20Mar 2019 by Archana Menon
The Digital Transformation of a Supply Chain – Blockchain and IoT

The Digital Transformation of a Supply Chain – Blockchain and IoT

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The Internet of Things and Blockchain are two major disruptors impacting us in our daily lives, from Fitbits, Apple Watches, Alexa, Siri, Smart Refrigerators and even our Smartphones. But what is Blockchain and the Internet of Things? How do they work? And how is it impacting the supply chains across industries? This article attempts to breakdown the concepts of Digital Transformation and its enablers Blockchain and Internet of Things to gain a deeper understanding to how it is applied to our Supply Chain World. Continue reading “The Digital Transformation of a Supply Chain – Blockchain and IoT” »
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05Mar 2019 by florian.gamper
Shoe Manufacturing Innovation Symposium

Shoe Manufacturing Innovation Symposium

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Demand forecasting is a valuable planning tool if market conditions are stable, done at a high-level and/or for carry over products. But... What if you want to forecast demand for a new product without history at style-color level and for an emerging market? Continue reading “Shoe Manufacturing Innovation Symposium” »
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16Jan 2019 by florian.gamper
Trace Alliance Press Release

Trace Alliance Press Release

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ebp Global announced that it is joining the Trace Alliance, a collaborative hub for solving supply chain challenges using blockchain technology. Joining the Trace Alliance brings us closer to using the OriginTrail blockchain protocol for data exchange in its supply chain, and is also a platform for connecting with a global network of software development and implementation partners. Continue reading “Trace Alliance Press Release” »
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31Dec 2018 by florian.gamper
ebp’s Supply Chain Maturity Model

ebp’s Supply Chain Maturity Model

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Any organization goes through different stages of maturity over its life cycle. The is a natural way to develop the organization, business processes, systems and data over time. Usually the level of maturity an organization is adopting, will be highly depended on a number of factors: Industry maturity, or Competitive pressures, or Vision of the executive team, or Willingness of an organization to invest in people, processes and systems, the last point is highly dependent on the margin pressure of a particular industry In order to agree on the correct steps to improve key capabilities of an organization, understanding the current state is a key step. Hence, mapping an organization’s key capabilities on the maturity model is the first step. Not every organization must or should attain the highest level…
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08Nov 2018 by florian.gamper
One Number

One Number

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Any business operates an annual budget process. Once done, this budget is hardly touched or modified during the fiscal year of execution. Targets for sales, production or other departments are derived from those budgets and used as performance targets for the fiscal year to come by each department. As the fiscal year is passing by, monthly or weekly updates to a demand plan or a sales forecast are being applied. In any organization, a gap between budget or targets AND the demand plan or sales forecast will sooner or later appear. Whilst the desire for senior management to manage the business against a single number, i.e. the budget or target, they are much less comfortable with managing the gap. Neither adjusting the demand plan or sales forecast to the budget…
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29Oct 2018 by florian.gamper
Inventory is proportional to Lead Time

Inventory is proportional to Lead Time

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The objective of this article is to ‘refresh our memories’ about one of the most fundamental relationships in supply chain management: Inventory is proportional to Lead Time. Let us remind ourselves where this started. This relationship was first defined in the context of the semiconductor industry, managing complex material flows through a production plant. Known as “Little’s Law”, the relationship is expressed as follows: LT (Lead-Time) = CT (Cycle-Time) * I (Inventory) CT = 1 / Tact Rate, or described in business language: CT = 1 / (PROCESS TIME per Piece) If the cycle time stays constant, then lead-time will be longer in proportion to the amount of inventory. However, lead-time increases may result from a variety of additional factors.  Let us explore those. Continue reading “Inventory is proportional to…
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19Oct 2018 by florian.gamper
Advanced Process Architecture and Design Principles

Advanced Process Architecture and Design Principles

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Business process architectures and their definitions are defined very differently by consulting firms and companies alike. There is no standard. However, this article will attempt to define some of the foundational elements of a process architecture. There are 3 key elements which form the foundation of a business process architecture: The structure of the underlying supply chain – Horizontal View The flow of information and materials – Vertical View The maturity level of an organization We will explore the 3 key elements now and then create an architectural model to be used by any organization. Continue reading “Advanced Process Architecture and Design Principles” »
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05Oct 2018 by florian.gamper

Changes to Techniques to Replenishment to Stores and DC

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The world of replenishment techniques is changing rapidly. After the development and deployment of classical ROP (Re-order Point), MPS (Master Production Scheduling) and DRP (Distribution Requirements Planning) techniques for many years, recently there is a drastic change in the adoption of more advanced techniques for replenishment using TOC (Theory of Constraints) and Machine Learning principles. The TOC principle came from the fashion retail industry, which needed faster techniques to adopt to short life cycle products and rapid changes in consumer buying behavior. Continue reading “Changes to Techniques to Replenishment to Stores and DC” »
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04Oct 2018 by florian.gamper
NOOS Versus Pareto, who wins in Retail?

NOOS Versus Pareto, who wins in Retail?

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A popular approach in fashion retailing to manage store level replenishment is to include a SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) into a NOOS (Never Out of Stock) supply program. The objective is to actively manage and guarantee shelf availability of that SKU. However, more often than not NOOS becomes a supply program for a range of SKUs without considering the “real” and “changing” speed of a SKU in a store. This “real” and “changing” speed differs from store to store as well as can change rapidly over the life span of a SKU. Instead of using a fixed linkage between a product and a supply program, which will be only a reviewed and adopted infrequently, using a more dynamic method as reviewed below is better suited for fashion and softgoods products.…
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