Supply Planning for Manufacturing

Supply planning is the practice of anticipating and managing inventory in order to provide products to customers on time. The process forms a critical part of any manufacturing operation because it ensures raw materials and components are available when they’re needed on the shop floor. This prevents costly “line-down” conditions. The supply planning process also involves forecasting future demand and establishing supply policies to ensure supply chain efficiency.

Success from highly integrated operations

The purchasing department plays an important role in supply planning. Buyers need to be aware of supply cycles and potential risks within their supply chains, such as changes in customer demand or supplier capacities. They must also have accurate information on pricing and delivery times. This makes it possible for buyers to make informed decisions about supply chain operations while controlling costs.

In addition, the purchasing department coordinates with other departments such as engineering, production, and inventory to ensure the entire supply chain is optimized to production needs. This helps to create a more efficient supply chain and contributes to better manufacturing performance.

Overall, supply planning is a complex process that involves anticipating and managing inventory across a company’s supply chain and matching that to the company’s manufacturing needs. In today’s world of increasingly more complex product builds and global sourcing processes, the need to optimize the purchasing process is front of mind for the successful manufacturer.

Managing complex processes with software solutions

Managing the quantities of part data required and juggling timelines can be overwhelming for paper-based or even spreadsheet management processes. More and more, PLM and MRP software play an important part in supply planning. Software like Aligni is designed to manage high complexity builds and the data from numerous vendors that’s required to make sure production hits their throughput and quality metrics.

If you’re looking to streamline your supply planning operations, sign up for Aligni today to learn more about how our software can help make managing today’s supply chain complexity easier.