Worksite observation, or "going to the gemba" in lean terms, is a supply chain leader's powerful tool for continuous improvement. If supply chain leaders don’t "go see" and gather facts, they may have a misinterpretation of what is really happening in the workplace. This can lead to subjective decision making and ineffective improvement efforts. 

LeanCor is among a select group of companies whose customers recognize them for providing outstanding solutions and services. 

Weekly, monthly, and quarterly business reviews have consumer product companies asking themselves, “What should we do?” In today’s economy, they are caught in the middle of a price and service war amidst e-commerce giant Amazon and other major big-box retailers. 

As Vice President of Industrial and Supply Chain Strategy at Camso -- a multinational tire and rubber manufacturer with four business units and a 9,000-mile supply chain -- Joe Schnippert is faced with his share of daily challenges.  Amid port strikes, long lead times, and manufacturing line disruptions,  Camso has continually kept customer service in the forefront and maintained an aggressive focus on operational excellence. 

We interviewed Joe to learn about some best practices that have helped pave the way forward. 

As a 360 degree integration tool between all functional departments, sales and operations planning (S&OP) is the operational blue‐print of the organization for profitably matching supply and demand. It brings functional silos together to develop a cohesive set of plans to deliver maximum value to the customer at the lowest total cost.

While effective in theory, putting S&OP into practice can be challenging for many organizations. And although S&OP pertains mostly to manufacturing facilities and tangible products, it can have significant impacts to service industries as well.

In our recent webinar, "How to Master S&OP for Simplifying Your Supply Chain," we learned how to take a more proactive and collaborative approach to managing supply chain complexity with S&OP.

Here are five more tips we learned about the S&OP process...

Far too many organizations are simply operating without visibility to what's actually happening throughout the supply chain. In this state, businesses decisions are often made based on a myopic, single-process view of the operation vs. what's best to maximize customer value at the lowest possible total cost. 

In a recent benchmarking Quick Study, we surveyed C-Suite and VP-level executives from manufacturing, retail, wholesale, and service companies to understand where they have (or lack) end-to-end supply chain visibility.

We shared the results in our recent webinar on "Creating End-to-End Visibility in Your Supply Chain" presented by Derek Browning, VP of Sales and Marketing and Brent Rogers, Director of Lean Deployment for LeanCor Consulting.

Here's what we found...

As Chief Operations Officer for Nature’s Sunshine Products, and a recently named supply chain "Rainmaker" by DC Velocity, Sue Armstrong is known for her ability to create order amidst a complex supply chain. 

Nature’s Sunshine, a nutritional supplement company based in Utah, operates in a largely regulatory landscape – they serve 43 international markets, manage over 4,000 forecasted SKUs, use over 900 raw material ingredients, and source from over 250 vendors. Over 90% of everything sold globally is manufactured in its Utah facility.

Overseeing worldwide sourcing, manufacturing, distribution and information technology, Sue leverages lean principles to drive collaboration, innovation, and operational excellence, bringing stakeholders together to drive solutions. Among these solutions are re-designing global supply chains, simplifying processes, removing waste and excess inventory while creating a holistic, collaborative team of skilled individuals working towards common goals. To that end, over 80 people have been accredited through internal lean programs in two years.

This focus on lean and collaboration coupled with supply chain complexity has changed the way Nature’s Sunshine does sales and operations planning (S&OP). We interviewed Sue on S&OP and the proven best practices that have led to her organization's success.