MENTORING

ESCM provides a mentoring service for those in the fields of-

• Supply chain management
• Inventory management
• "Flow" or "Lean" production or service delivery
• Quality management
• Maintenance management

The mentoring service is targeted at-

• Leadership development
• Stretching individuals to new heights
• Addressing specific problems

Supply Chain Management

Demand-Driven Supply Networks (DDSN)

If we look at the supply chain for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), the echelons go from point-of-sale data regarding the final customer, through retailer inventory, back to raw material storage- not just the distribution centres that traditional inventory management or Distribution Requirements Planning considered.

What’s not going to help in planning even a straightforward product such as ketchup, are unreliable lead times, and different forecasts at different stages in the chain. The push/pull boundary must be located taking into account the customer’s expectation for availability, and the competition’s order-to-delivery cycle time.

The path to maturity in DDSN goes through 4 levels

1. Every department for itself. Slow & sequential planning. “Planners” spend most of their time scrubbing data. Each company cannot collaborate with itself!
2. Every company for itself. Internal optimisation. Sales & Operations Planning involves only regular meetings between senior departmental managers.
3. Single tier partnering. Data sharing.
4. Orchestrating the supply chain. A multi-tier federation, relying on visibility. Demand shaping; available-to-promise calculations take into account order profitability.

The journey needs to be enabled by IT, moving away from transaction processing, to relationship-based workflows. From track & trace, to operating the supply chain network profitability.

Inventory Optimization

Organizations have various levels of inventory, affected by the nature of their supply chain. But the risk issues tend to be common- forecast error, supply lead time variability, length of the review period, order quantity calculations.

Also common is over-reliance on averages. Why waste cash flow on inventory which doesn’t improve customer service or profitability?

Often companies concentrate only on forecasting, which can mean a dangerous loss of focus.

Traditional inventory management systems cater for the replenishment of line items, but cannot model different scenarios and incorporate changes quickly and easily.

The performance measurements which need to be addressed are-

• Stock holding
• Stock availability
• Lost sales
• Customer satisfaction
• Forecast accuracy
• Obsolescence and write-offs.

Sales & Operations Planning has evolved to become an inter-organisational synchronisation process, specifically through information sharing. Some of the most critical information to share is the inventory position, and how it differs from the planned and the ideal position.

“Flow” or “Lean” production or service delivery

For many, Lean is the set of "tools" that assist in the identification and steady elimination of waste (muda). As waste is eliminated quality improves while production time and cost are reduced. Examples of such "tools" are Value Stream Mapping, Five S, Kanban (pull systems), and poka-yoke (error-proofing).

Creating ‘flow’ in a manufacturing or service function is all about:

• Inventory reduction. It is common to see a big drop in WIP inventory when moving from a traditional environment to a flow environment
• Quality improvements. A requirement to document and standardize work, error-proof processes and focus quality results in a dramatic decline in scrap and rework
• Improved productivity. Training employees to perform while making use of ‘kaizen’ or continuous improvement methods results in impressive productivity gains.
• Reducing ‘waste’. These are summarized as the 8 ‘wastes:

1. Transport (moving products unnecessarily to perform the processing)
2. Inventory (all components, work in process and finished product not being processed)
3. Motion (people or equipment moving or walking more than is required to perform the processing)
4. Wating (waiting for the next production step)
5. Overproduction (production ahead of demad)\
6. Over Processing (resulting from poor tool or product desigh creating activity)
7. Defects (the effort involved in inspecting for and fixing defects)
8. Producing goods or services that do not meet customer demand or specifications.

Quality Management

The top four reasons (externally articulated) for getting certification are:

• Higher quality - products and services associated with ISO 9000 seen as being of higher quality, and customers are more likely to contact a company if it has ISO 9000.
• Enhancing the company’s image in the market place. Customers tend to notice 'ISO 9000' in the labelling and marking of products/services. Consumers also possess greater levels of trust and confidence in ISO 9000 products and services.
• Responding to customer demand (pressure imposed on the company to comply).
• Getting preferred supplier status.
• Improved return on investment.

What we offer

• Assist the Quality Representative in developing the Quality Manual; develop and implement all other related documentation that is required
• Assist in developing Procedures
• Setup Internal Audit schedules – oversee audit program
• Provide all the necessary training and coaching to successfully implement and maintain your ISO System
• Manage all interactions with the Certification body on your behalf
• Setup Key Performance Areas and KPI’s for your staff
• Provide training in FEMA (Failure Mode & Criticality Analysis); SPC (Statistical Process Control) where needed

This service can also be provided to take you through ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.

Maintenance Management

Designed to be tailored to specific customer needs, the programme encompasses:

• Maintenance & Operations Strategy
• Equipment Reliability Programmes
• Equipment Criticality
• Work Plannig System
• MMS software seclection/implementation
• Maintenance & Service Spare Parts Management
• Outsourcing and Contracting-out
• Total Productive Maintenance
• Operator-based Asset Care Programme