarding the impact of cloud technology on the supply chain and logistics industry. 

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Topics: supply chain, Cloud, collaboration

How to Manage 3PLs

Posted by Nandu Gopalun on 6/30/14 11:40 AM

Third party logistics providers (3PL) offer a variety of services, but the primary function of these organizations can be summarized as providing transportation, warehousing, and management of inventory for another company. Some companies handle inventory on consignment. Consignment stock is often defined as inventory owned by one party (in this case the “Supplier”), but held by another (the “3PL”). This risk rests with the first party, and do not get paid until the goods are sold (in this case the third player, the manufacturing “Company”). 

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Topics: supply chain, kanban, inventory, Ultriva

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