New Supply Chain Processes and Better Technology Drive Manufacturer’s Transformation​
Client Challenge
The client, a multi-brand leading manufacturer and wholesaler of bedding and accessories in the US and Canada, manufactured most of its finished products on a make-to-order basis. With consumer demands for quicker lead times and the advent of ‘mattress in a box’, the client wanted to enhance their make-to-stock capabilities. Additionally, raw materials shortages emphasized the need for better supply chain visibility. These new demands and a recent merger required the client to enhance their supply chain system capabilities in three key areas: advanced planning (APS), order management (OMS), and warehouse management (WMS). As a continuously growing and changing company, the client wished to seize the opportunity to optimize these supply chain processes and capabilities to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and deploy better business practices.​
Parker Avery Solution
The client’s supply chain transformation initiative began with two major projects. The first project was to conduct three simultaneous evaluations of leading supply chain technology that addressed the focal areas (APS, OMS, WMS). Key activities for the system selection work included:​
- Gather business requirements from stakeholders and identify key pain points​
- Create a request for information (RFI) for each area to send to potential software vendors​
- Select vendors to conduct demos​
- Create vendor demonstration scripts to understand software fit to client requirements​
- Create quantitative scorecards to aid in the selection; organize and facilitate the demos​
- Develop a business case and implementation roadmap for the selected technology set​
After completing the technology selections, the second project focused on developing new supply chain processes for each area employing industry best practices. The business process project included the following key activities:​
- Confirm pain points and barriers to achieving business goals​
- Assess current capabilities against leading and emergent industry practices and identify gaps​
- Identify and prioritize improvement opportunities​
- Create level 0, 1, and 2 process maps depicting proposed new supply chain processes​
Results
Through the system selection process, the client identified a main and alternative supplier for each area supported by a business case that justified the implementation cost benefit. Additionally, the client was equipped with new supply chain processes that would enable them to take advantage of best practices. Implementation of the new supply chain processes and supporting technologies will ultimately deliver best-in-class capabilities and help the client achieve its supply chain transformation goals.​
How well do your supply chain processes and systems support your strategies?
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