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1、原文The Supply Chain Optimization Challenge Material Source:/0. Alan C. McKinnon Supply Chain Optimization is the application of processes and tools to ensure the optimal operation of a manufacturing and distribution supply chain.This includes the optimal placement of inventory within the supply chain

2、,minimizing operating costs（including manufacturing costs,transportation costs and distribution costs）.This often involves the application of mathematical modeling techniques using computer software. Typically,supply chain managers are trying to imize the profitable operation of their manufacturing

3、and distribution supply chain.This could include measures like imizing gross margin return on inventory invested （GMROII）（balancing the cost of inventory at all points in the supply chain with availability to the customer ）, minimizing total operating expenses （transportation, inventory and manufact

4、uring）, or imizing gross profit of products distributed through the supply chain.Supply chain optimization addresses the general supply chain problem of delivering products to customers at the lowest total cost and highest profit.This includes trading off the costs of inventory, transportation, dist

5、ributing and manufacturing.Supply chain optimization has applications in all industries manufacturing and distributing goods,including retail,industrial products,and consumer packaged goods . Firstly,the techniques being applied to supply chain optimization are claimed to be academically credible.Mo

6、st of the specialist companies have been created as a result of research projects in academic institutions or consulting firms:and they point to research articles,white papers,academic advisors and industry reviews to support their credibility.Secondly,the techniques are claimed to be commercially e

7、ffective.The companies publish case studies that show how clients have achieved reductions in inventory whilst maintaining or improving availability.There is limited published data outside of these case studies,and a reluctance for some practitioners to publish details of their successes which may b

8、e commercially sensitive, therefore hard evidence is difficult to come by. Food production and distribution is big business.The US food and fiber system is the nations largest manufacturing sub-sector.accounting for over 12% of GDP and 17% of national employment.And food wholesaling and distribution

9、 represents a large chunk of that - $372 billion to be exact Food wholesalers serve as the distribution buffer between increasingly global food producers and the 900000 plus food retail outlets - ranging from mom and pop grocery stores to national supermarket chains,and everything in between.As a bu

10、ffer,they allow both ends of the food distribution supply chain to operate efficiently?producers can manufacture and ship their products in efficient lot sizes while operators have access to the vast array of products,but are able to buy on an needed?Daily order pattern. The challenge that food dist

11、ributors face is how to balance the demands from each end of the supply chain without sacrificing revenues and alienating loyal customers. As a result of widespread and rapid consolidation,the industry is divided into two camps - large national/super-regional players working to realize the efficienc

12、ies and leverage the opportunities that their size offers and the smaller local/regional organizations working just as hard to remain competitive in their traditional markets.Unfortunately,consolidation in this industry has not been translated into increased efficiencies.To improve efficiencies,deli

13、ver customer value, and optimize operations,global producers,national and regional distributors,and retail outlets need to consider the following: 1 Evaluate Network Optimization and Vendor （SKU）RationalizationThe wave of mergers and acquisitions that swept the global food distribution industry over

14、 recent years has paved the way for significant network optimization opportunities.In an industry where over 15000 new products are introduced annually,vendor and SKU rationalization is a key opportunity.The solution is not just cutting the SKU count,but offering customers full access to as many ven

15、dors and products as possible while maintaining a cost effective network.How many facilities should be in the network,where they should be located,what SKUs should be stocked, and what functions should be performed ?are all critical questions that must be addressed. In order to meet the challenge of

16、 operating an efficient distribution network without limiting customer access to products,distributors are required to incorporate a multi-channel distribution approach. 2 Focus on Operational Excellence InitiativesBuying a wide range of products in bulk and selling them efficiently in small quantit

17、ies is a daunting operational challenge.Best-in-class performance means optimizing distribution center operations ?from basic facility layout and design to successful deploying leading edge technologies like Labor Management Systems and Voice Picking to drive improved performance and accuracy.In add

18、ition,transportation optimization is just as critical and distributors are required to evaluate how they plan their transportation operations ?from advanced route planning to inbound freight optimization.It is difficult to sustain best practices and implement advanced technology in a de-centralized

19、organization.Centralized processes and management are critical to optimizing supply chains. 3 Improve Supply Chain Metric and KPI Systems （Dashboards） Leading food distributors must actively pursue Activity Based Costing （ABC）initiatives that drive strategic changes in their approach to network desi

20、gns, vendor negotiations and customer service policies.Having the capability to automate the collection of Key Performance Indicator （KPI）data that is both accurate and timely,and presented in a ash-board?format allows executive management and other functional personnel to understand trends and be m

21、ore proactive.This is critical to reduce costs,optimize revenue and ensure customer service. It is also critical, particularly given the amount of consolidation,to evaluate incentives based on KPI s to drive overall supply chain excellence rather than local optimization. 4 Look Outside the Industry

22、for Best Practices to Grow the Top LineWhile growth-by-acquisition has been the name of the game in recent years, there are unique opportunities to stimulate new organic growth. Distributors must look outside of their industry to benchmark best practices in customer retention and loyalty programs.Fo

23、r example,a well executed customer on-boarding process can reduce customer hurn improve loyalty,and significantly improve satisfaction. Other est-practices?from outside the industry include:tiered service levels based on different segments,ensuring high-value customers are treated differently than o

24、thers.The 0-20rule typically applies where 80 percent of your revenue comes from 20 percent of your customers.Adhering to the est customers best?philosophy can be applied to operations as well as sales.the classic supply chain approach has been to try to forecast future inventory demand as accuratel

25、y as possible, by applying statistical trending and best fittechniques based on historic demand and predicted future events.The advantage of this approach is that it can be applied to data aggregated at a fairly high level （category of merchandise,weekly,by group of customers）,requiring modest datab

26、ase sizes and small amounts of manipulation.Unpredictability in demand is then managed by setting safety stock levels,so that for example a distributor might hold two weeks of supply of an article with steady demand but twice that amount for an article where the demand is more erratic.Then,using thi

27、s forecast demand,a supply chain manufacturing and distribution plan is created to manufacture and distribute products to meet this forecast demand at lowest cost（or highest profitability）.This plan typically addresses the following business concerns:How much of each product should be manufactured e

28、ach dayHow much of each product should be made at each manufacturing plant? Which manufacturing plants should re-stock which warehouses with which productsWhat transportation modes should be used for warehouse replenishment and customer deliveries?The technical ability to record and manipulate large

29、r databases more quickly has now enabled a new breed of supply chain optimization solutions to emerge,which are capable of forecasting at a much more granular level （for example,per article per customer per day）.Some vendors are applying models to this data,to which safety stock rules are applied,wh

30、ile other vendors have started to apply stochastic techniques to the optimization problem.They calculate the most desirable inventory level per article for each individual store for their retail customers,trading off cost of inventory against expectation of sale. The resulting optimized inventory le

31、vel is known as a model stock. Meeting the model stock level is also an area requiring optimization.Because the movement of product to meet the model stock,called the stock transfer,needs to be in economic shipping units such as complete unit loads or a full truckload,there are a series of decisions

32、 that must be made.Many existing distribution requirements planning systems round the quantity up to the nearest full shipping unit.The creation of for example,truckloads as economic shipment units requires optimization systems to ensure that axle constraints and space constraints are met while load

33、ing can be achieved in a damage-free way.This is generally achieved by continuing to add time-phased requirements until the loads meet some minimum weight or cube.More sophisticated optimization algorithms take into account stackability constraints,load and unloading rules,palletizing logic,warehouse efficiency and load