INVENTORY
Inventory keeps increasing, but service does not improve.
Demand assumptionsPlanningProcurementBatch decisionsManufacturing constraintsNetwork design
Cash locked in stock that doesn't serve the customer.
Supply Chain, Manufacturing & Procurement
Make supply work better
for the customer and the business.
From demand planning through manufacturing, sourcing, fulfilment and working capital, aligned as one connected system.
The Question
Why does a supply chain problem
rarely stay in the supply chain?
A service problem may begin with planning.
An inventory problem may begin with demand.
A margin problem may begin with procurement.
A capacity problem may begin with the assumptions behind the plan.
The real question is not which function is underperforming. It is how the decisions across the system are affecting one another.
See the system, not just the symptom.
Scroll to watch the operating system build. Each connection reveals how a decision in one function affects the rest of the business.
01
Demand: what customers need, when they need it and how demand is understood.
02
Planning: how demand becomes a plan for supply, capacity and inventory.
03
Procurement and Manufacturing: sourcing decisions and capacity translate the plan into action.
04
Supply: material and product availability balanced across the network.
05
Fulfilment: the system meets the customer and delivery promise.
06
Economics: all of it lands in inventory, working capital, cost, margin and service.
07
The system is connected. A local problem can have a systemic cause.
Where Performance Leaks
The visible problem is not always the real problem.
SERVICE
Customers are waiting even though inventory exists.
Product mixPlanningAvailabilityFulfilmentAllocationNetwork decisions
The right product in the wrong place at the wrong time.
WORKING CAPITAL
Cash is tied up across the supply system.
InventorySupplier termsPurchasingProduction cyclesDemand variabilitySlow-moving stock
Capital trapped in the system instead of available to the business.
MARGIN
Revenue is growing but economics are not keeping pace.
ProcurementManufacturingLogisticsComplexityService modelCost-to-serve
Growth without proportional improvement in the economics.
From The Plan To The Customer
The areas we work across.
Connected parts of one system, not a list of separate services.
01
DEMAND & PLANNING
Turn demand signals into a plan the business can actually execute.
02
SUPPLY CHAIN DESIGN
Align the network, flows and decisions with the way the business needs to operate.
03
PROCUREMENT & SOURCING
Build sourcing, category and supplier decisions around value, resilience and business needs.
04
MANUFACTURING & CAPACITY
Connect capacity, scheduling and operational decisions to the demand the business is actually serving.
05
FULFILMENT & SERVICE
Improve the connection between availability, fulfilment and the customer promise.
06
INVENTORY & WORKING CAPITAL
Understand where inventory is being created, why it is there and what it is costing the business.
Before changing the system,
understand it.
Certeza begins by understanding where the real constraint sits, what is driving it and how the problem moves through the wider operating system.
See How We WorkConnected Intelligence
Better decisions need better visibility.
Data should not create another layer of complexity. It should help the business see what is changing, understand why it matters and act earlier.
What Changes
The categories of business outcomes this work is intended to influence.
Better service
Healthier inventory
Stronger working capital
More resilient supply
Better procurement value
Clearer operating decisions
Stronger economics
Where This Thinking Has Been Applied
BEFORE
- Dispersed
- Person-dependent
- Transaction-focused
SUPPLY CHAIN
CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
NOW
- Standardised capability
- Three cities
- Governance
- Scorecards
A leading EPC company moved procurement from dispersed, person-dependent execution to a standardised Supply Chain Centre of Excellence, trained and operating across three cities, with its own governance and scorecards.
Read the Full Client StoryNot sure where the constraint sits?
Start with a focused supply chain health check.
The supply chain is not a function.
It is part of the business system.
If something isn't working the way you think it should, start there.
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