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Closing the gap between demand and operational execution
Last month we discussed how an agile workforce is critical to the best possible execution of an operational plan. We continue along this theme with a focus on how organizations can manage fluctuations in demand in order to produce or deliver only what is required at the best possible cost.
Accurately forecasting consumer demand and translating these forecasts into production plans are the first steps in achieving operational excellence. But once these plans are in place, what tools do you have available to effectively execute those plans and make changes as your production requirements change?
In today’s market, consumer expectations remain high. When there is demand for your product, regardless of the location and timing of that demand, you had better deliver. And deliver at a competitive price. It’s a tough act to balance market ubiquity with product costs, but if you want to remain competitive, it’s a requirement. Produce too much and you pay for waste. Produce too little and you pay for expediting goods - or worse, you lose the consumer to a competitor with available product.
Properly scheduling your workforce to match changing production demands has far-reaching benefits for companies like the ability to meet consumer demand, improve profitability and ultimately gain a competitive edge. Staffing levels that are too high result in idle labor resources, which add to production and product costs. Similarly, staffing levels that are too low create labor shortages that need to be filled with unnecessary and expensive overtime. These costs chip away at already thin margins because in today’s competitive market, the consumer won’t pay more for your product.
In addition to increased labor costs, improper workforce deployment builds instability into the supply chain. The production output becomes as erratic and inaccurate as the labor used to make it. Too much product increases inventory costs. Too little product means more out-of-stock situations that erode customer satisfaction and loyalty. In short, deploying the wrong labor to execute a production plan prevents a company from achieving profit and revenue goals.
The reality is that many production facilities overlook labor deployment as a bottleneck in their supply chain flow. While plants may have documented, optimized labor plans to address any number of production scenarios, they often fail to schedule their employees accordingly. Much of this is directly attributable to how demand fluctuations can strain complex work rules. Adjusting just one senior employee’s assignment can affect, according to the rules, the assignments of fifteen less senior employees. Multiplying these changes against hundreds of employees working across three shifts illustrates just how difficult it can be to determine who should go where and when. Compounding the challenge of adjusting worker assignments is the added pressure of ensuring that each employee is properly trained and qualified for his/her assigned position. With little to no shop-floor visibility to a company’s optimized labor plans including employee qualifications, many schedulers rely on memory and past experience to guide their decisions. The resulting assignments rarely match labor plans, frequently violate work rules, and occasionally place employees in physical danger.
ScheduleSoft’s demand-driven, automated workforce scheduling solutions effectively eliminate labor variance from the supply chain. Complex work rules are built into the scheduling automation, honoring those rules no matter how often or drastically the production plan changes. Employee qualifications and training are recorded, visible, and directly tied to how and when labor is deployed. Schedulers no longer have to rely on error-prone strategies to make their assignments. Because workforce schedules automatically flex up and down with changing demands and production plans, overstaffing is virtually eliminated, and overtime is used when necessary or as a “best practice.” This all contributes to a stable supply chain that accurately matches production output with production plans. The correct retail stock levels are maintained while greatly reducing “just in case” inventory. Furthermore, by making workforce deployment and control visible across a facility and enterprise, labor plays a critical role in the supply chain. Resource planners can now maintain more accurate product costing data and meaningful analysis of cost variation.
Today’s competitive market requires companies to meet consumer expectations with precision. Production plans must match consumer demands, and companies must be able to manufacture according to those plans to remain viable. Without a demand-driven, automated workforce scheduling solution in place, an organization will be unable to create the proper output at the best possible cost.
Learn more by attending our upcoming Webcast with Nestlé Pizza Division (April 26th, 2pm Eastern). To register, contact ScheduleSoft at 1-800-416-9006.
Schedule a Demo
If you haven’t already seen a demonstration of our workforce scheduling solution, contact us today. We will show you how an agile workforce helps drive agile manufacturing.
sales@schedulesoft.com
1-800-416-9006
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