Supply Chain Planning SCP

This term indicates all processes, operations and information systems of the supply chain aiming at resources planning based on forecast demand while taking into account constraints related to the plannified activity: supply, manufacturing and distribution lead-times; purchase, manufacturing and logistics costs; suppliers, production and distribution capacities…

SCP solution is mainly used to name information systems allowing the management of the logistics and supply chain processes at the following levels:

• Strategic: Definition of the supply chain structure and organization,

• Tactics: Plannification of activities: production, distribution…

• Operational: Event and execution Management.

They are often called SCP modules.

Using these SCP modules will allow defining and planning the supply chain. They lean on integrated information systems like ERPs. They are completed by SCEM and SCE modules which are going to manage supply chain events and execution.

SCP’s Customers

Oversized for "simple" supply chains, this type of tool finds its utility for complex supply chains as those of the major industrial or retails groups:

• Automotive industry: strong manufacturing constraints, vast suppliers and distribution network, complexity of the product, high competition…

• Retail and Large-scale distribution: strong purchasing constraints, vast suppliers and distribution network, strong distribution constraints (expiry date for food products, cold chain to be respected…)

How does an SCP work?

1. To plan, it is necessary to define and to collect essential data:

• The documentation or the bill of materials: list of all the constituents or raw materials (with quantities) used to obtain a product,

• The manufacturing processes: detailed operating modes (processes, tools, lead-times, raw materials…) of the product’s manufacturing.

• The order : all current customers orders

• The available stock: classified by produced type, location(localization), family produces, walked(worked) …

2. These data are then analyzed by algorithms leaning on parameterized constraints:

Commercial and financial constraints

• Lesser cost,

• Stock Objectives,

• Due Date Reliability

• Shortest Lead-Time

Manufacturing Constraints:

• Manufacturing specificities products of the sites of manufacture

• Very long manufacturing cycle,

• Work in squalls …

3. Finally, the SCP Solution (Supply Chain Planning) having integrated these data and these various constraints, will establish real time indicators helping the management in the decision-taking process. We call APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling) the information system of information allowing this function.