Halloween is only two weeks away and that seasonal peak is no longer lurking under your bed, but looming right over you.  There are only two ways out, and with the clamour of high customer expectations, ducking your head under the duvet won’t quite cut it.  The option you should have gone for weeks ago was to plan for it and face your demons.

With careful supply chain planning, seasonal peaks can become more of an opportunity than a threat and planning is at the centre of any effective strategy for these occasions.  Indeed, inaccurate forecasts and last minute changes can unravel weeks of hard work, thus reviewing network forecasts as early as possible is vital for fast decision making.

By having an effective supply chain planning solution in place; increased upstream visibility, improved communication and enhanced responsiveness are already established before you have even entered the seasonal peak (see ‘6 Steps to a Superb Supply Chain’).  Having these processes already in place thus reduces the pressure during these stressful periods, allowing you to focus on the opportunities the seasonal peak presents.

FuturMaster’s solutions support this process, generating highly accurate forecasts with automated statistical methods for trends and seasonality.  Our Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) tool then drives the business forward, comparing the needs of sales and marketing against production and supply capacities and allowing alternative scenarios to be reviewed.

“Throughout an extremely challenging period, the system stood up to all we threw at it.  Service levels were 99.9% on 3.8 times the volume.  It’s fair to say that without FuturMaster this would not have been possible”

Ian Brown, Director of Purchasing & Supply, Arla Foods UK