INTRODUCTION

Supply Chain and Logistics Management

TITLE OF THE PROJECT

SUPPLY CHAIN AND LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT

NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE STUDENT:

KAMLESH I. PAREKH.

A/403, SHALIBHADRA PALACE,

OPP. SHIWAR GARDEN,

NEAR BHRAMADEV TEMPLE,

MIRA BHAYANDER ROAD,

MIRA ROAD (E),

THANE 401 107.

NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE STUDENTS COLLEGE

ANJUMAN I ISLAMS

AKBAR PEERBHOY COLLEGE OF COMMERCE AND ECONOMICS

MAULANA SHAUKATALI ROAD,

MUMBAI 400 008.

DATE OF SUBMISSION:

A project report is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Bachelor of Management Studies, University of Mumbai 400 032

KAMLESH I Parekh

T.Y.BMS

ROLL NO. - 24

SEMESTER-V

2003 - 04

DECLARATION

I Kamlesh I Parekh, a student of Akbar Peerbhoy College of Commerce and Economics, TYBMS Vth Semester, hereby declare that I have completed this project report on SUPPLY CHAIN AND LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT in the academic year 2003-04, the information submitted is true and original to the best of my knowledge.

(Kamlesh I Parekh)CERTIFICATE

I Principal S.A.M. Hashmi here by certify that Mr. Kamlesh I Parekh of T.Y.BMS (SemesterV) of Akbar Peerbhoy College of Commerce and Economics has completed the project on SUPPLY CHAIN AND LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT in the academic year 2003-04. The information submitted is true and original to the best of my knowledge.

(Prof. Vikram G. Shrotri)

(Prof. S.A.M. Hashmi)

Project Co-ordinator.

Principal

Acknowledgement

Entrance, hard work, gradual progress and an exciting year, thats how I have reached this level and now as I stand at the threshold of the aside world, I take a look of the past year which I spent in this college. Our performance with their devotion, have molded me in to confident and aspiring student all through this year.

The project has been a rich learning experience and a thorough understanding of the Supply Chain and Logistics concepts. It gave me a first hand experience and enabled me to understand the difference between Logistics and Supply Chain Management.

A real artist never displays his work until he has a feel of it to his soul. My guide for the project Mr. Vikram Shrotri, whose constant encouragement and guidance, belong to that galaxy of artist those who have put their art into every part of this project. Thanks are also due to Prof. R. Subramanian, without whose constant guidance this project would have remained uncomplete.

Also at the outset, I would like to express my cordial thanks to our Principal Mr. S.A.M. Hashmi, and B.M.S coordinator who guided, instructed and encouraged me for compiling this project report.

I would also like to acknowledge the assistance and encouragement of my family, my friends, and all others for supporting me throughout the completion of this project.

Kamlesh I. Parekh.

Executive SummaryTitle of the Project:Supply Chain And Logistics Management.About the Project:Today industry is the backbone of any economy. Every economy has its own style of managing its regime. Doing business is not the same as it was in the earlier. Due to the changing behaviour and awareness of the customer, which lead to intense level of competition. Businessman has evolved too many new concept for facing competition and keeping them self a step from the competitor. Among those concepts supply chain is one of the emerging and successful concepts, which is used in the business.

Though Supply Chain concept is very old, but with the help of up coming technology and IT revolution supply chain concept has got a boost. Supply Chain is not a concept alone but also is a methodology of doing business in todays business scenario. Effective control of the flow of components and materials to the manufacturing or assembly line is a key to cost effective manufacturing. In an optimal supply chain, materials and components are received just-in-time to enable lean manufacturing, i.e., the right product, in the right place, at the right time, at the lowest possible cost. In other words, the wrong product, in the wrong place or at the wrong time, at higher than expected cost.

Objective of the study:

The main objective of this project is to enable me to know and understand the various aspects of Supply Chain and Logistics Management.

Gain practical as well as the theoretical knowledge about the subject.

Problems faced in maintaining an efficient Supply Chain

Research Methodology:

The methodology used for carrying out this study was by means of secondary data. The secondary data was collected from various articles, magazines, books and websites. The research underlying this study that the Supply Chain and Logistics Management concept have entered the mainstream and in some cases, are the leading edge of the rapid changes transforming the business economy.

Constraints:The major constraint faced during making the project was that adequate information about the concept of Supply Chain and Logistics Management, the technicality of its operations. Though the concept is very old but very few companies have adopted it with complete efficiency, hence it was the part of the difficulties I faced while collecting the data.

Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION

1 - 2Distinguish between Logistics and Supply Chain Management3

The Evolution

3 - 7Table 1 - Chronological Dates 6

Events in SCM Evolution7Definition And Explanation

11

Basics of Logistics

11

Outsourcing/Third party Logistics

12Supply Chain Optimization To-Do List

15Traditional Functional Performance Measures

15Supply Chain Management - A Continuous Replenishment

16Supply Chain Process

17 - 21Process view of the Supply Chain

19

Push-Pull view of Supply Chain

21

Supply Chain Flows

22 - 24Decision Phases in a Supply Chain

25

Supply chain strategy or design

26Supply chain planning

27 - 28Supply Chain Obstacles/Challenges

29Supply Chain Drivers

30 - 34Inventory

30Transportation

31Facilities

33a) Warehousing/Storage33b) Material Handling34c) Packaging

34Information

35Order Processing

35Planning

35Table of Contents (Contd.)

Achieving strategic fit in Supply Chain Management

37 - 38Achieving Strategic Fit

37Fit Between Competitive and Functional Strategies

38The Bull Whip Effect

39 - 43Causes of the Bullwhip Effect

40How to Counteract the Bullwhip Effect

43How to Reduce the Bullwhip Effect

45Supply Chain and IT

46 - 49

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

47EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)

48The Postponement Strategy

49 - 54Optimal Postponement Preconditions

50Demand Preconditions:50Product/product line preconditions:50Production preconditions:51Postponement benefits:

52The Postponement Strategy Examples

53Paints Insta Color

53Hewlett Packard53The Integrated Supply Chain Strategy

55 - 56Logistics Performance Measurement

57Job Scope Available

58Going For Gold In The Supply Chain

59 - 61(A case study on Marico Industries)

59Concepts and Relative Terms

The logistics professional of the new millennium must move well beyond the current frontiers of supply chain management to meet the varied and complex distribution channels of a global economy. Essentials in Supply Chain and Logistics Management provides an opportunity to explore the latest developments in logistics strategy, interact with industry leaders, and map out innovative business planning tactics that will maximize your organization's profitability.

Glossary of Supply Chain Management Terms

Every field has its special language, and Supply Chain Management is no exception. Hence, this glossary of Supply Chain & Logistics Management technical terms and concepts are listed below:

ABC Analysis A form of Pareto analysis applied to a group of products in order to apply selective inventory management controls. The inventory value for each item is obtained by multiplying the annual demand by unit cost and the entire inventory is then ranked in descending order of cost. However, the classification parameter can be varied; for example, it is possible to use the velocity of turnover rather than annual demand value.

Anticipation Stock: Inventory held in order to be able to:

Satisfy a demand with seasonal fluctuations with a production level that does not fluctuate at all or that varies to a lesser extent than the demand. Cope with erratic production or deficiencies in production capacity.

Available Stock: The stock available to service immediate demand.

Back-flushing: The deduction from inventory, after manufacture, of the component parts used in a parent by exploding the bill of materials by the production total of parents produced.

Backorder A: Customer demand for which no stock is available and where the customer is prepared to wait for the item to arrive in stock.

Bar Code: See Linear Bar CodeBatch Management: In various industry sectors, particularly the process industry, you have to work with homogeneous partial quantities of a material or product throughout the entire quantity and value chain. In this system, a batch is the quantity or partial quantity of a particular material or product that is manufactured according to the same recipe. Buffer Stock: See Safety StockBuild Stock: See Anticipation StockBuild to Order: See Make to OrderCycle Stock:See Working Stock

Distribution Requirement Planning DRPI: The function of determining the need to replenish inventory at branch warehouses over a forward time period. A time-phased order point approach is used where planned orders at branch warehouse level are exploded via MRP logic to become gross requirements on the supplying source enabling the translation of inventory plans into material flows. In the case of multi-level distribution networks, this explosion process can continue down through the various levels of regional warehouses, master warehouse, factory warehouse etc and become input to the master production schedule.

Distribution Resource Planning DRPII: The extension of MRP into the planning of the key resources contained in a distribution system.

Economic Order Interval (EOI): In fixed order interval systems, the interval between orders that will minimize the total inventory cost, under a given set of circumstances, obtained by trade off analysis between the cost of placing an order and the cost of holding stock

Economic Order Quantity (EOQ): In fixed order quantity systems, the size of an order that minimizes the total inventory cost, under a given set of circumstances, obtained by trade off analysis between the cost of placing an order and the cost of holding stock.

Economic Stock: The sum of the physical stock and the goods ordered but not yet received, minus the goods sold but not yet delivered for which a company carries risk in respect of a drop in price and un-marketability

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): The computer-to-computer exchange of structured data for automatic processing.Enterprise Requirement Planning (ERP): A further extension of MRP II whereby a single system embraces and integrates all aspects of business operations into a single database application.

Finished Goods: Inventory to which the final increments of value have been added through manufacturing.

Finished Goods Stock: Stock that is available for supply to an external consumer, including items that have been supplied but not invoiced to an external consumer.

Holding Cost: The cost associated with holding one unit of an item in stock for one period of time incorporating elements to cover: Capital costs for stock, Taxes, Insurance, Storage, Handling, Administration, Shrinkage, Obsolescence, Deterioration.

Inventory:A term used to describe:

all the goods and materials held by an organisation for future sale or use

a list of items held in stock.

Inventory Control:Consists of all the activities and procedures used to control and maintain the right amount of each item in stock or to provide the required level of service at minimum cost.

Inventory Management:

Studying consignment stock, project stock, and so on). SAP Inventory Management enables a summarized visibility of stocks in the supply chain. To fully utilize this functionality, the following products should be evaluated.

Inbound/Outbound Material Flow: Warehouse Management allows you to manage your material flow, using advanced put away and picking strategies. In the standard system, these strategies for put away include random put away (next empty bin), bulk storage, fixed bin, or addition to stock. The picking strategies include standard strategies first in first out (FIFO), last in first out (LIFO), picking by shelf life expiration date (SLED), or partial quantities first. With the Warehouse Management system, you can control the goods receipt and goods issue processes at a physical level. Goods receipts are possible from purchase orders, inbound deliveries (advanced shipping notice), stock transport orders, or from production. The goods issue process in the Warehouse Management system includes all physical activities for fulfilling an outbound delivery or shipment. This includes rough workload estimates in advance of the actual process, picking waves to group the activities efficiently, and pick & pack functions. Value-Added Services: SAP Warehouse Management supports value-added services such as customer-specific packing or labeling. Item: See Stock-Keeping Unit (SKU)Just-in-Time JIT:A dependent demand inventory control philosophy which views production as a system in which all operations, including the delivery of materials needed for production, occur just at the time they are needed. Thus, stocks of material are virtually eliminated.

Kanban: A simple control system for coordinating the movement of material to feed the production line. The method uses standard containers or lot sizes with a single card attached to each. It is a pull system in which work centres signal with a card that they wish to withdraw parts from feeding operations or vendors. Loosely translated from Japanese, the word "Kanban' means literally means "billboard' or "sign". The term is often used synonymously for the specific scheduling system developed and used by Toyota Corporation in Japan.

Lead Time:See Purchasing Lead Time

Linear Bar Code:A method of automatic identification using a series of light spaces and dark bars differing densities, in standard formats, to enable a computer to read data and letters accurately without keyboard entry.

Logistics:The time-related positioning of resources to meet user requirements.

Material Requirements Planning (MRP I): A system to support manufacturing and fabrication organisations by the timely release of production and purchase orders using the production plan for finished goods to determine the materials required to make the product. Orders for dependent demand items are phased over time to ensure that the flow of raw materials and in-process inventories matches the production schedules for finished products. The 3 key inputs are:

the master production schedule

inventory status records

product structure records

Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II): A method for the effective planning of all the resources of a manufacturing company. Ideally it addresses operational planning in units, financial planning in money, and has a simulation capability to answer what if questions. It is made up of a variety of functions, each linked together: business planning, master (or production) planning, master production scheduling, material requirements planning, capacity requirements planning and the execution systems for capacity and priority. Outputs from these systems would be integrated with financial reports such as the business plan, purchase commitment report, shipping budget, stock projections in money etc. Manufacturing resource planning is a direct out-growth and extension of material requirements planning (MRP-1).

Make to Order:A manufacturing or assembly process established to satisfy customer demand only after an order has been placed.

Materials Management: The planning, organisation and control of all aspects of inventory embracing procurement, warehousing, work-in-progress, shipping, and distribution of finished goods.

Matrix Bar Code:See Two Dimensional Bar CodeMaximum Stock:The upper limit, expressed in quantitative, financial or time-based terms, to which the stock of an item should normally be allowed to rise.

Maximum Order Quantity: An order quantity which, in principle, must not be exceeded.

Minimum Order:The smallest order quantity which, in principle, is allowed.

Minimum Stock: A control limit within a stock control system which could indicate the point at which an order should be placed, or indicate if stocks are too low, for a specific item.

Obsolete Stock:Stock held within an organisation where there is no longer any organizational reason for holding the stock.

Obsolescent Stock:Parts which have been replaced by an alternative but which may still be used until stock is exhausted.

Opening Stock:The stock of an item at the beginning of an inventory accounting period of time.

Order Lead Time:The total internal processing time necessary to transform a replenishment quantity into an order and for the transmission of that order to the recipient.

Production Planning: Production planning enables the planner to create feasible production plans across the different production locations (also with subcontractors) to fulfill the (customer) requirements in time and to the standard expected by the customer. For the long and medium-term time horizon, rough-cut planning is based on time buckets and determines requirements of resources (machines, humans, production resource tools) and materials. Solvers, real-time data, and high supply chain visibility (KPIs, alerts) support the planner's decision-making process.

Pull System:A system where orders for an end item are pulled through the facility to satisfy demand for the end item. An examples of pull system is the JIT Kanban process.

Push System: A system where orders are issued for completion by specified due dates, based on estimated lead-times, or where the flow of material in a product structure is controlled and determined by the lower levels.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID): The attachment of transponders (which may be read only or read/write) to products, as an alternative to linear bar codes, to enable product identification some distance from the scanner or when out of line of sight.

Raw Material:Stock or items purchased from suppliers, to be input to a production process, and which will subsequently modified or transformed into finished goods.

Re-Order Level (ROL) (or Re-Order Point - ROP): The calculated level of stock within an inventory control system to which the quantity of a specific item is allowed to fall before replenishment order action is generated.

Re-Order Quantity, Replenishment Order Quantity: The calculated order quantity necessary to replenish stocks at a given point in time. The method of calculation, and the timing of the order, will vary depending on the type of inventory control system in use. Quantity based systems are checked continually to determine if an order should be placed; time based systems only have a count of stock at predetermined intervals and orders placed as required; a distribution system plans orders to meet distribution needs; and production based systems only order stock to meet manufacturing requirements.

Replenish to Demand:See Make to OrderReplenishment Lead-time: See Total Lead-timeSafety Stock:The stock held to protect against the differences between forecast and actual consumption, and between expected and actual delivery times of procurement orders, to protect against stock outs during the replenishment cycle. In calculating safety stock, account is taken of such factors as service level, expected fluctuations of demand and likely variations in lead-time.

Stock:See Anticipation Stock

Stock:Stock can be defined as:

All the goods and materials stored by an organisation and retained for future use.

The quantity of goods between measuring points in a particular path, expressed in quantitative and/or financial terms. For example, the goods can be in a pipeline, in a warehouse or technical store, in reception, in production.Stock Keeping Unit (SKU): A single type of product which is kept in stock; it is one entry in the inventory.

Supply-Chain:The total sequence of business processes, within a single or multiple enterprise environments, which enable customer demand for a product or service to be satisfied.

Supply-Chain Management (SCM): Organisation of the overall business processes to enable the profitable transformation of raw materials or products into finished goods and their timely distribution to meet customer demand.

Total Lead-time:The total time between the decision to place a replenishment order until its availability for use. That is, the sum of Order Lead-time, Purchasing Lead-time, Transit Time and any Goods Inward Lead-time for that replenishment order.

Two Dimensional Bar Code (2D Bar Code): Codes in which information is placed in two dimensions and read from side to side, and up and down, by special scanning equipment and which can be read, even if partially damaged.

Unit: The standard size or quantity of a stock item.

Unit Cost:The cost to an organisation of acquiring one unit, including any freight costs, if obtained from an external source or the total unit production cost, including direct labour, direct material and factory overheads, if manufactured in-house.

Value-Added Services: Value-adding activities in the warehouses have to be priced and invoiced. Support for service activities on warehouse operations enable a company to decide on the type of activities, retrieve the value of a group of activities around a warehouse process, and invoice these activities to the warehouse customers (internally and externally). To fully utilize this functionality, the following products should be evaluated.Zero Inventories:Part of the principles of just-in-time which relates the elimination of waste by having only required materials when needed.

Learn the advanced skills to initiate major improvements and innovations in supply chain management.

Broaden your understanding of current issues and trends in Inventory, Transportation, Procurement and Outsourcing.

Demonstrate how to create value through supply chain relationships, and set up more productive supply chain relationships. Learn through first-hand case histories and discussion groups, supply chain and logistics initiatives that have increased market share and profitability for other organizations. Improve business results through integrated supply chain and logistics management strategies and concepts. Enhance your organization's supply chain and logistics capabilities and its ability to add sustainable value.

Isolate key performance areas and related success factors; pinpoint operational difficulties and develop practical improvement strategies and tactics.

INTRODUCTION Since the early 1980's, supply chain management has developed rapidly as companies have been seeking to improve their competitiveness in respect of cost and service levels, and to attain sustainable growth.

Supply chain management has gained increasing recognition in business, both as a function in its own right and as a cross-functional discipline. At the same time, supply chain management has moved from operational level to broad level within the corporate organization. Never before the supply chain management played such an important role in the corporate strategy of many companies as it is today. This development has led to a much broader scope in supply chain management in the 1990's as compared to that of the 1970's.

With the logistics industry becoming more crucial as its relevance ever increasing it moved into new areas, involved in outsourcing projects and design and implements supply chain management strategies and enable enormous increase in output. Given the growing importance of supply chain and logistics management, one has to determine how the calculation of transport and logistics costs has changed over the last decades as a consequence of improved supply chain management and the increasing significance of supply chain management.

The concept of Supply Chain Management has recently stepped into the limelight of corporate professionals and academia. However, its roots can be traced with the evolution of trade itself. Evidences show that supply chains were present right from the time when mankind understood the need of merchandising and distribution.

In fact now one of the strategies is to choke all the supply feeder lines, which either harbour or encourage terrorism of any variety. This is referred to as 'Operation Endurance Freedom' in the recent times.

We can characterize the significant events that reflect the evolution of the supply chain management in a chronological manner. However, it is to be observed that the impact of each event on Supply Chain Management (SCM) is varied. Change can be implemented easily when tough times reign. Companies in India have been looking at ways of cutting costs and improving process efficiencies, in their quest to become globally competitive. One such initiative is Supply Chain Management (SCM). SCM recognizes that distinct functions like Purchases, Inventory Management, Distribution and Production Planning work best when integrated.

Supply Chain Management offers, at the least, reduction in costs across functions, better planning for purchase and production, and much more efficient use of capital. It also offers a 13% of Indias GDP-opportunity for a variety of services - trucking, warehousing, IT, personnel, ancillaries and a host of others.

Today all the four key elements of SCM materials, time, money and information- are being tackled to squeeze out the maximum possible savings. Almost every leading company in India now has an SCM drive in place. In HLL, chairman M. S. Banga considers SCM as one of the key factors contributing the bottom line and enabling growth of the power brands.

Distinguish between Logistics and Supply Chain Management

LogisticsSCM

It is concerned with getting goods and services where they are required and when they are desired.SCM encompasses of all those activities associated with movement of goods from raw material stage to the end user.

No manufacturing or marketing can accomplish without logistical support.This includes sourcing, procurement, production scheduling, order-processing, inventory management, transportation, warehousing and customer service.

It involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory warehousing, material handling and packaging.SCM integrates and coordinates all the above activities into a seamless process. It embraces and links all the partners in the chain.

Logistics add value when inventory is correctly positioned to facilitate sales. The best SCM practice is when it excels in reducing operating costs, improves asset productivity and compressing order cycle time.

It is mainly concerned with optimising flows within the organization.It recognizes the internal integration by itself.

It is essentially a planning orientation and framework that seeks to create a single plan for the flow of product and information through a business.It builds upon this framework and seeks to achieve linkage and coordination between processes of other entities in the pipeline i.e. suppliers and customers and the organization.

Definition And Explanation

Logistics Management is primarily concerned with optimizing flows within the organisation while Supply Chain Management recognizes that internal integration by itself is not sufficient and all the channel partners i.e. all stages of a supply chain need to be integrated.

Logistics becomes a large portion of the tools that we use to operate and analyze the supply chain. Further, a Supply Chainis an interconnected system containing suppliers, manufacturing, assembly, distribution, and logistics facilities. This manufacturing unit procures raw materials from suppliers, built to produce materials and move them to the customers, through distribution units. Logistics are responsible for transportation of materials from one unit to other.

Risk Reduction as a Goal of SCMSupply Chain management (SCM),has now became a very vital part of management. Good Supply Chain Management can result in

Decreases Cycle Time

Reduces the inventory level

Decreases cost of production

Let you decidestrategy

Following figure shows a typical Supply Chain:

Suppliers Manufacturers Distributors Retailers Customers

The goal of supply chainis to move material quickly while maintaining the lowest possible levels of inventory.

What is a supply chain?

A supply chain is the link that moves products between suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers and finally consumers. For most of the last century, the supply was an inflexible series of events that some-how managed to get products out the door. A paper-heavy adventure, it often involved questionable inventory forecasts, ironclad manufacturing plans and hypothetical shipping schedules.

What is supply chain management (SCM)?

Supply chain management is a way to supervise the flow of products and information as they move along the supply chain. Supply chain management is the combination of art and science that goes into improving the way your company finds the raw components it needs to make a product or service, manufactures that product or service and delivers it to customers. The following are five basic components for supply chain management.

1. Plan - This is the strategic portion of supply chain management. You need a strategy for managing all the resources that go toward meeting customer demand for your product or service. A big piece of planning is developing a set of metrics to monitor the supply chain so that it is efficient, costs less and delivers high quality and value to customers.

2. Source - Choose the suppliers that will deliver the goods and services you need to create your product or service. Develop a set of pricing, delivery and payment processes with suppliers and create metrics for monitoring and improving the relationships. And put together processes for managing the inventory of goods and services you receive from suppliers, including receiving shipments, verifying them, transferring them to your manufacturing facilities and authorizing supplier payments.

3. Make - This is the manufacturing step. Schedule the activities necessary for production, testing, packaging and preparation for delivery. As the most metric-intensive portion of the supply chain, measure quality levels, production output and worker productivity.

4. Deliver - This is the part that many insiders refer to as "logistics." Coordinate the receipt of orders from customers, develop a network of warehouses, pick carriers to get products to customers and set up an invoicing system to receive payments.

5. Return - The problem part of the supply chain. Create a network for receiving defective and excess products back from customers and supporting customers who have problems with delivered products.

The ultimate goal of SCM is to optimize the supply chain, which can not only reduce inventories, but may also create a higher profit margin for finished goods by giving customers exactly what they want (and of course charging for it).

What can SCM do?

A good SCM initiative gives visibility to all the players in the supply chain so that they are able to react to the order. The moment a retailer receives an order, the retailers supplier also sees it. The supplier checks inventory. If inventory is low, a manufacturer also with access to the system produces more products and ships it to the supplier via a distributor that is also connected to the system.

Meanwhile the supplier has sent the product to the retail for shipment to the customer. The customer, in turn, can track the shipment of the order and perhaps even check inventory to make sure an item is in stock before ordering. With Web technology, all the players in the chain simultaneously manage inventory, control-manufacturing schedules and deliver an order on time to a customer.

Also, Supply chain management projects should also rethink the chain. Most businesses establish their supply chains around product lines. But today, customer orders touch multiple product lines and multiple channels of distribution. Modern supply chains focus on the customer and on delivering one order at a time rather than moving one product line at a time. The focus has to be on filling, delivering and managing inventory for every order that a customer places. Every order should penetrate the same system that manages inventory and connects to suppliers and distributors.

Basics of Logistics

Logistics is unique. It never stops! Logistics is concerned with getting products and services where they are needed and when they are desired. Most consumers in highly developed nations take a high level of logistical competency for granted. When they go to the store, they expect goods to be available and fresh. It is difficult to visualize accomplishing any marketing or manufacturing without logistical support.

Logistics and distribution are being accorded high priority in Supply Chain Management. The priority arises not only due to possible costs savings but also because of their impact on responsiveness and services levels. In-fact, the latter would be more important reasons since logistics costs per se are not very. Not all organizations seem to share the view that Logistics and distribution is a strategic function. Few companies seem to be adopting leading SCM practices in the area though can be substantial.

Logistics and distribution are the nuts and bolts of SCM.

A leading-edge supply chain program can create competitive advantage for your company. The service and cost benefits can distinguish you from competitors. Customers have strong requirements on how they want their orders and shipments handled. Your compliance with those requirements can enhance your status as a supplier. Whether for company-wide or selected portion, we will analyze the key logistics elements-movement of product (inbound, outbound, intra-company), movement of information, service/time, cost and integration-within your company, with customers, and with your suppliers.

The scope of your supply chain organization can be complex- imports, exports, diverse market requirements, differing customer expectation, shortened lead times, and more. Organization, teamwork and information technology are among the issues that impact supply chain effectiveness. It is no longer distribution, not shopping and receiving; it is supply chain management.

In the global market where competitors and suppliers are worldwide, firms want to have supply chain operations. Asia is a key area for product sourcing, the start of the logistics process-the suppliers. Today companies are also seeking out 3rd party Logistics providers (3PLs), who handle not just physical distribution but also functions like warehousing, billing, tracking and insurance. But outsourcing of Inventory Management has not caught yet.

Outsourcing/Third party Logistics

Third-Party Logistics (3PL) is defined as the outsourcing of transportation, warehousing, inventory management, distribution and other value-added services such as pick-and-pack, assembly, repairs, and reconditioning, etc. It can be said that outsourcing is, calling on external resources to provide distribution service to maximize your efficiency and focus on your core competencies. As we approach the 21st century, outsourcing activities have been a hot topic often red hot. The practice is no longer confined to transportation and warehousing activities.

3PL - third party logistics represents the outsourcing of the logistics function.One of the most significant trends that continued to gain the attention of forward-thinking firms is the option to outsource logistics activities. Outsourcing has grown for many reasons and is now a major part of economy. Like all growth industries, the provision of third party logistics services has diversified. Its offspring 4th Party Logistics is an example of such diversification. Logistics providers are developing competitive advantage by coordinating different customers logistics solutions. They are presenting some of the basic factors that are taken into considerations for a 3PL firm when coordinating its customers. The possibilities to coordinate are dependent not only on activities of different customers, suppliers and customers customers but also the attitudes and behaviour reflected from their strategies.

What is Outsourcing?

An important characteristic of the Supply Chain is outsourcing. This concept has its route in both core competency and cost control. Core competency basically means do what you are best at, and leave all other non-value-added activities to more suited players. During 1990s, phase with rising cost accelerated like the gulf war in 1991, an increasing cost competition from cheaper countries around the world, companies undertook a serious bit of sole searching. Thus originated for, Third Party services providers. The business activity of farming out identified non core activities to external agencies came to be known as outsourcing. In Logistics and Supply Chain Management too, companies have been outsourcing the activities of transportation, warehousing, clearing and forwarding to different operator.

The future shape of business is being redefined through outsourcing

Benefits of Outsourcing

A key question that a company has to ask before considering the outsourcing option is: What is it in there for us? Here we list some potential reasons that may argue in favour of outsourcing.

Improve company focus: More organizations are eliminating internal functions that are not considered core competencies.

Access to worldclass capabilities and new technology: Often these third party logistics companys capabilities are the results of extensive investments in technology, methodologies and people, over a considerable period of time. Sometimes, these capabilities include specialized industry expertise gained through working with many clients facing similar challenges. Therefore, this expertise is translated into skills, processes, or technologies uniquely capable of meeting these needs.

Accelerate reengineering benefits: Outsourcing to a 3PL already reengineered to worldclass standards allows the company to realize those anticipated benefits immediately.

Share (pool) risks: There are tremendous risks associated with the capital investments an organization makes. A 3PL can share these risks across the many companies that it serves. This allows a 3PL to lower risk relative to a company performing the function itself.

Free-up resources: Outsourcing offers a way to conserve capital and allows a company to redirect its resources from non-core activities toward activities, which have the greater return in serving the customer.

Cash infusion: Sometimes, outsourcing involves the transfer of assets from the company to the 3PL. These assets have a value, and in fact are sometimes sold to the 3PL.

Reduce and control operating costs: Outsourcing to a 3PL most likely will give access to a lower cost structure, which may be the result of a greater economy of scale or some other advantage based on specialization. When calculating the cost benefits it is very important to consider total costs since coordination costs often increase when all or part of a function is outsourced.

Resources not available internally: Companies might simply not have access to the required resources within the company.

Eliminate labour problems: While companies are rarely willing to concede this fact, many view outsourcing as a way to eliminate labour problems. This is a two edged sword and one has to be extremely careful here. Perceived benefits do not always materialize.

Supply Chain Optimization To-Do List

Migrate electronic data interchange (EDI) transactions to the Web. Many companies have been using EDI since the 1980s to automate purchasing of production materials. Third-party value-added network (VAN) providers charge a premium to connect organizations with different equipment. Using the Web for EDI can slash costs.

Use Product Data Management (PDM) to manage product development data from design through manufacturing and maintenance.

Engage in Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR), which involve sharing forecasts among suppliers to enable automatic product replenishment.

Take part in collaborative product design (CPD), the joint development of new products by supply chain members.

Traditional Functional Performance Measures

ManufacturingSales & MarketingEngineering / R&D

Unit costLabour costLabour productivityQuality, scrap ratePlant utilizationPlan vs. actual productionMarket shareRevenueSales growthNew "hot" productsCustomer satisfactionFunctions/featuresLabour & material costTime-to-marketAward-winning designsDesign for manufacturability, assembly, etc.

Supply Chain Management - A Continuous Replenishment.

Supply chain management is a driving factor in today's business world. Supply chain run from vendor's right through to customers' door. With international sourcing and international sales, the scope and complexity of supply chains can be significant. Customers, and their requirements, drive the process. They demand that their orders be shipped, complete, accurate, on tine, and in the manner they require.

The purpose of SCM is to drive out excess inventory and unnecessary costs. We work with companies to understand what is required and the impact, both financial and operational. With this base we work to develop and implement SCM. We can work with clients to evaluate their present supply chain and to identify what must be done to gain the cost and service benefits of a quality SCM program. The SCM must work at all levels, strategically and tactically to be effective.

If you have customer who have placed supply chain requirements on you that you may not understand, we will work with you to understand each customer's needs. Then we can evaluate your supply chain process to see if it meets your customers' requirements. Each customer has different requirements that you must comply with. Your supply chain program must be tailored to each customer's special requirements.

The Evolution

The evolution of the SCM has moved from disparate functions of logistics, transportation, purchasing and supplies and physical distribution to focus on integration, visibility, cycle time reduction and streamlined channels. The new integration has a variety of activities such as, Integrated Purchasing Strategy, Supplier Integration, Buyer-Supplier Partnerships, Supply Base Management, Strategic Supplier Alliances, Supply Chain Synchronization, and finally simply SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT.

The activities of logistics are centuries old as discussed earlier. During World War II, military forces made effective use of logistics models and forms of systems analysis to ensure that the required material was at the right place on time every time. The term logistics is widely used in military and military type applications even today.

Until about mid 1950's, the field of supply chain management was in a state of dormancy. The piecemeal and isolated fragmented set of activities was rampant. Production and manufacturing were given uppermost attention. The inventory was the responsibility of the marketing, accounting and/or production areas and order processing was an accounting or sales responsibility.

During the Ethiopian famine relief efforts of the 1980's, the term logistics was applied to the food-supply activities. World Vision International, one of the many relief organizations at work there, produced a manual entitled Getting It There- A Logistics Handbook for Relief and Development.

SCM formerly known as logistics management now includes more aspects apart from the logistics function. SCM is one of the most powerful engines of business transformation that basically means delivering the right product to the right place at the right time and at the right price. SCM is the one area wherein much operational efficiency can be gained, thereby reducing organizations costs and enhancing customer service. Gradually, the marketing people started giving greater emphasis to distribution, giving rise to physical distribution management or in today's parlance 'outbound transportation'.

In 1991, the international Council of Logistics Management (CLM), defined logistics as "the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements".

Some of the terms like logistics, inbound logistics, materials management, physical distribution, supply chain management seem to be used interchangeably. Very briefly, inbound logistics covers the movement of material, components and products received from the suppliers. Materials management describes the material handling part of the movement of the material and components within the factory or firm. Logistics describes the entire process of material and products moving into, through, and out of a firm. Finally as of today, it is the Supply Chain Management that is conceptualized as something even larger than logistics, that links logistics more directly with the user's total communications network and with the firm's engineering staff. It is sufficient to know this much at the present juncture on supply chain management, as in the chapter Process View of SCM where we will explore different views on supply chain management.

A supply chain is, in fact, a network of facilities and distribution options that necessarily performs the functions of procurement and acquisition of material, processing and transformation of the material into intermediate and finished tangible products and finally the physical distribution of the finished tangible products to the customers, whether intermediate or final ones. As already indicated, supply chains exist in both manufacturing as well as in service organizations.

Supply Chain Management is a set of approaches utilized to efficiently integrate suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, and stores, so that merchandise is produced and distributed at the right quantities, to the right locations, and at the right time, in order to minimize system wide cost while satisfying service level requirements.

Table 1 - Chronological Dates

DurationEvents in SCM Evolution

Ancient TimesThe Barter System evolved as an answer to the trading requirements. This was the first supply chain.

300 BCCaesar made trading posts in East Asia to grow his trade. This was the first retailer supplier relationship. Establishment of the silk route to India.

1151First known fire and plague insurance offered in Iceland.

1305House of Taxis operated courier messenger service for the rich European clients. (A kind of primitive Outsourcing)

1621Dutch West India Co. formed to trade with America and West Africa. (A pseudo third party logistics (3PL) by the Dutch Companies.)

1904Charles S. Rolls became selling agent for cars made by F. Henry Royce. (The first traces of outsourcing).

1956Warren Buffet started investment partnership in Omaha with money from family and friends and he went on to become a billionaire. (An overseas 3PL)

1960-1975The essence of SCM understood. This first phase is characterized as an inventory 'push' era that focused primarily on physical distribution of finished goods.

1975-1990The earlier approach changed. Companies began migrating from an inventory push to a customer pull channel as power began to move the downstream to the customer.

1980In the last phase, companies realized that the productivity could be increased significantly by managing relationships; information and material flow across enterprise borders. This resulted in the present concept of supply chain management.

1981IBM outsourced almost all of its activities and built a full computer.

1985Wal-Mart introduced the concept of Cross Docking and replaced K-Mart as the leader in retail stores.

1985-Cisco removed itself from the supply chain by providing to the customer directly from the vendor.

1990Computer changed the way business is done.

1996-Internet revolutionized the information pathway and the distribution system of the business.

1998-The concept of e-commerce changed the definition of business itself.

2000-Currently concepts like t-commerce and digital TV are beginning to take shape.

Reasons for the Big Breakthrough in the Past 20 years

The breakthrough revolution in the past 20 years is due to the following differences in the attitude of companies and customers alike.

EarlierToday

CompaniesNo two companies at the same level of competition.

The main motive was to increase production.

Production differentiation very early and far from customer.

Reaction approach of industries. Competition at all levels.

Main motive is customer service.

Product differentiated nearer the customer.

Action approach of industries.

CustomerCustomer did not care about specifications.

Less market moving powersCustomers demand exact specifications.

More power devolved to the customer.

Supply Chain Process

The concept of supply chain management encompasses four main decision areas: location, production, inventory, and distribution. Within these areas decisions fall into two main categories: Strategic decisions deal with the long-term future; and operational decisions deal with the short term running of the company.LocationIn order to create a supply chain you must first decide on the geographic location of the facilities that the organisation uses. These facilities include production plants, warehouses and distribution points, suppliers, and buyers. A supply chain is essentially the interaction between these facilities and the processes by which products move between them.

Strategically the location of the above facilities must be determined by the location of the target market for the organisation. It will have an effect on running costs, taxes, local content, distribution costs, and service.

The decision to locate a facility commits the organisation to allocating resources and, in some cases, very large amounts of capital. Therefore it is imperative that the location is determined on a strategic level. Operationally the location of facilities may affect the efficiency of the running of the business.

ProductionA supply chain is useless unless it has a product to pass through it. The decision on which product to produce is directly affected by the organisations target market and therefore is a strategic decision. Other strategic issues include the allocation of resources to the production plants (i.e. suppliers), and the capacity of the plants.

Operational issues include the day to day running of the plants. Examples of these are production scheduling and quality control.

InventoryDecisions in this area affect all stages of the supply chain. The inventories through out the chain will probably be at differing stages of development. For instance the inventories at the beginning of the chain will be raw materials, at the end they will be the finished products. These inventories, no matter what stage they are at have a value that is not yet being realized. In order to minimize the unrealized value of the goods efficient management of the inventories must take place.

Most of the issues involved with inventory are operational, for instance the maintenance of stock levels within safety boundaries. On a strategic level management set the goals that are to be achieved in this area and determine the reorder strategies (i.e. JIT).

DistributionThe key decisions in the distribution area involve the trading-off of inventory levels of buyers with the costs of freight. Another matter to be considered is the nature of the product. It is no good sending a shipment of perishable goods via sea or rail to save money if the goods are not in a suitable condition once they reach their destination. On the other hand shipping by sea or rail is cheaper but necessitates higher inventory levels to counter the uncertainty associated with these methods (i.e. bad weather when shipping by sea).

Strategically, forecasts of the demand for the product allow for the co-ordination between the distribution by various methods and the buyers inventory levels.

Process view of the Supply Chain

Cycle view1. Customer Order Cycle

Customer arrivalCustomer order entryCustomer order fulfilmentCustomer order receiving

2. Replenishment Cycle

Retail order triggerRetail order entryRetail order fulfilmentRetail order receiving

3. Manufacturing Cycle

Order arrivalProduction schedulingManufacturing and ShippingReceiving

4. Procurement Cycle

Supplier / Manufacturer interface

Push-Pull view of Supply Chain

Pull Process:Execution is initiated in response to a customer order (increased responsiveness)

Push Process:Execution is initiated in anticipation to a customer order (increased efficiency)

Push-Pull Boundary:Which processes are of each type

Push SystemsMRP supported

Pull SystemsRequire fast information transmission and sharing

Supply Chain FlowsInformationProduct

Funds

The industry is in the midst of a revolution, and Web technology is the firebrand stirring up the masses. We can now order anything from home - from computers and flowers to vacations on faraway tropical islands. The Internet is a merger of content and commerce. We can shop, compare competitive offerings, review data sheets, get pricing, and even order all in one session. The Internet takes inefficient channels and makes them efficient, thus reducing the trivial activities we take for granted. So what does it all have to do with logistics?

The efficiencies the Internet offers consumers are not going unnoticed by corporations constantly looking to grow market share and reduce cost. Somewhere in your company, people are gathered right now to design an e-business strategy. The strategy may be driven by a senior manager at the request of a forward-thinking CEO seeking to replicate performance gains he has seen in other companies. Perhaps it's a tiger team assembled to respond to a competitive threat.

Either way, customer service will define it. Your company must be able to commit product availability, price, and delivery date at time of order entry to the customer. If the product is not immediately available to ship, your company must know when it will be available and allocate it to the customer through a Capable-to-Promise (CTP) transaction. Performance has to be close to flawless, because supplier-switching costs for your customer on the Internet are next to zero.

It doesn't matter if you have a vertically integrated company, owning everything from raw materials to finished goods, or a company depending on service providers and contract manufacturers for execution. Nor does it matter whether the product is built to order or built to inventory. Distribution channels will change. You will have to ship directly to customers rather than send bulk orders to distributors. You may even find it more efficient to ship directly from a supplier's dock to the end-customer. The e-business model requires that all members of the supply chain act as a part of one seamless fulfillment process. So now we have our marching orders: Increase logistics productivity while radically transforming the supply chain. Impossible tasks? You don't really have a choice, since your competitor will be doing the same. Besides, the two goals are compatible. As in e-commerce, the trivial is eliminated and channels are made more efficient, adding up to less cost and better customer service.

Defining Web-based systems is controversial and there is no one right answer.

However, one point is clear: Systems built using Web technologies offer significant advantages over the green-screened UNIX systems common with SCE vendors today. Navigation is vastly improved, application integration is simplified, and with component architectures, benefit realization should be much quicker with less complex system installs. Reductions in the cost of ownership should come, as functionality is more centralized on servers. Web-based technologies are generally regarded as superior. The real question becomes, "What is my migration path and what vendors should I be looking at?"

Stage One: Internet Presence Is Established

Four levels of system evolution exist for the Web-based supply chain. The vast majority of today's users are in the first stage - Internet Presence Established - while a growing percentage are moving to the second - Commerce Is Initiated. As trading partner integration grows toward collaborative execution, performance is greatly enhanced. The third stage - Demand-Centered E-Business - represents a very real target for the near term. The fourth - Demand Web Fulfillment - is a conceptualised view of how Web-based systems will work together across companies and enterprises, given current technology direction.

Most companies start on the Internet at this stage. Establishing an Internet presence is a one-way flow of information, generally providing product and service information to customer inquiries; its value comes from informing the customer. Users can access order, inventory, or transportation status. Third Party Logistics (3PL) has made it a common service offering. Companies afraid of channel cannibalization caused by selling directly on the Internet are often frozen here. SCE vendors extended their applications out to the Web to satisfy the demand for the capability.

Stage Two: Commerce Is Initiated

Buying and selling on the Web begins at the second stage. Customers can place orders directly on the merchant's commerce server, configure them, authorize payment, and be notified of expected delivery dates. SCE systems figure prominently, providing inventory information, transportation routing and scheduling, and order management to the customer-facing applications. The fulfillment process is from the Industrial Age, and service failures are frequent. Systems are not integrated inside a company, duplicate data entry is common, and no collaborative execution processes exist between partners.

Stage Three: Demand-Centered E-Business

Customers buy from your company for one of three reasons: convenience, price, or scarcity. Combine two or more reasons and you provide even greater value to the customer and profits for yourself. How well you deliver to customer expectations dictates how successful you will be. Execution becomes critical, and collaborative execution between supply chain partners is essential. Acting as the demand center, your company coordinates and makes sure the entire supply chain is focused on serving the customer. An information backbone connects the community. You have full visibility to supply chain inventories, purchase order status, transportation status, and alert and workflow processes. Information is also pushed to the customer as opposed to the pull-only model in the first two stages.

Stage Four: Demand Web Fulfillment

Supply Chain Management (SCM) moves from art to science. The fourth stage is a conceptualised vision, but at least we can discuss a totally integrated supply chain, confident that technology will be able to support the scalability, breadth of functions, and communications required for such an aggressive undertaking. Completely event-driven, information and data flow both ways throughout the entire trading community. Systems automatically optimize for disruptions in supply and demand, with rules built to manage fulfillment and automation of business decisions between systems and enterprises.

Decision Phases in a Supply ChainSCM is an approach to manage the entire flow of information, materials and services from raw material suppliers through factories and warehouses to the end customer. SCM is a very complex problem in itself. It involves complex decision-making at various nodes and can be of different level.

Supply Chain Decisions can be classified in three categories:

Strategic Decisions: as the term implies, strategic decisions are made typically over a longer time horizon. These are closely linked to the corporate strategy (they sometimes are the corporate strategy), and guide Supply Chain policies from a design perspective. These are long-termdecisions of a Supply Chain andare based on planning. These are typical reviewed in several years. The strategic level defines the supply chain network, i.e., selection of suppliers, transportation routes, manufacturing facilities, production levels, warehouses, etc.

TacticalDecisions: These are decisions based on strategic decisions; these decisions are made typically taken to implement them. These are typical reviewed in several months. The tactical level plans and schedules the supply chain to meet actual demand.

Operational decisions: These are short-term decisions and focuses on activities of day-to-day basis. The efforts in these types of decisions are to effectively manage the product flow and thus are taken based on circumstances and condition prevails. The operational level executes plans.

Apart from this decisions are also classified based on functionality like location, production, inventory and logistics decisions. In each of these areas there can be strategic, tactical and operational decisions involved.

Supply Chain Decision-Making Framework

Supply chain strategy or design

The real-world experience provides the capability to devise solutions that are practical, as well as aggressive and future-oriented. The flexibility to work on any aspect of Supply Chain decision and operation, in addition to the vision and integration of an end-to-end design including suppliers and customers.

An effective Supply Chain development lies in: recognizing that any company should be operating a number of Supply Chains, for different linkages of distinct sources, customer, products, channels; leveraging the capabilities of all participants in the chain, upstream and downstream, internal and third party; creating a demanding vision for the future, and sequencing a series of interim, attainable, steps to reach it; knowing the baseline starting point of Supply Chain performance, and measuring the current state constantly. Understanding the human dimension of the significant process, behavioral, and belief changes that are required for breakthrough in Supply Chain performance; making operational improvements early and often, while developing the Information Systems foundation for better transaction processing, communications and decision support; and keeping the long-term vision, the end-state objective, in view at all times. The scope of collective experiences a real advantage in planning and executing a Supply Chain implementation, for sourcing and procurement, through manufacturing integration, into Transportation and Network Design, and Warehousing and Distribution operations.

Supply Chain planningFrom acquiring raw materials to delivering finished products to end users, logistics operation include all activities along the supply chain process, or as commonly referred to in logistics circles, from "the suppliers' supplier to the customer's customer." this is the supply chain. In well-functioning supply chain, at every link, each unit should treat the next units a customer, always focusing on service to the ultimate customer, the end user or client.

Customers focus

A well-functioning supply chain staff consciously strives to anticipate and satisfy customers' need. Supply chain managers, in addition to their primary customers, also have important intermediate customers, each with special needs and expectations.

Service providers are the final link in the long supply chain that stretches from manufacturers to customers. Because they directly link logistics operations to the ultimate customer, service are the most important "intermediate customer." service providers must be given the products they need. Their fundamental concern is quality of care, and they understand the supply chain system's contribution to their ability to provide quality care. Service providers need the logistics system to deliver a dependable supply of quality products and other supplies for their client, which means they need convenient and regular re-supply with minimal additional work.

Warehouses and stores in the distribution chain are also intermediate customers that demand logistics systems resources (staff, storage space, and transport); regular and predicable re-supply of all products from the next higher level, and technical support and problem-solving assistance, when needed.

Policymakers and senior program managers, as representatives of the program, also need to be treated as customers by the next highest level in the system: donors, lenders, or other suppliers of products. They want the same thing as every other customer along the supply chain: reliable availability of the right products at the right time. They also need the supply chain system to provide accurate data on stocks levels and strict accountability for materials, and to provide cost effective logistics operations. Policymakers are particularly important internal customers, because they control the allocation of funds and other resources for the supply chain. International donors are the customers of their own suppliers. But, they also have expectations from the in-country logistics system: they want the system to ensure accountability for donated products; and accurate and timely data on products consumed, quantities needed. Above all, donors want the logistics system to ensure the availability of products to all current and potential customers.

When developing a customer culture within a supply chain, it is essential to identify all the system's customers and their respective needs and expectations. The primary customer, however, is always the client. While a supply chain may be required to satisfy a variety of internal or intermediate customers, the most successful supply chain unswervingly focus on satisfying end users.

Supply Chain Obstacles/ChallengesIncreasing Variety of ProductsDecreasing Product Life Cycles

Increasingly Demanding Customers

Fragmentation of Supply Chain Ownership

Globalization

Difficulty in Executing New Strategies

Supply Chain Drivers

InventoryThis refers to means by which inventories are managed. Inventories exist at every stage of the Supply Chain as either raw materials, semi-finished goods or finished goods. They can also be in process between locations. Their primary purpose to buffer against any uncertainty that might exist in the Supply Chain. Since, holding of inventories can cost anywhere between 20 to 40 per cent of their value, their efficient management is critical in Supply Chain operations. It is strategic in the sense that top management sets goals. However, most researchers have approached the management of inventory form an operational perspective. These include deployment strategies (pull verses push), control policies the determination of the optimal levels of order quantities and reorder points, and setting safety stock levels, at each stocking location. These levels are critical, since they are primary determinants of customer service levels.

The keys to effective Inventory Management lie in shortening the lead-time throughout your Supply Chain:

Understanding how your order frequencies and quantities drive inventory and its consequent effect on warehouse sizing and slotting,

Analyzing the trade-off of centralized vs. distributed inventory, in terms of inventory investment, transportation costs, and customers service capabilities,

Integrating and coordinating the silos in your organization, for optimum inventory strategies across the entire Supply Chain,

Being bold, and confident, enough to make inventory decisions for operational improvements in the face of negative accounting issues; and building a Supply Chain and inventory strategy to evaluate your customers expectations and anticipate their genuine needs.

Includes:

1. Raw Materials

2. Component parts

3. Work in process (WIP)

4. Finished goods

Transportation

The mode choice aspects of these decisions are the more strategic ones. These are closely linked to the inventory decisions, since the best choice is often found by trading off the costs of using the particular mode with the indirect cost of inventory associated with that mode. While air shipments may be fast, reliable, and want lesser safety stock, but they are expensive. Meanwhile shipping by sea or rail may be much cheaper, but they necessitate holding relatively large volumes of inventories to buffer against the inherent uncertainty associated with them. Therefore, customer service levels, and geographic location play vital roles in such decision. Since, transportation is more than 30% of the Logistics costs, operating efficiency makes good economic sense. Shipment sizes (consolidated bulk shipment versus lot-for-lot), routing and scheduling of equipment are key in effective management of firms transport strategy.

The estimated Rs 65,000crore Indian trucking industry has been in existence before SCM as a concept came into vogue. Trucking plays a vital role in SCM in the flow of material. The success of the entire exercise of planning and investing in ERP and Supply Chain software depends on whether goods reach on time. Timely movement of goods is primary concern of any Supply Chain, says Vishal Gupta, director Total Logistics. The traditional transport companies are now transforming into a fleet manager offering value-added services like track and trace, specialized trucks for certain goods, warehousing and other facilities, and serving user specific industries.

The need to provide value-added services has also resulted in strategic tie-ups by truckers, say with specialized operators to serve specific industries. For e.g. TCI has tied-up with Mitsui to form trans-system that offers logistics services to the auto industry.

Transportation includes the following:

i.Moving inventory from point-to-point

ii.Impact on

(1)Responsiveness

(2)Efficiency

The future of the Indian trucking industry depends on various factors like economic growth and investments in infrastructure. At present a number of organised transport operations are leveraging on their strength in trucking by combining allied services like clearing and freight forwarding, warehousing and customer relationship Management to become complete Logistics players. This is taking the form of tie-ups, acquisition. The future will see similar consolidation happening in this arena, especially in the organised segment that makes about 15% of the market.

Commercial Vehicles and Logistics: The Movement Zones

Type of MovementKey Feature

PrimaryRaw material to factory

Finished goods to warehousesLong distance, bulk movementMechanical handlingOperational economy

Secondary Warehouse to wholesaler/retailerConvenient batches Safe transportationTimely distribution Optimum turnaround

TertiaryWholesaler / retailer to consumerDoor delivery Timely delivery City Operations Frequent start-stops High manoeuvrability

The potential issues and opportunities in most transportation situations are:

Is the internal fleet cost-and-service effective?

Are you getting the most of your money from common carriers?

When is 3PL solution is the right way to go?

Are you paying what you have agreed to?

Is the mix of modes and services you are using right for your changing business?

How much should I be charging my customers for delivery?

Why cant my fleet make money?

How can transportation enable an integrated Supply Chain, instead of getting in the way?

Facilities

a) Warehousing/Storage

Warehouse is the quiet key to effective service. Review whether the warehouses are in the right locations to effectively serves the customers. With the speed that is required to manage orders and inventory, companies must have timely, accurate information of inventory on-hand. Warehouses must be located in the proper areas to effectively meet customers delivery requirements.

i. Where inventory

(1)Stored

(2)Assembled

(3)Fabricated

ii.Types

(1)Storage

(2)Production

(3)Marketing

b) Material Handling

It is concerned with movement of product at the stocking point and it involves decisions such as:

Smoothening of raw material

Selection of material handling equipment

Maintenance of material handling equipment.

"The Mission of Materials Management Servicesis the acquisitionof the RIGHT goods and services,in the RIGHT quantity,at the RIGHT time,of the RIGHT quality,at the RIGHT place,from the RIGHT supplierand at the RIGHT cost,at a minimum inventory and operating investment."

c) Packaging

It is concerned with design of packaging of product that ensures damage free movement of the product and is conductive to efficient handling and storage.

InformationA must for successful implementation of Logistics functions. Developing proper Data Base, IT system, such as ERP and DI methods.

Accurate forecasting

Good order Management

Just-in-time (JIT)

Contingency Replenishment (CR)

Quick Response (QR) to the customer

- are the bases for good information system to be developed.

Order Processing

The order processing system undergoes various checks to determine if:

(1) the desired product is available in inventory in the quantities ordered,

(2) the customers credit is satisfactory to accept the order, and

(3) the product is scheduled for production if not currently in inventory.

Management can also use the information on daily sales as an input to its sales forecasting package. Order processing next provides information to accounting for invoicing, acknowledgement of the order to send to the customer, picking and packing instructions to enable warehouse withdrawal of product, and shipping documentation. The primary function of the order processing system is to provide a communication network that links the customer and the manufacturer.

Cost Trade-Offs Required in Marketing and Logistics

Achieving strategic fit in Supply Chain Management

Achieving strategic fit: Matching S.C. to customer segment requirementsUnderstanding the customer: Quantity of product provided in each lot Response time that customers are willing to tolerate

Variety of products needed

Service level required Price of the product

Desired rate of innovation(Volumes, variety, response time, service level, price innovation rates)

Understanding the supply chain:Responsiveness

Respond to wide range of quantities demanded

Meet short lead times

Handle a large variety of products

Build highly innovative products

Meet a very high service level

Efficiency

Economies of scale

Low capacity (excess costs)

Low cost transport

Achieving Strategic FitFinding the Zone of Strategic Fit

Fit Between Competitive and Functional Strategies

The Bull Whip Effect

What happens when a Supply Chain is plagued with a bullwhip effect that distorts its demand information as it is transmitted up the chain? In the past, without being able to see the sales of it products in the distribution channel stage. HP had so rely on sales orders from the resellers to make product forecast, plan capacity, control inventory, and schedule production. Big variations in demand were a major problem for HPs Management. The common symptoms of such variations could be excessive inventory, poor product forecasts, insufficient or excessive capacities, poor customer service due to unavailable products or long backlogs, uncertain production planning (i.e., excessive revisions), and high costs of corrections, such as for expedited shipments and overtime. HPs product division was a victim of order swings that were exaggerated by the resellers relative to their sales; it, in turn, created additional exaggerations of orders swings to suppliers.

In the past few years, the Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) initiative has tried to redefine how the grocery Supply Chain should work. One motivation for the initiative was the excessive amount of inventory in the Supply Chain, from when products leave the manufacturers production lines to when they arrive on the retailers selves, has more than 100 days of inventory supply. Distorted information has led entity in the Supply Chain the plant warehouse, a manufacturers shuttle warehouse, a manufacturers market warehouse, a distributors central warehouse, a distributors regional warehouse, and the retail stores storage space to stockpile because of the high degree of demand uncertainties and variabilities. Its no wonder that the ECR report estimated a potential of $30 billion from streamlining the efficiencies of the grocery Supply Chain.

Others industries are in a similar position. Computer factory and manufacturers distribution centers, the distributors warehouses along the distribution channel have inventory stockpiles. And in the pharmaceutical industry, there are duplicate inventories in a Supply Chain of manufacturers such as Eli Lilly or Bristol-Myers Squibb, distributors such as McKesson. Again information distortion can cause the total inventory in this Supply Chain to exceed 100 days of supply. With inventories of raw materials, such as integrated circuits ad printed circuits broads in the computer industry and antibodies, the total chain may contain more than one years supply.

In a Supply Chain for typical consumer product, even when consumer sales do not seem to vary much, there is pronounced variability in the retailers orders to the wholesalers. Orders to the manufacturers and to the manufacturers supplier spike even more. To resolve the problem of distorted information companies need to first understand what creates the bullwhip effect so they can counteract it. Innovative companies in different industries have found that they can control the bullwhip effect and improve their Supply Chain performance be coordinating information and planning along the Supply Chain.

Causes of the Bullwhip Effect

The following four have been identified as the major causes of Bullwhip Effect:

1. Demand forecast updating.

2. Order batching.

3. Price fluctuation.

4. Rationing and shortage gaming.

Each of the four forces in concert with the chains infrastructure and the order managers rationalize decision-making create the bullwhip effect. Understanding the causes helps managers design and develops strategies to counter it.

Demand Forecast Updating

Every company in a Supply Chain usually forecasting for its production scheduling, capacity planning, inventory control, and material requirements planning. Forecasting is often based on the history from the companys immediate customers. When a downstream operation places an order, the upstream managers processes that the piece of information as a signal about future product demand. Based on the signal, the upstream manager readjusts his or her demand forecasts and, in turn, the orders placed with the suppliers of upstream operation. We contend that demand signal processing is a major contributor to the bullwhip effect.

For example if you are a manager who has to determine how much to order from a supplier, you use a simple method to do demand forecasting, such as the new daily demand data become available. The order you send to the supplier reflects the amount you need to replenish the stocks to meet the requirements of future demands as well as the necessary safety stocks. The future demands and the associated safety stocks are updating using the smoothing technique. With long lead times, it is not uncommon to have weeks of safety stocks. The result is that the fluctuations in the order quantities over time can be much greater than those in the demand data.

Order Batching

In a Supply Chain, each company places orders with an upstream organization using some inventory monitoring or control. Demands come in; depleting inventory but the company may not immediately place an order with its supplier. It often batches or accumulates demands before issuing an order. There are two forms of order batching: periodic ordering and push ordering. Instead of ordering frequently, companies may order weekly, biweekly, or even monthly. There are many common reasons for an inventory system based on order cycles. Often the supplier cannot handle frequent order processing because the time and cost of processing an order can be substantial. Many manufacturers place purchase orders with suppliers when they run their material requirements planning (MRP) systems. One common obstacle for a company that wants to order frequently is the economies of transportation. There are substantial differences between full truck-load (FTL) and less-than-truckload rates so companies have a strong incentive to fill a truck-load when they order materials from a supplier.

In push ordering, a company experiences regular surges in demand. The company has orders pushed in it from customers periodically because salespeople are regularly measured, sometimes quarterly or annually, which causes end-of-quarter or end-of-year order surges. Salespersons who need to fill sales quota may borrow ahead and sign orders prematurely. When a company faces such periodic ordering by its customers, the bullwhip effect results. If all customers order cycles were spread out evenly throughout the week the bullwhip effect would be minimal. The periodic surges in demand by some customers would be insignificant because not all would be ordering at the same time. Unfortunately, such an ideal situation rarely exists. Orders are more likely to be randomly spread out or, worse, to overlap. When order cycles overlap, more customers that order periodically do so at the same time. As a result, the surge in demand is even more pronounced, and the variability from the bullwhip effect is at its highest.

If majority of companies that do MRP or Distribution Requirement Planning (DRP) to generate purchase orders do so at the beginning of the month (or end if the month), order cycles overlap. Periodic execution of MRPs contributes to the Bullwhip Effect, or MRP jitters or DRP jitters.

Price Fluctuation

Estimate indicate that 80 percent of transactions between manufacturers and distributors in the grocery industry made in a forward buy arrangement in which items were bought in advance of requirements, usually because of a manufacturers attractive price offer. Forward buying results from price fluctuations in the market place. Manufacturers and distributors periodically have special promotions like price discounts, coupons, rebates, and so on. All these promotions result in price fluctuations. When high-low price occurs, forward buying may well be a rational decision. If the cost of holding inventory is less than the price differential, buying in advance makes sense. In fact, the high-low pricing phenomenon has induced a stream of research on how companies should order optimally to take advantage of low price opportunities.

Rationing and Shortage Gaming

When product demand exceeds supply, a manufacturer often rations its product to customers. In one scheme the manufacturer allocates the amount in proportion to the amount ordered. For example, if the total supply is only 50 percent of the total demand, all customers receive 50 percent of what they order. Knowing the manufacturer will ration when the product is in short supply, customer exaggerate their real needs when they order. Later, when demand cools, orders will suddenly disappear and cancellations pour in. this seeming overreaction by customer anticipating shortages results when organizations and individual makes sound, rational economic decisions and game the potential rationing. This effect of gaming is that customers orders give the supplier little information on products real demand, a particularly vexing problem for manufacturers in a products early stages.

How to Counteract the Bullwhip Effect

Understanding the causes of bullwhip effect can help managers find to migrate it. Indeed, many companies have begun to implement innovative programs that partially address the effect. Next, examine how companies tackle each of the four causes. Categorize the various initiatives coordination mechanism, namely information sharing, demand information at a downstream site is transmitted upstream in a timely fashion. Channel alignment is the coordination of pricing, transportation, inventory planning, and ownership between the upstream and downstream sites in a Supply Chain. Operational efficiency refers to activities that improve performance, such as reduced costs and lead-time. We use this topology to discuss ways to control the bullwhip effect. (See table 1).

Avoid Multiple Demand Forecast Updates

Break Order Batches

Stabilize Prices

Eliminate Gaming in Shortage Situations

We contend that the bullwhip effect results from rational decision making in the Supply Chain. Companies can effectively counteract the effect by thoroughly understanding its underlying causes. Industry leaders like Proctor & Gamble are implementing innovative strategies that pose new challenges organizational relationships, and implementing new incentive and measurement systems. The choice of companies is clear: either let the bullwhip effect paralyse you or find a way to conquer it.

How to Reduce the Bullwhip Effect

One way to reduce the bullwhip effect is through better information, either in the form of improved communication along the supply chain or (presumably) better forecasts. Because managers realize that end-user demand is more predictable than the demand experienced by factories, they attempt to ignore signals being sent through the supply chain and instead focus on the end-user demand. This approach ignores day-to-day fluctuations in favour of running level.

Another solution is to reduce or eliminate the delays along the supply chain. In both real supply chains and simulations of supply chains, cutting order-to-delivery time by half can cut supply chain fluctuations by 80%. In addition to savings from reduced inventory carry costs, operating costs also decline because less capacity is needed to handle extreme demand fluctuations.

The simplest way to control the bullwhip effect caused by forward buying and diversions is to reduce both the frequency and the level of wholesale price discounting.

In addition to cycle time reductions throughout the supply chain, Haul Lee, V. Padmanabhan, and Seungjin Whang recommend the following actions to reduce the supply chain management bullwhip effect:

1. Focus