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Are you planning a major investment in Supply Chain planning software?
Many companies are looking at substantial investments in a new supply chain planning software. Here are a few pointers to consider.
We should first look at the current design of the supply chain. If it needs either a tweak or a major overhaul to improve customer service and product freshness, let’s do it before investing in the software.
Once the design is done, let’s look at the need to change some of the planning and execution processes. New software is not a panacea for all the inefficiencies of the current process. For example, if you are moving from a forecast driven supply chain to a more agile demand driven supply chain, necessary processes of demand sensing, dynamic buffering and supply execution should be put in place.
Any major change like this comes with its own risks. Can we minimize the downside and increase the upside? Two things come to my mind. First is to go for a subscription model instead of an outright purchase. The second is to start with a pilot to confirm initial benefits and fine tune various parameters before the large scale roll-out.