About the client
Our client, a global biotechnology company, specializes in the discovery, development, and delivery of therapies for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. They operate worldwide with a strong presence in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. With a complex supply chain supporting a diverse portfolio of therapies, ensuring operational efficiency is critical to maintaining product availability and regulatory compliance.
The challenge
As the organization was in the preparation phase to implement an advanced planning system (APS), leadership recognized the importance of increasing their APS readiness by establishing high-quality master data and well-defined review processes for planning parameters and safety stock.
1. Planning parameters
With an APS implementation on the horizon, the need for standardization and improved data quality became apparent. The organization struggled with:
- Lack of consistency: Definitions and management of planning parameters varied, resulting in misaligned processes. There was also a lack of a structured process for reviewing planning parameters, including clear roles, responsibilities, and review timelines.
- Data quality issues: Transactional data required cleansing to provide accurate insights.
- Performance gaps: Planning parameters did not always align with actual supply chain performance, impacting planning decisions.
2. Safety stock inventory review
The client’s approach to safety stock management, required a more data-driven methodology to maximize the potential of their upcoming APS:
- Unstructured approach: Safety stock levels were not regularly reviewed, and the process relied heavily on Excel, making it time-consuming and prone to errors.
- Limited granularity: Safety stock was managed at brand level rather than item level.
- Inventory health: Without an optimized approach, excess inventory increased the risk of obsolescence and tied up capital.
The project
The project was executed in close collaboration with the organization’s planning excellence team and focused on two key areas:
- Standardization of planning parameters:
We leveraged data analytics to enhance the review of planning parameters, developing a customized Power BI dashboard that provided intuitive visualizations and actionable insights. This enabled the client’s team to monitor key planning parameters effectively and make informed decisions. Building on this foundation, we collaborated closely with the client to establish a structured governance process, incorporating a RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) framework. This clarified roles and responsibilities, ensuring a systematic and timely review of planning parameters. - Safety stock optimization
We used the EyeOn Stock app to evaluate how adjustments to master data fields, such as lead time and demand variability, would impact safety stock targets. By integrating these changes into the system, we were able to pinpoint areas of overstocking and understocking and ensure that safety stock levels were optimized at the item level. This shift from brand-level management to item-level precision enabled a strong stock target setting foundation. Additionally, we helped identify risks related to Excess & Obsolescence (E&O), proposing targeted strategies to minimize these risks and optimize inventory levels.
Results
The project delivered several key results:
1. Standardization of planning parameters:
- Enhanced visibility and actionable insights through a customized Power BI dashboard, enabling data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement of planning parameters.
- Standardized definitions and a structured review process for planning parameters.
- A new governance model to clarify roles and responsibilities in the review process.
- Improved data quality, increasing confidence in the system’s outputs and providing a solid foundation for future supply chain optimization.
2. Safety stock optimization
- More accurate and granular inventory levels by using EyeOn Stock to assess the impact of changes in master data fields on safety stock targets.
- Faster and more reliable insights by replacing manual Excel-based processes with a structured, data-driven review methodology.
- Identified and mitigated risks associated with Excess & Obsolescence, ensuring that inventory levels were optimized and capital was not tied up unnecessarily.
In both areas, the shift from manual processes to using an automated, data-driven approach was essential. The generated insights, definition and standardization efforts, and tangible results provided the customer with a great first step in driving APS readiness. The project laid the groundwork for more streamlined operations, improved inventory accuracy, and a greater ability to respond to supply chain challenges in real-time.
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