Milo.com has over a million unique visitors, has tracked 2.8 million products, and is growing by an average of 185,000 items per month, the company tells WebProNews.

The site also has inventory data for over 50,000 stores and covers 30,000 communities nationwide.

"According to the U.S. Census Bureau, e-commerce currently accounts for less than 5 percent of U.S. retail sales, with the rest of sales still conducted offline," the company tells us. "Milo.com is poised to own this trend, projected to amount to almost 40 percent of total retail sales by 2011 – a $1 trillion market."

Milo tells shoppers what’s in stock, and lets them conduct research, while providing real-time updates of local stores’ inventory and prices. It also gives users alerts, notifying them when a price falls or a product becomes available. 

Retailers can benefit by drawing in shoppers from the web to their brick and mortar stores. "It tells them what’s in stock at their local store, at what price, at the exact moment of interest," the rep notes. 

Mobile/online to offline retail will definitely factor into the holiday shopping season this year, as smart phone and tablet usage escalates. Services like Milo’s and Google’s should help in-store sales. 

Here’s part of the email I received from them…

Since the launch of the new Sponsored Search system, Yahoo! Search Marketing no longer supports the tool, therefore the data is not reflective of the true volume of traffic throughout the network.  With the new Sponsored Search system now in place, more tailored keyword data tools are being explored for the future.

For the time being, Yahoo! plans to adjust the tool to show information from January 2007, but it’s also recommend that advertisers use the more robust forecasting capabilities in the new Sponsored Search to gain insight into expected performance.  The forecasting service available now within Panama and through our APIs is a great alternative to Keyword Selector Tool in terms of providing keyword data points for performance and cost.

Our forecasting service APIs provide a number of opportunities.  They provide a forecast for an ad group, set of keywords, and a single keyword.  The following forecast metrics are provided:

            1) Average Position – The average position of the ad

            2) Clicks – The estimated number of clicks

            3) Average CPC – The average cost per click

            4) Impressions – The estimated number of impressions

            5) Max Bid – The maximum bid for the current forecast

            6) Missed Clicks – The estimated number of missed clicks

Comments

Tag:

John suggests that the reason Google would take on that cost for free, is to get access to the margins and data of everyone. While I can’t say that’s not true, I think he leaves out perhaps the more important part of why I think they’re making it free.

Like any ad network, Google Adsense can only make money when it has inventory in which it can sell ads. Every ad network and direct advertiser is competing with each other over the available publisher inventory out there on the web. Because Adsense is primarily CPC, there is no limit to the amount of inventory that Adsense wants to consume. At no point do they ever run out of ad dollars, because it’s all charged per click.

For these reasons, the goal of most ad networks is to hold as much inventory as they can captive for their advertisers. They want this inventory all for themselves to monetize, and would like to keep their networks “closed” from competition.

The closed access to publisher inventory is becoming increasingly more competitive, especially as ad exchanges come to life that actually make ad networks compete on a level playing field for access to publisher inventory. Publishers are starting to learn that it’s NOT in their best interest to allow ad networks to control large chunks of inventory. They earn more revenue when ad networks must prove their worth and compete for their inventory.

Guess what, Google doesn’t want to compete. So, how can they increasingly get more access to publisher inventory? Why not give them a free ad server, make Adsense built into it, and have Adsense be the “default” for all unsold ad impressions. As Google moves more into display advertising and premium ad sales, they’ll probably tie that in as well and want the right to sell ads into the inventory of publishers using their free ad server.

The bottom line, is will this work for Google?

There are definitely people out there that like the price of free. However, there are free ad serving options that exist today like basic ad serving along with an ad exchange tied into it with RMX Direct or a free open source ad server you host yourself like OpenAds.org (formerly phpAdsNew).

And like Google Analytics customers learned, free has it’s price. Google Analytics has had a lot of scaling problems that resulted in downtime, slowness in reports updating with data, and other issues. Free also gets you a level of support that serious ad serving customers might find unsatisfactory.

Additionally, while the Analytics industry freaked out a little bit when Google went free, it actually just brought more interest into the space and allowed some of the products that cost money to differentiate themselves and truly prove to customers what that money gets them.

Along with that, John is right that there are lots of customers that won’t feel comfortable letting their ad network also see all their advertising information. Google seems to lose a little trust each and every day from the media and web community, will people trust them for ad serving?

As with anything it’s too early to tell, but I can tell you that as a company in the same advertising space, and as a guy who runs a product that will most likely be competing with Google’s product, bring it on.

Comments

Tag:

That means building and promoting sites in your target vertical – but also reinvesting some of the cash into building and promoting sites into other verticals you may want to get involved with at a later date.

For example, more than two years ago I decided – without any business plan or justification – a set of finance content sites. They are skewed towards the investment industry which I have a real curiosity for but little experience, having recently invested everything into a house.

I then paid for a writer to write content and trained them up in publishing it.

The result was that over a couple of years I ended up investing a couple of grand in cash developing sites I had no use for. The sites were pretty low quality, too.

Then I got my first finance client and it was a big one, too. I basically recouped two years investment within two months, and because I had developed sites with content, links, and history, I was able to really leverage these for the client’s targeted keywords.

Of course, because the sites were required I revisited every one to develop value for them and a total overhaul – new design and CMS where required, refocusing on unique content and focus for each, and taking on multiple writers to boost the content value further.

Point is, it took looking ahead to what I’d like to be involved with and invest in it on nothing more than a gut instinct.

I still develop sites I have little use for in client terms. For example, for some reason I’ve ended up developing a few sites relating to TV markets – HDTV, IPTV, and home entertainment. They are useless to me at present and a money sink.

But – at some point in the future, because the markets for these products areas are growing – it’s only a matter of time before I take on a client who’ll need them. Until then, it’s an investment risk worth taking.

But managing a modern inventory itself requires dealing with many things like identification of the functions performed by the inventories, and establishment of the correct relationship between inventory functions and inventory levels. Thus, to keep inventories at an optimum level various strategies have to be worked upon. And inventory accounting software comes in handy for it. You have lots of options to choose from in the case of inventory accounting software. The different options before you range from a basic wholesale distribution ERP program to full-featured, professionally-developed inventory management software.

For your inventory control and management needs, you naturally want to choose the best one. But the question is how? Luckily for you, it is quite possible today to choose a professional, customizable, inventory accounting software which is affordable as well as efficient for your business.

Take for example, if you have a distribution company, then wholesale distribution management and warehouse automation are central to the company. Herein, you should look for an inventory accounting software tackling all these.

An inventory accounting software is widely applied in different industries to track a wide range of inventory types. An inventory accounting software provides the flexibility and depth of functionality required to maximize both your profit and customer service.

Precise inventory control and accurate ERP/MRP information must be at your fingertips to run your business smoothly all the time. Overstocked inventory as well as out-of-stock items can be ruinous to your bottom line and reputation. In fact, it is possible for your company to take a nosedive to bankruptcy due to inaccurate inventory control. Inaccurate inventory counts could happen due to shipment delays, lost sales and excuses.

So management in the company needs to look out beyond survival in today’s fiercely competitive business world. An excellent inventory control software solution with advanced features like kitting, serial number tracking, complete sales and purchasing functionality as well as ERP automation that is dependable and robust is critical in the quest for market leadership.

One such inventory accounting software is Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains Inventory Control which is aimed at mid-size companies. Great Plains Inventory comes with numerous features. Great Plains Dynamics / eEnterprise is developed with clear ERP work-flow. Inventory control has a connection to General Ledger and interacts with Invoicing, Sales Order Processing, and Purchase Order Processing later.

One thing which you should remember while purchasing inventory accounting software is inventories have to be priced shorter than net realizable value, barring a few exceptions. The inventories of by-products, consumable stores, non-reusable and reusable waste constitutes the exception. You can determine the historical cost of inventories using LIFO (last in first out) or FIFO (first in first out), average cost formula.

Tag:

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit | Furl

Bookmark WebProNews:

The author writes about a number of different topics. For more information on accounting software visit http://www.managemyaccounting.com/ and also visit the article page: http://www.managemyaccounting.com/types-of-acconting-software/

But though it was considered to be very useful at times it was slammed for its inaccuracy. Now as the Panama is being upgraded, it seems that Yahoo! /Overture keyword suggestion tool is about to vanish into thin air.

Sara reminisces:

Over the years, other tools came into vogue as industry leaders criticized accuracy of the tool’s estimated volume as well as the editorial aspect.

It wasn’t until I held a recent Search 101 seminar that I realized just how much the tool had aged. Like an elder relative, the tool fell asleep frequently at the table. Sometimes it just didn’t make any sense at all. On a call with some Yahoo employees, my greatest fears were confirmed: The tool would not longer be supported in the near future.

However, last year in October Yahoo! launched Panama marketing interface and indicated that they were aware about the importance of Yahoo! /Overture keyword suggestion tool. They even reportedly said that they will find a way to come up with a better transformed tool to replace the Yahoo! Inventory tool.

Comments

Reddit | Furl

Bookmark WebProNews:

Nav is the founder and CEO of Page Traffic, a premier search engine company
known for its assured SEO service, web design and development, copywriting and full time SEO professionals.

Navneet has wide experience in natural search engine optimization, internet
marketing and PPC campaigns. He is a prolific writer and his articles can be
found in the “Best Articles” section of many websites and article banks. As
a search engine analyst , he has over 9 years of experience and his
knowledge is in application here.

What do these firms, in different businesses, have in common? They carry too much inventory. While where they each have the extra inventory may differ-raw, WIP or finished, they have too much money tied up in inventory.

From accounting and financial views, inventory is an asset, a positive, for businesses. Inventory is a buffer against uncertainty. The cycle time from when inventory is needed until it is received, sold and sales payment is received is very important to company success and longevity. The longer the cycle time is, then the larger the amount of inventory that will be carried to balance against uncertainty.

Inventory turns are important. Think of it this way. The above firms are being paid every 90 days. That is essentially, what four turns really means. No one would want to get a paycheck that infrequently. That is a lot of capital tied up earning nothing while it sits unsold and an incredible float on capital. So why do businesses operate that way and accept such performance?

Inventory has a “limited shelf-life”. There is a window of opportunity to sell the product. Once that window closes then the sales value of it decreases and the profitability and inventory yield are not maximized. In addition to the capital issue, excess inventory influences service and operations. Unnecessary freight costs were expended to bring the products in. The inventory works against having a good warehouse layout to reduce order picking. It adds to labor costs. If the company does cycle counting, then such inventory is counted too often and is a wasted time effort. Too much inventory can also mean having a distribution center larger than is really needed to store the extra items. So the cost and service impact is large. There is also restricts agility to adjust quickly to changing conditions.

WHAT CAUSES EXCESS INVENTORY? Businesses do not decide to carry too much inventory as part of a strategic plan. Inventory increases creep in; it is not a deliberate business decision to tie up too much capital in inventory. The reasons for excess inventory vary but some of the common ones are:

*Loss of sales fear. The fear of not having an item to sell is stronger than the fear of not being able to sell the item. So a hedge factor to carry more items and more inventories is necessary. Also, sales forecasts can be overly optimistic.

*Price deals. Companies take advantage of lower prices for volumes in excess of what they need or will use in a reasonable time. But it is “too good of a deal to pass up” even if it sits forever in inventory. Economical purchases may actually be uneconomical.

*Write-offs. Businesses are hesitant to write off the inventory and take the hit on the profit and loss for the year.

*No measures. Some firms do not aggressively measure and manage inventory, inventory turns, inventory aging, inventory velocity or give inventory a less than adequate recognition. They may not even categorize as to “A”, “B” and “C”.

*Limited inventory planning. Planning is not based on demand management or similar technologies. Instead, it is more of an intuitive activity. With the long lead-times for items, especially those imported, this compounds the problem.

*Supplier performance. Suppliers are not managed even when suppliers fail to ship or deliver more than 25% of purchase orders on time. Firms build in extra time to receive their orders. They carry extra inventory to compensate for the supplier delivery issues. Poor supplier performance generates increased inventories because of its unreliability and extended time to deliver.

*No process. Buying and ordering inventory are transactions, a reaction to a need, perceived or real. It is a form of fire fighting. There are no company-wide strategic processes for customers, sourcing or tactical process for sales and operations planning. Procedures, whether for inventory or other purposes, may be used instead that reflect the lack of process(es). Expediting is another sign of no process. Inventory is used to compensate for the lack of process or for lack of execution.

*One approach fits all. The inventory strategy is not segmented to reflect differences in inventory as to profitability and turn velocity. Firms end up carrying too much inventory, especially for slower turning items-the “C” and “D” items.

A company can have too much inventory for than the reasons shown above. Often the inventory buildup is not done from one cause only. Instead, multiple causes create the over-inventory situation. The multiple reasons reflect the lack of underlying priority, process and control.

WHAT CAN BE DONE? Excess inventory does not have to be accepted as a way of doing business. Eliminating the causes of extra inventory is important. Some options include:

*Strategy and process. Develop a strategy and a process to manage inventory. This must come from the top down within the company. Without sustained executive commitment, this will be a frustrating endeavor. Some of the essentials should be-

- Measure inventory. You have to know where you are and where you are going. Develop metrics as to inventory velocity, aging and turns.

- Implement lean across the company. Excess inventory and additional time are waste and add no value to the product. Many departments can create non-value time and inventory. Lean is very similar to supply chain management with its emphasis on pull for product movement. Lean is a key tool to identifying and reducing unnecessary inventory.

- Look at the entire supply chain. While assessing the total supply chain, distinguish the inbound supply chain from the outbound supply chain in designing and implementing the strategy. Otherwise, the cycle time and resultant inventory are blurred. Also, develop multiple transport and stocking programs to reflect the segmentation of inventory. Firms that have supply chain management as part of the core competency and strategic focus perform better in controlling inventory across the supply chain.

Segment inventory by velocity and by profitability. Unbundle it to understand where inventory exist, why it is and how it occurs.

Make inventory part of the overall company direction with regard to its role in customers, sales and profits.

Implement a sales and operations planning program that ties to both customer and sourcing strategies.

- Compress time. Uncertainty-and inventory buffers-increase with time. Reduce the time from the need for inventory until it is sold. This is very important with lead times for critical items and for imports that have long transit times. Compression should occur both internal and external to the company.

- Develop reliability. Vagaries in the supply chain compound uncertainty and increase inventory. Reliability throughout the supply chain is imperative to reducing uncertainty and inventory.

- Be creative. Find what works for your company. Do not imitate what others do. Do not be restrained by existing company practices and “rules” that were developed for reasons that are long forgotten.

*Distribution network. Warehouse locations may have been established years ago under economic conditions that have changed. Many warehouses can increase the total inventory carried because of the extra safety stock. Too few can mean longer transport distances and can have more inventories in transit than on shelves. Determine the optimal network for today’s business.

*Supplier performance. Make it a key part of the inventory management and of the sourcing strategy. Manage purchase orders. There is much more than low-prices in vendor selection.

*Effect of global sourcing. Long transit times across the Pacific and other trade lanes affect the inventories that firms may carry. Analyze the impact of such sourcing and determine how to address the inventory impact.

*Outside assistance. There are two options here. There is the one-time help that can be provided by a supply chain management consulting firm. There is also the ongoing approach that can be provided by a 4PL or 3PL to manage the inbound or outbound supply chain. The 4PL should be a neutral party whose focus is supply chain management and does not bring a possible “conflict of interest” by wanting the firm’s freight or warehouse activity that some 3PLs do. 3PLs and 4PLs that can see the supply chain, not just freight or pallets, can be valuable partners.

CONCLUSION. Increasing inventory turns and velocity is critical to business profitability and survival. Reducing inventory and preventing buildup of unnecessary inventory is not a quick fix. It took time to get into the problem. It will take time to get out of it. In addition, it is easy to slip back into the same problem. It will take constant focus and determination.

Tag:

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit | Furl

Bookmark WebProNews:

LTD provides logistics consulting for strategic and tactical needs. The scope of capabilities is broad–supply chain management, outsourcing, transportation, warehousing, inventory management, and more for both domestic and international needs. Clients include retailers, wholesalers/distributors, manufacturers, logistics service providers and 3PLs.

Now it looks like ad spending failed to meet expectations this year and social media is creating an inventory glut.

I wonder if Google’s market share vertical integration strategy will structurally impact the market. Some see this consolidation as a sign of strength, but it could be a longer term weakness. At the least, there is a short term driver for M&A for erstwhile competitors. The sponsorship segment of the market seems to be doing well and supporting the proliferation of micro-pubs and there is lots of room to innovate. As long as people keep buying.

Comments

Tag:

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg | Yahoo! My Web | Furl

Ross Mayfield is CEO and co-founder of Socialtext, an emerging provider of Enterprise Social Software that dramatically increases group productivity and develops a group memory.

He also writes Ross Mayfield’s Weblog which focuses on markets, technology and musings.

As a result, there are supply chains within each supply chain. With supply chains, the emphasis is on logistics because that is the vital driver of the supply chain.

The success of the chain depends on many things. How well and how clearly the key player in the chain, the large retailer/mass merchandiser or whoever, has defined what he is doing and why he is doing it that way. For suppliers located within the chain, this is important. There is no one standard universal chain. What you are dealing with are multiple, different supply chains and logistics processes and supply chains for each customer. That means developing agile, tailored logistics solutions to meet the requirements of each customer.

Supply chains work on a pull approach. This applies whether the product is made to stock or made to order. Each chain is really a series of buyers and sellers of products and services. That means that each link participant has his own objectives, and sometimes conflicting and objectives, which can work against supply chain effectiveness. The diversity of participants in the chain can create a complex and long process. Companies buy and sell and participate in the supply chain for their own reasons. This is an important and sometimes overlooked fundamental of developing a working logistics process, both for the entire chain and for each link in the chain. There must be collaboration between and among various buyers and sellers. Think of the supply chain as a relay race with good speed by each runner and a great handoff and exchange of the baton between runners.

The initial purpose of SCM was to reduce inefficiency in the supply chain. That inefficiency was defined with time and inventory. But that purpose was put on hold in the drive for cost reductions, often focusing on freight. Supply chain management is now transforming into its original purpose. Two key drivers for change are increased velocity for cycle time and inventory. These two are interconnected.

Cycle Time Velocity. Time is not on any financial statement; but its effect is. Inventory is not on the monthly P&L; it is on the balance sheet. The point being that gaining needed commitment to reduce cycle time may be difficult because it is not readily identified and measured. It also contributes to a customer service paradox. Accounting systems have their origins going back to the Ford Model A; that can add to the challenge in a globally competitive business world.

There are numerous financial and non-financial cycle time metrics, for example-on-time customer order delivery, manufacture to order complete, cash conversion cycle and days sales outstanding. A good one should be a measure of the length of time for a process, especially one that crosses the organization. The cycle time metric should be important to the company. It should recognize pain points or should add value and competitive advantage for the company.

A key process that crosses the organization is days in inventory that measures the number of days that inventory is held. Days-in- inventory is an important part of the cash conversion cycle. Reducing inventory levels and days of inventory improves profits, improves shareholder value and frees up needed capital. These please CEO, CFOs and shareholders.

This measure is often calculated as Inventory/(Cost of Goods Sold/365 Days). This method of calculation can be misleading and understate the total inventory in the supply chain. It excludes inventory that is on order and is being manufactured at suppliers and inventory that is in-transit. This is an omission that results in an understatement of the real days of inventory and the cash conversion cycle.

Retailers realize how critical the time from placement of purchase orders on suppliers until delivery is on inventories. With Section 404 of Sarbanes Oxley, adding this inbound portion to the calculation is valid for internal controls and risk assessment. Regardless of the technical issue of when title transfers, there is the company commitment and need for the material being ordered and shipped. Including the purchased order at supplier time and the in-transit time gives a better picture and understanding of what drives inventory levels, days and turns is useful for product lifecycle management (PLM).

This cycle time is total inventory days in the supply chain; and it is consistent with the length and definition of a supply chain. The supply chain cycle time runs from the purchase order placed on suppliers through to final placement on the store shelf or floor or to the customer’s warehouse. Now we can measure the real, total time for inventory and by including the inbound side where the clock actually starts to tick on inventory.

Studies have shown that manufacturers and wholesalers have over 60 days of inventory and that retailers have over 90 days of inventory capital tied up. These times do not include the entire inbound inventory in the supply chain. Real supply chain inventory is likely 25% higher. This is a very significant amount of capital tied up in inventory.

Inventory Velocity and Yield Management. Inventory is directly affected by time. Increased time adds to uncertainty and requires incredible demand management. For retailers, this is also shown with yield management

Yield management is often associated with the airline and hotel industries where reservation-based companies attempt to maximize revenue from fixed supply or capacity, seats on a flight or rooms in a hotel. The analysis can involve operations research tools, such as linear programming and simulations, to determine a pricing model at the micro level. It recognizes that price or revenue creating ability of the item in supply decreases with time.

Yield management is applicable in supply chain management when inventory is viewed as the supply whose yield is to be maximized. Inventory is key to success for retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors. Having the right inventory is also difficult and challenging. Insufficient inventory means lost sales opportunities. Too much inventory means markdowns-and reduced profits–to sell it. Firms working on thin margins especially feel such pain.

Ocean carriers practice a form of yield management balancing the timing and value from the service contract signing period through peak season when space may be at a premium regardless of pricing and into slack season where price reductions are given to freight forwarders to fill ships.

Many items, as retailers know, enjoy a short shelf life relative to demand to the price customers are willing to pay. Sales promotions, discounts and markdowns are almost common practices to draw customers. Firms that are in dynamic, volatile businesses, such as fashion and related, know the impact of short product life cycles and pricing decisions on the bottom line.

The operations research approach determines the “optimal” markdown(s). But this is somewhat of an after-the-fact approach. It does not address the underlying problem of demand planning and uncertainty and how to mitigate it. The length of the inbound supply chains has increased significantly with global sourcing. Longer chains have also meant longer times to produce and deliver products from suppliers.

This yield management driver realizes inventory velocity with its focus on supplying product and not on placing it at customers or in stores. It puts the focus where it belongs, at the beginning of the supply chain where product originates. Firms can better turn inventory from purchase orders into cash. Inventory that is in a long transit, inventory that sits in warehouses and inventory that sits on store shelves and floors does not increase in value with age. Inventory goes stale and loses value. It loses the sales window of opportunity. The only solution then left is price reduction.

Traditional procurement approaches focus on product price as does traditional logistics approaches that focus on freight price. The result of these pricing efficiency approaches is to place prices before inventory requirements by treating the product supply as two discrete events. They create discord in the development of an effective supply chain that can minimize time, inventory and cost while maximizing service and profits. The dual-price approach hinders the development of inventory management at suppliers to create yield management as a benefit of supply chain management by focusing on having the right inventory at the right quantity at the right place and at the right time. And the place to implement that is at the supply origins with suppliers.

Product and freight pricing emphases do not recognize yield management. They do not take yield management from being an analytical tool to being part of the supply chain practice and process. The impact is to trade-off product and freight prices for markdowns and lower profits.

Incorporating yield maximization of inventory beginning at the supplier level converts an operations research tool into a supply chain operations paradigm to manage the product and its flow. It expands the supply chain focus supplier management. It creates substantial benefit and competitive advantage. Yield management success requires supplier management in order to bridge between supply chain planning and supply chain execution.

IMPROVING SUPPLY CHAIN CYCLE TIME AND INVENTORY YIELD. Reducing supply chain cycle time means decreasing the days of inventory held and reducing the cash conversion cycle. This can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions, reduction in inventory and in carrying charges. In turn this is capital available for other uses. All parties in the supply chain must understand their importance in gaining these benefits. Improving cycle time also positions the retailer for greater inventory yields and faster turns. These impact shareholder value and service.

Reducing supply chain cycle time takes analysis and effort. Points to consider are:

• A supply chain is complex. The purpose of all this activity is to place product timely and correctly in stores or at customer facilities. It must be designed, directed and managed as a process, not as a series of order and shipping transactions. Pushing bad logistics processes and practices up or down the supply chain impedes time
• Product and information should flow. Operational effectiveness depends on process, technology and people that cross internally within the company and externally with suppliers and customers.
• The process should be assessed for gaps and redundancies. Measure the time required in each action and the reason for the action. Watch for organizational dysfunction that can creep in and add unnecessary time.
• Inventory is created as a buffer for uncertainty. Uncertainty increases, almost exponentially, as the time required to position it correctly increases. So inventory increases as time increases.
• Tradeoffs do exist between time (and inventory) and cost. Global sourcing adds to time and to the inventory that must be carried because of it.
• External factors exist that impact time and may be beyond control to be reduced. Homeland security for importers is one such factor. It adds to how promptly suppliers located outside the U.S. can ship orders. Logistics infrastructure in sourcing countries is another factor that can add time and impede the flow of product from suppliers’ facilities to ports and airports.
• Besides the product supply chain, there is also a financial supply chain. This second chain can and does affect the timely flow of product.

With the extended supply chain, there are numerous places to extend, not reduce, supply chain cycle time and inventory. Likewise there are key points to concentrate on for reducing time.

Key ways to reduce time are:

• Manage vendor performance. This is a critical requirement for reducing supply chain cycle time. Suppliers, at the supply chain source, have incredible impact on the supply chain as to time, inventory and costs, impact that goes far beyond pricing and placing purchase orders. Visibility of purchase orders, at suppliers, in-transit and at each step in the chain, from vendor’s plant to delivery at the warehouse, store or customer is vital.
• Integrate up and down the supply chain, both external and internal. This is mandatory. Non-integration adds to supply chain time and the lack of responsiveness and dead spots in the cycle time. Integrate demand forecasting or other inventory planning with suppliers for their build plans. Integrate purchase orders into transport load planning. Everyone should be working from the same data, information and system or platform. Manufacturers integrate through the production process.

Transferring data up and down the chain is not enough. Data is not information. To collect, analyze, and forward data takes time. Suppliers and service providers then reenter the data into their systems. In turn they do this to their suppliers. All this quietly adds to cycle time. Conversely, integration reduces time and increases accuracy.

Integration may not be readily and easily doable with all parties in the supply chain. Do it with key suppliers and service providers, key as to volume or critical products, parts or needs. Have key suppliers integrate with their key suppliers so the benefit ripples through the supply pipeline.

• Collaborate with key suppliers and service providers. Work together as partners and be open to the mutual exchange. Sending procedures and demanding compliance with requirements is not collaboration. Work to align the process between both parties so that if flows smoothly and with minimal time.
• Analyze how inventory moves and where inventory sits or is transferred for opportunities to move it more quickly and with fewer handlings. Improvements are possible with:

  Warehouse / distribution network. Where warehouses are located as to time from stores or customers or suppliers impacts supply chain cycle time by becoming fixed repositories based on needs that may be outdated.

  Multi-tier inbound logistics approach. What modes, carriers, service and ports are used can reduce transit time and increase inventory and cash conversion velocities. Inventory in transit is not inventory available for sell. Having a different approach for A inventory items (and some B items)–as compared to many B items and C items–puts time emphasis where needed.

  Bypassing the distribution network where possible to reduce time. Three options to do this are:

  • Ship inbound containers direct to store or customer.
  • Use a transfer facility at or near a port(s) to quickly unload containers and transfer directly to needed destinations.
  • Allocate inventory in transit and then cross-dock containers at a transfer facility at or near the port or at a distribution center.
  • Implement technology. This is a necessity; it is a process enabler. However technology by itself will not result in needed improvements; it is not a silver bullet that solves a flawed process. Technology should be used across the supply chain enterprise, both internal and external. It is a key to gaining much needed supply chain visibility. Such visibility is needed for multi-tier inbound and bypass the distribution network programs.

For technology, remember:

Global suppliers and transport providers cannot be readily managed with emails. Technology is needed.
• Supply chain complexity and scope may require more than one software be used for effective control.
• Supplier management is directing and controlling supplier performance. It looks at the timing of product, the quantities, how and where delivered, product mix and more. The intent is to maximize yield.
• Portals provide tracking useful tracking information and provide shipment visibility. But they are an after-the-fact tool and do not manage inventory or time.
• Tracking purchase orders and contents of an inbound container has great value as compared to just tracking a container number. Visibility into the container sets the stage for significant abilities to reduce time and inventory.
• Converting sales-point of sales (POS)-data into replenishment orders on warehouses and, in turn, into purchase orders on suppliers is critical.
• Supply chain execution technology may be the most valuable of the technology applications. It is a vital to integration and collaboration.
• Ease of connectivity-web enabled, interfaces and mobile access-is important.
• Maximum supply chain process coverage-order management, transportation, distribution, warehousing, vendor, finance and more-is important to directing and managing the process and reducing time and inventory.
• Event management and exception management capabilities should be part of the technology used; they empower control of the process.

CONCLUSION. Increasing cycle time velocity and improving inventory yield begins with supplier management. Effective supplier management is based on technology, process and people. Technology is how purchase orders are placed on supplier, via the Internet, EDI or other. It is supply chain execution. More importantly it is how purchase orders and suppliers and managed with event management and exception management. The technology enables revising orders, their priorities, their style and other mixes, their timing, quantities and more. Technology gives visibility to directing and controlling supplier performance and what is in the supply chain, including what is happening with transport and other logistics service providers.

Process takes purchase orders from being transactions to being part of a process that flows through the organization. That process enables the linking of all parts of the supply chain, the integration within the company and between trading partners. It gives the dynamics to controlling product flow and inventory positioning. That control is key to placing the right inventory, right as to quantity and timing and location, so as to achieve higher price yield.

People are logistics personnel positioned in China, India or wherever your suppliers are located. They speak the same language and are in the same time zone as suppliers. They are the day-to-day operational spears that make process and technology work. Global supply chains cannot be managed with emails. Managing suppliers also requires people.

Time and inventory yield improvements increase profits, shareholder value and customer service and retention.

Tag:

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg | Yahoo! My Web | Furl

Bookmark WebProNews:

LTD provides logistics consulting for strategic and tactical needs. The scope of capabilities is broad–supply chain management, outsourcing, transportation, warehousing, inventory management, and more for both domestic and international needs. Clients include retailers, wholesalers/distributors, manufacturers, logistics service providers and 3PLs.

An inaccurate inventory can be the difference between profit and loss, because not only can the current year’s performance be misstated, an inaccurate inventory in one year will cause inaccuracy in subsequent years. Your stock requirement for the present and the future will be miscalculated, and this will result in over or under stocking of items. Such serious overlook in stocks could cause severe setbacks to organizational functioning in the future.

Inventory management systems are software by which you can better mange you inventory activities. It will ensure that your inventory data is accurate, up-to-date and the required inventory is always available. In order for the inventory management system to carry out its activities efficiently, it must be fed with the correct data to begin with.

There are many activities to follow so that you can ensure that your inventory management system has been fed with the correct data. The first building block of the inventory management system is the electronic catalogue, which is an online catalogue from which goods or services can be selected or ordered. Ensure that items are correctly placed into this catalogue from which your inventory management systems will retrieve data for vital calculations.

Using the electronic catalogue data, directly link the movement of products throughout the supply chain using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) for products. In the case of organizations dealing with transportation vehicles and trailers/containers the use of Vehicle Location/Wireless Communications technologies is recommended.

Once the catalogue and tracking infrastructure is in place and working throughout the supply chain, the essential process of CPFR (Collaborative Planning Forecasting and Replenishment) must be carried out between the organization implementing the inventory management system and it’s trading partners so that they can together move to the next level in inventory management.

Using the correct technology to input information into the inventory management system will ensure that you have a system that performs efficiently in maintaining stock levels.

Add to Del.icio.us | Digg | Yahoo! My Web | Furl

Bookmark WebProNews:

Joushua James – Help Desk Software Solutions