One-day Workshop

The velocity of change brought about by the power of the customer, technology enablers, cost pressures, and globalization requires businesses to construct agile, flexible and fast-paced distribution and logistics functions. The distribution channel determines how products and services make their way from the manufacturer to the customer. Logistics facilitates this movement of materials and marketplace information through the distribution pipeline.

This one-day workshop will focus on Distribution and Logistics management.

Distribution and Logistics

The distribution channel determines how products and services make their way from the manufacturer to the customer. Logistics facilitates the movement of materials and marketplace information through the distribution pipeline. For the most part, logistics is concerned with the functions of warehousing and transportation and is charged with the responsibility of ensuring goods and services are available at the proper place and in the proper quantities. Topics discussed include:

• Define distribution and logistics management
• Distribution channels and intermediaries
• Roles performed by the distribution function
• Components of logistics management and operations
• Reverse logistics
• Role of the logistics function in supply chain management

Distribution Requirements Planning

Unlike replenishment methods that use statistical calculations to determine when orders should be released and what the order quantities should be, DRP determines inventory requirements by time-phasing supply to meet demand for each product at each warehouse in the distribution channel.   Topics discussed include:

• Distribution channel dependencies
• Push and pull functions
• Replenishment methods or DRP?
• DRP planning grid
• Bill of distribution

Source:  Principles of Distribution & Logistics, sessions 2 & 5

Potential Audience

This workshop may be of interest to: material planners, supervisors, team leads, shipping and receiving, operations management.

Focus Workshop - Forecasting & Demand Management

• One-day Workshop

Much of the success of enterprise planning and decision making depends on the formulation of accurate forecasts. Forecasting permits firms to establish performance measurements for customer service, plan the level of total inventory investment, choose between alternative operating strategies, and develop assumptions about the stability of the business to respond to the future needs of the marketplace.

This one-day workshop will focus on forecasting and demand management.

Forecasting

Development and maintaining accurate forecasts is critical to effective decision making at all levels of the organization. Effective forecasting will enable the firm’s managers to accurately project expected demand on the business’s resources. Topics discussed include:

• Forecasting functions
• Three levels of forecast
• Defining demand
• Universal principles of forecast management
• Forecasting process
• Benefits of forecast accuracy
• Qualitative, quantitative and causal forecasting techniques
• Why forecasts fail

Demand Management

This continues the discussion on forecasting by focusing on understanding, determining and working with forecast error. Included is a deeper investigation into customer and demand management – centering on a review of customer relationship management (CRM) and how it assists in the development of the overall demand plan that will be transmitted to sales and operations planning (S&OP) and master production scheduling (MPS). Topics discussed include:

• Defining demand management
• Components of demand management
• Demand management in the MPC system
• Forecast performance
• Calculating and measuring forecast error
• Mean and standard deviation of forecast error
• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Customer service management
• Demand management technology tools
• Demand management performance

Source:      Principles of Operations Planning, sessions 3 & 4

Potential Audience

This workshop may be of interest to: material planners, production planners, sales and marketing, customer service, buyers, procurement, middle management.