The Benefits of Supply Chain Management Consultancy
The benefits of supply chain management consultancy depend upon the nature of the projects that are undertaken. Supply Chain Management Diagnostics
Supply Chain Management Consultancy assignments are sometimes born out of supply chain diagnostic projects. These are designed to assess an organisation's purchasing, logistics or operations management performance against best practise and ensure that key opportunities for development can be identified and prioritised.
Free-Sourcing Programmes
Executive Interims - Supply Chain Practise's free-Sourcing Programme combines Make vs Buy, Strategic Purchasing and e-Sourcing into a programme which increase a business' return on capital employed by transferring assets to outsourced suppliers and/or reducing the total acquisition cost of purchases by between 10 to 35%. Savings for clients arising from such supply chain management consultancy projects have ranged from between £3m - £15m depending upon the categories addressed. Supply Chain Cost Drilling Programmes
This type of supply chain management consultancy programme is typically sponsored by the client, and delivered by Executive Interims - Supply Chain Practice, with the purpose of identifying, delivering and sharing the benefits of cost reduction projects within supplier businesses. These programmes are especially helpful for improving the competitiveness of suppliers from whom switching is prohibitive. Supply Chain Cost Drilling Programmes can deliver savings of as much as 20%. Logistics Network & Warehouse Consolidation Programmes
These programmes seek to reduce cost and at least maintain customer service levels by reducing the number of warehouses in a region, the staff associated with running them and the inventory which otherwise would have been duplicated throughout them, by consolidating warehouses (e.g. from across Europe to say one central European warehouse) through the selective investment in a more sophisticated, transportation network. Multi-million pound savings are typically delivered.
Inventory Reduction Programmes
Supply Chain Management Consultancy programmes to Improve the quality of sales forecasts, inventory accuracy and throughput at bottlenecks, whilst reducing replenishment cycle times and carefully managing customer satisfaction levels usually deliver dramatic double digit percentage inventory reductions.
Systems Implementation
The implementation of ERP systems usually give enterprise-wide visibility and ultimately control of supply chain management issues. The introduction of e-Sourcing platforms enables purchasing managers to routinely deliver savings of circa 20%. e-Procurement systems can furthermore allow purchasing control to be exercised for larger proportions of the business' purchased expenditure, making it easier for otherwise maverick buyers to comply with purchasing policy and use preferred suppliers, than it would be for them to use non-compliant suppliers.
Lean Manufacturing ProgrammesFor manufacturing businesses using "functionally based" organisation designs, the application of lean manufacturing principles can reduce inventory levels and lead times by 50% and reduce labour requirements by as much as 30% Intangible Benefits
Additionally Supply Chain Management Consultancy programmes may also bring significant albeit less tangible benefits to an organisation including:
- Greater process visibility and ownership
- Improved morale
- Greater employee empowerment
- Improved environment for continuous improvement
- Greater organisation-wide confidence in leadership
What Benefits Should You Expect From Supply Chain Management Consultancy ?
Executive Interims - Supply Chain Practice is a specialist provider of supply chain consultancy and interim management services. If you'd like to know more about what a supply chain management consultant can do for your business, feel free to contact us to explore the subject further.
|
