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Logistics / Supply Chain Strategy and

Planning

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• Corporate Strategy

• Logistics Strategy

• Logistics Planning

• Review of Logistics Plan

• Guidelines for Strategy Formulation

• Selecting the proper Channel Strategy

• Measuring the Strategy Performance

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Corporate Strategy

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CORPORATE STRATEGY

• Corporate strategy begins with a clear expression of the firm’s objectives.

It typically includes:

Market Share

New Products and Services

Return on Investment

Growth goals

• A good strategy addresses four key components of business:

Customers

Suppliers

Competitors

Company itself.

• Assessing the needs, strengths, weaknesses, orientations and perspectives

of each of these components is integral part of strategic planning.

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CORPORATE STRATEGY

• The firms generally identifies a list of options before finalizing the actual

strategy which it will implement.

• The strategic direction that the company finalizes depends upon:

Firm’s costs

Financial strengths and weaknesses

Market Share position

Asset base and Deployment

External environment

Competitive forces etc

• The corporate strategy drives the functional strategies and is realized as

manufacturing, marketing, finance and logistics shape their plans to meet it.

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Logistics Strategy

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LOGISTICS STRATEGY

• Logistics strategy of a company should flow from the company’s strategy.

• Logistics strategy generally has 3 objectives:

Cost reduction

Capital reduction

Service Improvement

• Though all of the above are equally important, a company’s emphasis on any

of the parameters could change over time.

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COST REDUCTION STRATEGY

• Cost reduction is strategy directed toward minimizing the variable costs

associated with movement and storage.• This is done by choosing among different warehouse locations or selecting

among alternative transport modes.• Service levels are held constant while the minimum cost alternatives are

being considered.• Margin maximization is the prime goal.

CAPITAL REDUCTION STRATEGY

• Minimizing the level of investment in the logistics system or maximizing the

return on logistics assets is the motivation for this strategy. Some examples

are: Shipping direct to customers to avoid warehousing Choosing leased warehouses over self-owned warehouses Selecting JIT rather than high inventory Using 3 PL services.

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SERVICE IMPROVEMENT STRATEGY

• Service improvement strategies recognizes that revenues depend on the level

of logistics service provided.• Although costs increase rapidly with increased levels of logistics customer

service, the increased revenues may offset the higher costs.• Typically, for companies that follow service strategy, service level would be

the key differentiator. Example: Maruti Udyog, Caterpillar

Once the logistics strategy is formulated the next task is to implement it which is done through logistics planning

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FLOW OF LOGISTICS PLANNING

Business goals and strategies

Customer Service requirements

Integrated logistics planning

Design of integrated logistics management system

Overall performance measures

Individual links of logistics system:•Facility location•Operations strategy•Inventory management•Information systems•Materials handling•Traffic and transportation•Planning and control methods•Organization

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Logistics Planning

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LEVELS OF PLANNING

• There are 3 levels of planning: Strategic Tactical Operational

• Strategic planning is considered long-range, where the time horizon is longer

than one year.• Tactical planning involves an involves an intermediate time horizon usually

less than a year.• Operational planning is short-range decision making, dealing with day-to-day

operations.

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EXAMPLES OF STRATEGIC, TACTICAL AND OPERATIONAL PLANNING

Decision Area

Level of Design

Strategic Tactical Operational

Inventories Inventory Control Policies Safety Stock levels Replenishment quantities and Receiving

Transportation Mode Selection Seasonal equipment leasing

Routing, dispatching

Order processing

Information System / ERP Processing Orders, filling back orders

Customer Service

Setting standards Priority rules for customer orders

Expediting deliveries

Warehousing Layout design Seasonal space choices

Order picking and restocking

Purchasing Development of supplier buyer relationships

Contracting, vendor selection, forward buying

Order releasing and expediting supplies

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MAJOR PLANNING AREAS

Customer Service Goals

Transport Strategy

• Modes of Transport

• Routing / Scheduling

• Shipment Size /

Consolidation

Inventory Strategy

• Inventory Levels

•Deployment of

inventories

•Control MethodsLocation Strategy

• Number, Size and location of facilities•Assignment of stocking points to sourcing points•Assignment of demand to stocking points or sourcing points•Private or public warehousing

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CUSTOMER SERVICE GOALS

• Logistics service levels will be directly proportional to the costs• Low levels of service allow centralized inventories at few locations and use of

less expensive forms of transportation.• High service levels increase the costs• Beyond a certain point, logistics costs will rise at a rate disproportionate to

the service level.

FACILITY LOCATION STRATEGY

• Placement of stocking points and their sourcing points forms the core of

facility location strategy.• This also include fixing the number, location and size of the facilities and

assigning market demand to them determines the paths through which

products are directed to the marketplace.• This should be done by taking into consideration the costs.

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INVENTORY DECISIONS

• Inventory decisions refer to the manner in which inventories are managed.• Push versus Pull represents two different strategies.• Inventory policy can very w.r.t each of the items (Ex: ABC, Seasonal – Non

seasonal etc) or w.r.t to the customer segments served (Ex: OEM,

Aftermarket)TRANSPORT STRATEGY

• Transport decisions can involve mode selection, shipment size, routing and

scheduling.• Transportation, Warehousing and Inventory decisions are highly interrelated.

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CONCEPTUALIZING THE LOGISTICS / SC PLANNING PROBLEM

It is pictorial representation of the whole logistics system

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Review of Logistics Plan

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TRIGGER FOR REVIEW

• Review of the logistics plan may be required based on the following triggers: Demand Customer Service Product Characteristics Logistics Costs Pricing Policy

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TRIGGER FOR REVIEWDemand

• Level of demand and its geographical dispersion greatly influence the

configuration of logistics networks.• Firms often experience disproportionate growth or decline in one region of

the country compared with others.• This may require new warehouses be located in rapidly growing areas while

facilities in slow growth or declining markets be closed.• If there is a change in pattern of demand, it is a strong trigger to logistics re-

planningCUSTOMER SERVICE

• Re-planning is usually required when service levels are changed due to

competitive forces, policy revisions or if there was a fundamental error in the

earlier fixed service levels.

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TRIGGER FOR REVIEW

Product Characteristics

• Logistics costs depends upon product characteristics such as weight, volume,

shape etc.• When substantial changes are made in the product characteristics, re-

planning the logistics system could be beneficial.• Also, shipping a product in a knocked-down form can considerably affect the

weight-bulk ratio of the product and the associated transportation and

storage rates.LOGISTICS COSTS

• This could be the most important trigger for re-planning the logistics.• If the logistics costs as proportion of sales increase or if any competitor is

performing much better in terms of costs that should be a trigger for review.PRICING POLICY

• Changes in the pricing policy under which goods are purchased or sold will

affect logistics plan mainly because it defines responsibility for certain logistics

activities. Example: A supplier that switches from an f.o.b factory price to a delivered

price.

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TRIGGER FOR REVIEW

Product Characteristics

• Logistics costs depends upon product characteristics such as weight, volume,

shape etc.• When substantial changes are made in the product characteristics, re-

planning the logistics system could be beneficial.• Also, shipping a product in a knocked-down form can considerably affect the

weight-bulk ratio of the product and the associated transportation and

storage rates.LOGISTICS COSTS

• This could be the most important trigger for re-planning the logistics.• If the logistics costs as proportion of sales increase or if any competitor is

performing much better in terms of costs that should be a trigger for review.PRICING POLICY

• Changes in the pricing policy under which goods are purchased or sold will

affect logistics plan mainly because it defines responsibility for certain logistics

activities. Example: A supplier that switches from an f.o.b factory price to a delivered

price.

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Guidelines for Strategy Formulation

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TOTAL COST CONCEPT

• The total cost concept is the trade-off or all costs that are in cost conflict with

each other and that can affect the outcome or a particular logistics decision.

Rail Truck Air

Transportation cost

Inventory Cost

Total cost

Cost

Transportation and Inventory Cost

Customer Service Level

Transportationand Inventory cost

Lost Sales Cost

Total cost

Cost

Customer Service Level and Costs

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DIFFERENTIATED DISTRIBUTION OR MIXED STRATEGY

• Not all products should be provided the same level of customer service.• Different customer service requirements, different product characteristics and

different sales levels among multiple items that the typical firm distributes

suggests that multiple distribution strategies should be provided within the

product line.• A mixed distribution strategy will have lower costs than a pure or single

strategy.• Differentiation can come from:

Value of the items Velocity of the movement Sensitivity of the customer segments Difficulty in procurement etc

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POSTPONEMENT

• The final production, time of shipment and the location of final product

processing in the distribution of a product should be delayed until a customer

order is received.• The idea is to avoid shipping goods in anticipation of when demand will occur

and to avoid creating the form of the final product in anticipation of that form.• Postponement is favored when the following characteristics are present:

Technology and Process Characteristics: Feasible to decouple primary and postponed operations Limited complexity of customizing Modular product design

Product Characteristics: High commonality of modules

Market Characteristics Short product lifecycles High sales fluctuations

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STANDARDIZATION

• Variety increases the prices in the logistics channel and managing becomes

very difficult.

• Proliferation of product variety can increase inventories and decrease

shipment sizes.

• Adding a new item to the product line that is similar to an existing one can

increase the combined inventory levels of both items by 40% or more, even

total demand does not increase.

• Standardization/Commonization in production is created through

interchangeable parts.

• This effectively controls the variety of parts, supplies and materials that must

be handled in the supply channel.

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CONSOLIDATION

• Creating large shipments from small ones (consolidation) is a powerful

economic force in logistics planning.• It results from the substantial economies of scale that are present in transport

cost structure.• In general, the concept of consolidation will be most useful in strategy

formulation when quantities shipped in individual orders are small.

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Selecting the proper Channel Strategy

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RESPONSIVE VS EFFICIENCY

• Selecting the proper channel design greatly affects the efficiency and

effectiveness of the supply chain.• Two strategies are significant – Supply-to-stock and supply-to-order.

Supply

Chain Type

Channel Design Characteristics

Efficient Supply Chain (Supply-to-stock)

Economical Production runsFinished goods inventoriesEconomic buy quantitiesLarge Shipment sizesBatch order processing

Responsive supply chain (Supply-to-order)

Quick ChangeoversShort lead timesFlexible processingPremium transportationSingle order processing

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Measuring Strategy Performance

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• Once supply chain strategies are planned and implemented, managers want to

know if they are working.• Three measures are useful to monitor this:

Cash Flow Savings Return on Investment

• Cash Flow: Cash flow is the money that a strategy generates. If the strategy is to decrease the amount of inventory in a supply channel,

then the money released from the inventory carried as an asset is turned into

cash.• Savings:

Savings refer to the change in all relevant costs associated with a strategy The savings appear as a profit improvement on a business’s profit and loss

statement.

• Return on Investment: Return on investment is the ratio of the annual savings from the strategy to

the investment required by the strategy.