PRACTICAL ADVICE from supply chain experts on solving critical issues.

CHAINReducing costs and improving efficiencies in the supply chain

SUPPLY50ADVICE

OF PEERPIECES

NOTES FROMTHE FIELD

SUPPLY CHAIN

WHAT IS “NOTES FROM THE FIELD”?

To help businesses with some of the key

industry issues Columbus has asked the Supply

Chain Community “What advice would you

give your peers to reduce costs and improve

efficiencies in the supply chain?” Experts from

our supply chain customers, our employees,

analysts, consultants and partners from all

over the globe have fed back either directly to

Columbus or via our social media channels to

give their “Notes from the Field.” We received

hundreds of responses which were distilled

into this document which we hope you will find

useful and interesting

No matter what industry you are in. No matter

what size of business you are. No matter

where in the world you are based, you will

have one overriding task. To meet customers’

requirements by getting the right products

to the right place, at the right time, and in the

right condition. However, limited space and

demands to maximize inventory turnover,

along with increasing pressures to gain better

efficiency from resources conflict with this

requirement.

“ In order to make the process more effi cient it is absolutely key to have mobile devices that a worker can leverage to both receive materials,and then pick to ship out of the company. Streamlining the movement of materials is critical to minimizing waste. “

LUCIANO CUNHA, United States

Use an ERP solution that enables

you to optimize your Bill of

Materials calculation.

PÅL LINDE, Norway

Make use of mobile solutions as

much as possible to avoid human

errors.

WIM PLUIMERS, Netherlands

First of all - get your inventory

counted and updated. Then set

realistic min/max levels where

needed and use demand/supply

forecast where possible.

HENRIK DALL, United States

“ Inventory analysis is not limited to the ABC analysis, it must be complemented by XYZ analysis. Evaluating the fi nal product mix leads to optimal inventory levels at the warehouse. Always consider the seasonal indices. It increases the effi ciency of inventory facility management, determines highly profi table products without violating the principles of assortment policy. You can also identify key products and factors that aff ect the quantity of goods in stock and divide tasks among employees depending on their qualifi cations and experience. ”

SVETLANA KONDAKOVA, Russia

“ Install KPI around critical areas. Understand and react on unsatisfi ed results. Create a culture that understands that corrective and preventive actions are needed to create sustainable results. ”

HENRIK OXLUND, Denmark

NOTES FROMTHE FIELD

Q:What advice would you give your peers to reduce costs and improve effi ciencies in the supply chain?

“ Real-time insight in operations using ERP solutions provides deep and detailed insight into supply chain transactions, movement of goods and enables fast reaction to management ‘exceptions’, when supply chain operations do not perform as expected. The ability to better manage demand with supply and implementation of pull based supply chain strategies enable manufacturing companies to greatly reduce costs and improve effi ciencies. Deep real time supply chain integration further enhances these operational advantages. “

NIELS SKJOLDAGER, United States

“ Implement a workfl ow and budget control system. This will allow control of what is being spent and by whom. Following on from that, procurement catalogues could be used to control what products are purchased and from which suppliers, allowing you to better manage purchase pricing. ”

JOHN ROBINSON, United Kingdom

Set clear goals for the supply chain

and make sure all stakeholders

understand their role in achieving

these goals.

ANONYMOUS, Russia

Bar code data-collection systems provide enormous benefi ts for just about any business. With a bar code data-collection solution, capturing data is faster and more accurate, costs are lower, mistakes are minimized, and managing inventory is much easier. A bar code scanner typically can record data fi ve to seven times as fast as a skilled typist. Keyboard data entry creates an average of one error in 300 keystrokes. Bar code data entry has an error rate of about 1 in 3 million. This benefi t goes hand in hand with better decision making. With better information, you can gain opportunities and get the jump on competition.

KURT HATLEVIK, Norway

Ability to link transport cost from

external transporter direct to the

price calculation.

CLAUS CHRISTENSEN, Denmark

“ Costs can be reduced and processes optimized only by having statistical information: where and what kind of costs emerge, that is, where they arise and accumulate. The analysis of this information can help to fi nd out the reasons of their uprise and make the right decisions. In order to know where and what kind of the costs are generated, it is necessary to consider the best way of collecting information in systems and the level of detailed information. Systems must be able to have confi gurable algorithms, which can be used to calculate the required product demand. “

RUTA GRIGIENE, Lithuania

“ Look to fi nd the right supply chain partners with the right tools to allow you to focus on what makes your company unique. Actively manage and hold your supply chain partners accountable to deliver on best-in-class metrics around price, delivery and quality. If your supply partners and your company have the right tools in place to communicate and objectively manage the entire supply/demand chain, you should see an improvement in effi ciency and a strong bottom line impact. ”

NORMAN CARMICHAEL, United States

If there is a hole in the fl oor where

you shovel money, your process

owners know where it is. Don’t

just talk to them, establish an

ongoing dialogue with them.

DON TYLER, United States

Defi ne effi cient cost control

procedures and ensure they are

followed.

BJØRN PEDERSEN, Denmark

“ Managing costs is all about understanding where costs are occurring. Activity based costing and actual costing methods can provide a more granular look into costs. With good information, better decisions can be made on where to focus to attain cost-reducing effi ciency in operations. ”

PHILIP BRUNS, United States

Automation + Training. Training

is very important for a successful

implementation of new

technologies/systems.

ANONYMOUS, United States

“ Import serial and batch numbers of purchased items from a spread sheet and load them into the registration form of your purchase order line. It is a fantastic time-saver! ”

ALEKSANDAR JOVANOVIC, United States

“ Introduce processes that can structure the purchase and items tied to a project and let the project manager have full control of the logistics status in a project logistics dashboard. ”

OLAV BÆKKEN NATVIK, Norway

1. VMI - Vendor Managed Inventory to be implemented wherever possible

2. Effi cient use of internet to link the stock levels for online access to the vendor through secured login

ARVIND RAMESH, UAE

Connect with trading partners

through web based portals .

ANONYMOUS, United Kingdom

Create relationships with suppliers

that align incentives and smooth

inventory fl ow across the entire

network.

ANONYMOUS, Denmark

“ I once heard an executive from a tier one auto supplier say the most important aspect of his supply chain was transparency. If you have a problem, don’t try and hide it until you have it fi xed, instead work with your customer immediately to inform them of the challenge and how you are working to fi x it. In fact, he cited a number of times in which they were able to very quickly fi x the problem for their supplier. ”

TOM NALL , United States

“ Try to ship everything in full truckloads or container loads. Pay quicker terms for shipping if they forego a fuel surcharge. Keep checking rates and do not get comfortable with a constant/large supplier of product, trucking or material. “

JON WELLS, United States

More effi cient picking routes,

improving scanning devices to be

more reliable and more intuitive

views in the ERP-systems to

monitor the whole process.

JØRGEN GJERDE, Norway

HOW CAN COLUMBUS HELP?

The full supply chain solution includes our best practice business process modeling

with RapidValue, our own Supply Chain Solution module, Microsoft Dynamics AX,

and our proven implementation methodology, SureStep+.

COLUMBUS SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONSColumbusSCS provides manufacturers and distributors with comprehensive, innovative support for planning, execution, and monitoring of inbound, warehouse, and outbound processes—from warehouse and inventory management through distribution management.

A module-driven architecture lets you extend and scale supply chain execution step by step, or build an end-to-end solution that automates logistics for receiving, put-away, internal transport, picking, packing, and shipping and other execution processes.

BENEFITS1. INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY FROM THE START.

Deliver solutions that people can learn and use in minutes, on multiple devices. Simplified user screens give your staff the precise information and tools they need to perform tasks quickly and accurately.

2. ENSURE YOUR SOLUTION ALIGNS WITH YOUR BUSINESS MODEL. Warehousing and distribution are key processes in supply chain execution. Our solutions offer an integrated business process modelling application for defining your optimal business model

(strategy, organization) and process model (processes, flow, activities) in a structured way fully embedded in to your ERP solution.

3. IMPROVE ACCURACY AND DRIVE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. Automated processes and real-time information flows ensure fast, error-free inventory allocation, picking and packing processes, and order fulfilment.

4. DRIVE SPEED ACROSS YOUR ENTIRE SUPPLY CHAIN. Support transport and distribution processes, including integration with carriers, electronic data interchange (EDI), and transport planning for shipments.

5. MEET COMPLEX CUSTOMER DEMANDS FOR HANDLING GOODS. Utilize delivery rules, wave planning, and packing stations. Support standardized integration with material handling equipment.

6. TAKE AUTOMATION TO NEW LEVELS OF EFFICIENCY. The Supply Chain Solution combines standardized solutions for handheld terminals and forklift terminals and supports Auto-ID (barcode scanning).

7. SUPPORT CROSS-CHANNEL RETAIL OPERATIONS. Simplify the transition from traditional to cross channel retailing with flexible logistics that support multiple channels and ensure accurate delivery to stores and consumers.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed to the ColumbusSCS Notes from the Field including:

Aleksandar Jovanovic, Antony Prabhath, Arvind Ramesh, Bjørn Pedersen, Christopher Johnston, Claus Christensen, Deborah Vermillion, Don Tyler, Emad Akhtar, Ernestas Zaburas, Guido van Osch, Henrik Dall, Henrik Oxlund, Jeff Powell, Jim Bresler, John Robinson, Jon Wells, Jørgen Gjerde, Josh Sanders, Kevin Bull, Kurt Hatlevik, Lisa Hammond, Luciano Cunha, Mike Makela, Natasha Pijuan, Niels Skjoldager, Niraj Nanda, Norman Carmichael, Olav Bækken Natvik, Pål Linde, Per Christensen, Philip Bruns, Ruta Grigiene, Steve Weaver, Stuart Mackay, Svetlana Kondakova, Thomas Hauge, Tom Nall, Tony Carlisle and Wim Pluimers

The ColumbusSCS Notes From The Field Series:

For more information on Columbus, our clients’ experiences and our solutions, please visit www.columbusglobal.com

’Columbus’ is a part of the registered trademark ‘Columbus IT’

ABOUT COLUMBUS:

Columbus is the preferred business partner for ambitious companies worldwide

within the food, retail and manufacturing industries. We exceed 20 years of

experience and 6,000 successful implementations, and we’re proud to off er our

customers solid industry know-how, high performance solutions and global reach.

For more information on Columbus, our clients’ experiences and our solutions, please visit www.columbusglobal.com

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