Different size companies have employees in various positions in order to make sure everything gets done to keep the business running. Throughout these positions are many that relate to supply chain planning. This is an important function and any business that sells a product needs to have the people in place to make it happen effectively. Without them in place, there can be disastrous consequences that cause product delivery delays, increase needs for customer service, and can cost the company money.
Purchasing is a primary function for any business. If you're just selling products or making them, this position is critical to many parts of the business. The factory will need the materials to make the product, assemblers will need the parts to put it together, and customer service will need their tools in place to do their jobs well.
The factory needs raw materials or parts to build the products. If the factory runs out, the process stops quickly. Employees will be standing around getting paid or laid off. In both cases, you will experience costly lost wages. Over time, those employees may go elsewhere and you'll have the expense of training new ones.
Inventory management is also critical. This position keeps track of what is in stock to be used or sold. Most companies perform a monthly or weekly inventory to keep track. Some may need to do a daily inventory. Having a tracking system in place will help reduce the effort needed, but a manual count should still be done at least monthly in case the system loses track or material goes missing.
The warehouse manager works with the inventory. Not only will they know how much of anything they have, but will be able to easily locate it. Much like a store knows which shelves products are on, the warehouse staff will know the same information about raw materials and parts for assembly. This will get the needed materials to the factory quickly and efficiently, saving time and money.
Transportation is a function whether you have your own trucks or not. If you have a fleet, then you will need fleet management. If you ship using other carriers, then you need someone keeping track of where the products and materials are in the system to ensure they reach their destination. It is not enough to just toss the package in the mailbox and not track its progress.
Customer service provides the customers with information and uses the systems in place to do this. The tracking and ordering systems need to be accessible to the customer representatives so they can quickly provide status updates to customers and work to resolve problems.
Demand planning encompasses many of the other functions. This position is one that helps keep the costs down by only having the needed amount of product on hand to meet the demand. Too much product will sit and age in the warehouse waiting for a sale and cost the company too much ahead of time. Running out of product costs the company in lost sales. This position requires analysis of sales and demand to carefully plan what is needed and when.
Customers expect to get their purchases in a timely manner. Running out of product after the sale is not acceptable and can cause a chain reaction of bad reputation reports that end up costing new customers and money in the short and long term. Making sure that every step is covered is part of owning and running a business.
Purchasing is a primary function for any business. If you're just selling products or making them, this position is critical to many parts of the business. The factory will need the materials to make the product, assemblers will need the parts to put it together, and customer service will need their tools in place to do their jobs well.
The factory needs raw materials or parts to build the products. If the factory runs out, the process stops quickly. Employees will be standing around getting paid or laid off. In both cases, you will experience costly lost wages. Over time, those employees may go elsewhere and you'll have the expense of training new ones.
Inventory management is also critical. This position keeps track of what is in stock to be used or sold. Most companies perform a monthly or weekly inventory to keep track. Some may need to do a daily inventory. Having a tracking system in place will help reduce the effort needed, but a manual count should still be done at least monthly in case the system loses track or material goes missing.
The warehouse manager works with the inventory. Not only will they know how much of anything they have, but will be able to easily locate it. Much like a store knows which shelves products are on, the warehouse staff will know the same information about raw materials and parts for assembly. This will get the needed materials to the factory quickly and efficiently, saving time and money.
Transportation is a function whether you have your own trucks or not. If you have a fleet, then you will need fleet management. If you ship using other carriers, then you need someone keeping track of where the products and materials are in the system to ensure they reach their destination. It is not enough to just toss the package in the mailbox and not track its progress.
Customer service provides the customers with information and uses the systems in place to do this. The tracking and ordering systems need to be accessible to the customer representatives so they can quickly provide status updates to customers and work to resolve problems.
Demand planning encompasses many of the other functions. This position is one that helps keep the costs down by only having the needed amount of product on hand to meet the demand. Too much product will sit and age in the warehouse waiting for a sale and cost the company too much ahead of time. Running out of product costs the company in lost sales. This position requires analysis of sales and demand to carefully plan what is needed and when.
Customers expect to get their purchases in a timely manner. Running out of product after the sale is not acceptable and can cause a chain reaction of bad reputation reports that end up costing new customers and money in the short and long term. Making sure that every step is covered is part of owning and running a business.
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You can find a summary of the advantages you get when you use professional supply chain planning services at http://www.adexa.com/solutions/supply-chain-planning right now.
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