Benefits of constrained midterm capacity planning

Benefits of constrained capacity and supply planning software in manufacturing

The past few years have been fairly rocky in terms of supply chain stability. Global issues, including the Covid pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have resulted in vital material shortages, including grain, microchips, car paint and carbon fibre, which in turn has increased the likelihood of constrained material supply for many manufacturers.

And the issue is far reaching. For example, manufacturers managing numerous product lines may struggle to respond to spikes in demand due to inflexible planning solutions or a lack of raw material availability. These inefficiencies not only waste time and money, but also threaten business stability in the long term.

Despite the costs and predictability of global supply chains continuing to spiral, there is a solution that can help to keep your business resilient in the face of uncertainty: supply planning software – the need for which is clearer than ever.

But what else can the right supply planning software help your business to achieve? This article breaks down what you need to know.

What are the key problems for manufacturers without supply planning software?

Back in 2018, Reuters reported that 46% of organisations did not use AI at all for their operations, while 50% reported limited usage. Since then, globally significant events such as the Covid pandemic have highlighted the need for organisations to undergo a significant shift in their use of AI and automation.

But what can the companies that fail to innovate expect? In all likelihood, they’ll be stuck in a vicious cycle of reactive, short-term thinking, characterised by a constant struggle to keep up and a lack of time to find a sustainable way to fix their problems. When one problem is patched up, the next problem will hit, leaving the organisation fighting fires over and over again.

When supply planning problems keep occurring, so does the temptation to throw money at the problem in an attempt to meet demand, all without taking the time or using the tools to really analyse the underlying problem and identify the optimal way to meet demand. This means that they have no reliable way of seeing how to get the best possible results in the long and short term.

Ultimately, organisations without the right technology will spend far more time than necessary attempting to deal with multiple variables that make it difficult to optimise constraints, resulting in wasted effort and a potential negative impact on organisational culture.

These problems are the last thing any manufacturer needs as they attempt to minimise the fallout of the global supply chain crisis. Luckily, supply planning software can overcome all of this and more.

What are the benefits of supply planning software?

More manufacturers than ever are waking up to the value of the right tools and technology. In fact, following the Covid pandemic, the supply chain management (SCM) software has been projected to reach over $52 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 10.7%.

But what tangible benefits can technology such as supply planning software bring?

With intelligent planning software comes an end-to-end view across the supply chain that enables the optimisation of overall manufacturing processes. Some of the key benefits include:

• Increased agility, responsiveness and resilience
• Increased capacity (at an average of 10% for Replan clients)
• Risk reduction (forecasting, logistics, procurement and more)
• Improved sustainability outcomes through lower waste and more efficient production
• Adapts as you scale, making it easy to plan new lines effectively
• Lower labour costs
• Better organisational culture
• Waste reduction
• Improved efficiency from automated processes
• An increase in brand trust/loyalty

As more businesses begin to harness the power of this kind of technology, you can expect manufacturers to undergo a shift from surviving to thriving, where they can move from a pure risk management focus to one of adaptability, opportunity and growth.

What features and benefits can you expect from Replan software?

If supply planning software is the piece of the puzzle you’ve been missing, then Replan could be the solution for you.

Along with increased capacity, reduced risk, automated processes and more, the Replan solution removes the hassle by integrating with your existing systems, leveraging a digital twin of the customer process so that AI can then produce an optimised production sequence.

The solution then reduces risk by producing industry-leading visualisations to help planners see beyond the horizon and know what bottlenecks are coming, how long they will last, and how to avoid them, as well as providing rapid scenario testing so you can get the answers you need in real-time.

In addition, Replan’s technology is quick and easy to adapt across multiple resources and locations, so you can scale as you grow.

Overall, as businesses move forward in an increasingly uncertain world, investing in smart technology that creates a sense of certainty is more important than ever. That’s why intelligent supply planning software holds so much value. With the benefit of verifiable data and automated processes, your organisation can begin its journey to optimise performance and thrive.

If you’d like to find out more about how you could benefit from the addition of intelligent automation to your midterm plan, get in touch.