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Poor response is often caused by ineffective Supply Chain design.
Supply Chain professionals often struggle in a fast-changing marketplace. They wonder why supplies are not responding to the changing demand patterns. The reasons are not related to skills or attitudes of the team but are firmly rooted in the way the entire Supply Chain has been designed.
We get fresh patterns of granular demand every day, but the current processes nudge the team to act on the changes on a weekly or monthly basis. In a replenishment scenario, this could mean revising the inventory buffer norms. How responsive is the system to a changed demand pattern?
I was surprised to hear some very senior TOC experts resist frequent buffer changes. If the demand pattern has shifted, shouldn’t the relevant buffers be revised? Why delay it?
I my opinion, it is better to capture the marketplace changes as early and as frequently as possible. If it leads to daily buffer revisions, so be it. Our efforts should be aimed at improving supply flexibility and responsiveness so that the revised buffers reflecting current reality are filled to the yellow or green zone.