Finished Goods Inventory Management

Alternate Term: Finished Goods Inventory Planning

Canned Seafood Division of Fortune 500 International Food Manufacturer

Served as Demand / Inventory Planning Manager. Accountable for finished goods inventory ($100M value), customer service performance, and forecast accuracy for entire company product line (1000 SKUs). Coordinated inventory replenishment activities among order management, plant operations, and 3PL warehousing and transportation providers. Directed movement of goods from six manufacturing facilities (two offshore) to ten distribution centers throughout the US and Canada. Forecasted sales at the SKU level. Managed two planning analysts.

Reduced finished goods inventory by $30M (23%) while improving customer service by implementing a time-series based sales forecasting system, instituting forecasting and production planning metrics, establishing / implementing policies to fully utilize integrated systems capabilities, improving inventory balance integrity, and consolidating DCs. Implemented Demand Forecasting, Inventory Planning, DRP and Deployment modules of American Software (now Logility) APS software.

Leading Canned Fruits & Vegetables Manufacturer and Distributor

Served as Director of Supply Chain Planning. Managed 21-person Department (including 7 direct reports) and $3.1M payroll. Accountable for customer service performance, demand forecasting, production planning and finished goods inventory management ($215M value) for entire division product line (2800 SKUs). Forecasted sales by SKU. Coordinated inventory replenishment activities among customer satisfaction, purchasing, plant operations, distribution centers and 3PL transportation providers. Directed movement of product from 12 internal production locations and 38 distributed manufacturers (12 offshore) to 8 DCs throughout the US.

Reduced finished goods by $33M (13%) while maintaining customer service performance. Improved SKU / DC forecast accuracy by 24%. Implemented Supply Chain Planner and Demand Fulfillment modules of i2 (now Blue Yonder) APS software, including surrounding processes and integration with JD Edwards (now Oracle) ERP software. Enhanced existing i2 (now Blue Yonder) Demand Planner implementation.

Leading Telecommunications Products Manufacturer

Re-engineered organization’s supply chain. Project focused on eight key functional areas: order fulfillment, demand planning, product installation, field service and repair, distribution, manufacturing, product / process engineering and supplier management. Mapped organization’s current performance against industry leading practices. Identified numerous “quick hit” and “long-term” supply chain improvement opportunities that generated $65M in annual savings.

Led “quick hit” implementation effort in the finished goods inventory planning area. Instituted the use of custom-developed inventory planning tools taking into account such factors as replenishment lead-time, forecast error and desired service level to determine optimal inventory levels. Increased order fill-rate from 91% to 99%, while reducing inventory levels.

Fortune 20 Multinational Software Manufacturer

Modeled SKU inventory levels required to support international sales. Determined that manufacturer could increase customer service levels from below 80% to 99+% while decreasing inventory investment through more efficient inventory management.

Manufacturer of Kitchen Linens and Accessories

Revamped firm’s inventory management policies and procedures. Determined that over 60% of inventory is either dead or excess stock. Identified root causes driving excess inventory and recommended a portfolio of process, organization and technology improvements that will permanently reduce inventory levels by $16M.

Major Pet Food Company

Conducted a direct shipment feasibility study for two major processing plants. Compared customer order patterns with plant production at the SKU level. Found that manufacturer could more than double direct shipments through more efficient use of existing setdown space.

Server Division of a Fortune 20 High Technology Manufacturer

Led project team that performed a current state review and future state design of the demand forecasting process.  Established a portfolio of information technology, organization, and process enhancements that will improve forecast accuracy by over 50%, and reduce inventory related costs by $80M per year.

Leading Manufacturer of Educational and Entertainment Software

Led project team that performed a current state review and future state design of company’s forecasting and inventory management processes. Identified a portfolio of improvements that will improve forecast accuracy by 40%, reduce inventory levels by $14.4M (66%), and reduce inventory related costs by $4.8M annually. Team also conducted a network design to identify best location for an integrated assembly, distribution and returns facility. Determined that savings from optimal site location exceed $5.9 M annually.

Custom Sheet Metal Fabricator of Precision Parts for Aerospace, Defense and Medical Equipment Industries

Identified and kicked-off implementation of a series of initiatives that will reduce past due order backlog by over $600K (90% reduction). Initiated improvements in the areas of customer and order management, manufacturing and inventory strategy, use of production scheduling and MRP tools, and strategic sourcing. Determined that raw materials could be reduced by 61% and finished goods by 91% without negatively impacting service.

Rapidly Growing Organic Meat and Poultry Producer

Led SKU rationalization effort that reduced number of SKUs by 67% and increased company profitability. Determined that historic method for determining animal requirements was not providing accurate projections of animal needs. Developed spreadsheet-based supply-demand planning capability accurately linking supply with demand for the first time in company history. Developed time series forecasts in MS Excel that improved forecast accuracy. Then converted forecast to subprimal equivalents, and used to determine animal requirements and production schedule by week over the planning horizon. Determined that company supply-demand mix was extremely out of balance. Identified numerous instances where company would be either material or capacity constrained, and would need to secure alternate sources of supply or increase production capacity. Recommended that company look for ways to better promote whole animal utilization.

Helped client evaluate various ERP tools (Oracle NetSuite, JustFood) and select provider to implement chosen package. Defined detailed future state S&OP requirements, and evaluated various package capabilities (Blue Ridge, Kinaxis, Adexa, DemandCaster, JustFood) to meet these needs.

Supplier of Auto Accessories

Evaluated company’s forecasting and inventory management processes. Recommended a variety of organizational, process and system changes that will improve forecast accuracy and reduce inventory levels. Projected savings from implementation of suggested improvements exceed $1.2M annually.

Medical Devices Division of a Fortune 150 Health Care Products Manufacturer

Assessed current state demand / supply planning solution. Determined that acquisition of a new tool would greatly enhance planning capabilities. Identified key business requirements new tool should support, along with short list of planning software providers meeting these needs. Developed business case documenting tool benefits and costs. Established that new tool will generate $6.8M in benefits annually, with IRR exceeding 27%.

Leading US Producer and Marketer of Frozen and Shelf Stable Fruit Products

Served as Solution Architect during the Design Phase on an SAP Integrated Business Planning (IBP) implementation.

Leading Manufacturer of Sports Equipment and Apparel

Served as subject matter expert on demand / supply planning software selection project. Led development of business requirements and demonstration scripts. Provided detailed feedback on vendor selection criteria, desired proposal pricing format and additional ways to improve RFP. Led questioning during vendor demonstrations and identified key differentiators among SAP APO, JDA (now Blue Yonder) and Logility packages considered. Helped client reach consensus on preferred package.

Large Multi-Level Marketer of Nutritional and Personal Care Products

Led project team that assessed company’s procurement, inventory management, cost accounting, accounts payable and pricing activities. Recommended over 50 improvements based on benchmarking to “world class” leading practices.

Leading Provider of Fitness and Weight Loss Solutions

Performed assessment of company’s largest supplement product to determine ability of supply chain to support a quadrupling in sales over the next 24 months. Areas evaluated included product formulation, quality assurance, sourcing, demand planning, sales and operations planning (S&OP), inventory management, supply planning, purchasing, contract manufacturing, inbound / outbound transportation and warehouse management. Identified, prioritized and initiated implementation of a portfolio of 25+ projects that will enable organization to meet 98% on-time delivery target, reduce costs by over $500K annually, and expand as planned.

Leading North American Computer Manufacturer

Led 20-member project team that initiated transformation of company’s supply chain operations. Project scope addressed all major supply chain activities including product design, demand / supply planning, channel management, procurement, order fulfillment, manufacturing, warehousing, transportation and returns / repair. Identified a portfolio of 12 improvement projects to be implemented over two years that will generate $880M in NPV.

Dried Fruit and Juice Manufacturer

Led project team that evaluated performance of company’s primary third party logistics (3PL) provider. Project focused on evaluating provider’s effectiveness in the areas of order fulfillment, customer service, transportation management, warehousing, finished goods inventory management, invoicing and accounts receivable. Also performed network analysis to determine if reducing the number of DCs would lower total delivered costs. Established that remaining with current 3PL provider in existing network would result in lowest total costs, while bringing these activities in-house would increase logistics expenses by over $1.8M annually. Identified a variety of process, policy and systems improvements that are expected to yield approximately $1M in annual savings.

Large Computer Storage Device Manufacturer

Conducted a comprehensive re-engineering of company’s supply chain. Processes evaluated included demand / supply planning, inventory management, procurement, manufacturing, order fulfillment, transportation, warehousing, and product lifecycle management. Led 11-member project team that developed improvements to company’s demand / supply planning and inventory management activities. Company implemented six follow-on projects, including installation of i2 (now Blue Yonder) APS software that reduced inventory levels by over 60%, and associated inventory related costs by $240M annually.

Multinational Food Ingredients Manufacturer

Assessed company’s demand / supply planning, transportation, order management, procurement and manufacturing operations. Identified process, organization and IT gaps versus leading practices. Confirmed need for demand / supply planning APS software tool, and developed short list of recommended vendors.

Leading Branded Apparel Manufacturer / Retailer

Conducted current state assessment of demand / supply planning practices. Identified gaps in processes, organization and tools versus leading practices, along with recommended improvements and associated benefits.

North America’s Largest Producer and Marketer of Craft Yarn

Provided training on monitoring forecast accuracy and modeling inventory targets. Identified opportunity to reduce safety stock levels by $0.9M while maintaining customer service performance.