Supply chain planning process redesign

Approach of a planning process redesign

The approach to redesign the planning process can be divided in three steps

Strategic intent and as-is review

The starting point of this project is to understand the business strategy and to identify how the planning processes should support this strategy. This input is important to analyze and design the processes. Next, we review the current end-to-end supply chain process to understand current issues, identify gaps with best practices and start driving the change management process. The assessment is concluded by a validation workshop with the team to get consensus on the current way of working

Redesign

Once the hiccups in the planning process and the strategically important factors are identified, you can develop the future design of the end-to-end supply chain planning processes. These various planning processes should be defined from a cross-functional perspective to ensure all stakeholder needs are addressed. We look at processes from different angles:

• The content: what will we do (e.g. optimization models to use, level of aggregation, constraints considered, horizons,...)
• The procedure: how, when and where will we execute the process
• The organization: who will be involved in the different process steps, what will the organizational structure be (e.g. local vs. Central), what will be the required capabilities of the people involved
• The tools: how will we support the process with data and tools
• The performance: how will we measure the result – looking both at business and process KPIs

Translate the new processes into both functional and system requirements to conduct a fit-gap analysis with your current system landscape. This analysis will reveal whether you need an implementation partner.

Roadmap

The desired state is not achieved in one step but by working on different elements in specific initiatives. Attempting to address all initiatives simultaneously is not feasible. Map these issues based on their value, effort, and dependencies. This approach will result in a manageable improvement roadmap, guiding your supply chain to the next level.

Conclusion

The described approach ensures a comprehensive review of your planning processes and offers guidelines to future-proof your supply chain, helping you achieve your business goals. We have used this approach multiple times and consistently achieved great outcomes. Our primary focus, with such projects, is to upholding your core business principles while transforming your planning processes to be more efficient, resilient, and aligned with your strategic objectives.

At Chronion, we provide support in following supply chain planning excellence related topics: