Planning

Planning forms an integral part of a company`s activities. The old saying that "failing to plan is planning to fail" is very relevant when companies need to make decisions concerning production capacity, production mix and material / product procurement.

Planning incorporates one or more of the following - sales, procurement, production, finance.

The nature of planning will vary depending on whether:

You are a distributor or manufacturer
You import or procure locally
Your products are mass-produced or custom-made
The demand for your products is seasonal

Business objectives

Objectives which relate to planning include:

Creating realistic sales forecasts sufficiently ahead of time to make production and procurement decisions
Understanding the nature of demand for the products sold so that the correct products can be available when required
Having accurate supplier data for procurement so that product is obtained in line with expectations
The ability to model manufacturing facilities and capacity so that the right products can be made in the timeframe required, but also taking account of materials needed
The ability to determine what to buy in order to support sales and production
Optimising the supply chain between sourcing and supplying goods
Ensuring that working capital is available to finance the procurement and production plans.

Pitfalls and problems

The pitfall of any plan is that it is seldom 100% accurate and therefore constantly needs adjustment to reflect the changing situation, whilst still meeting your objectives. Some of the problems which inhibit accurate planning are:
A lack of, or inaccurate, sales forecasts
Seasonal trends not being monitored and incorporated into the plan
Inaccurate supplier and/or manufacturing lead times
Incorrect delivery dates on sales orders and purchase orders
Inaccurate bills of material
Inaccurate stock-on-hand figures
Incorrect or no representation of the manufacturing capability, so production modeling and planning are difficult to do
The planning process is so complicated and time consuming that it is not done regularly.

The Computer Bird is mindful of the business objectives and typical pitfalls when implementing systems or assisting SYSPRO clients. It is our experience that SYSPRO systems, correctly implemented and with appropriate user training, are an extremely effective business tool.

Please contact us if you would like to discuss any of these issues further.