Supply Chain Planning

The complex nature of managing supply chain activities, with its multitude of relationships and processes, requires planning—one of the key functional areas of supply chain management (SCM). Given these demands, supply chain planners must focus on finding the right balance in staffing and cost management, as well as optimize the supply chain strategy, staff development, data maturity, technology support, and the overall planning process. Plans to meet demand need to be driven by an organization’s business model and then customized for each element in the supply chain, be it by improving performance through technology or by planning for sustainability.

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Supply Chain Planning: Blueprint for Success

APQC’s Supply Chain Planning: Blueprint for Success details the framework and best practices that help optimize processes, governance, infrastructure, and organizational policy, and reveals opportunities to improve supply chain planning.

 

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Use APQC's Supply Chain Planning Assessment to benchmark current state and pinpoint areas to improve

From a functional perspective, every supply chain planner needs to be able to report the impact that their initiatives have on improving supply chain efficiency. Many organizations have never taken a comprehensive look at how their supply chains are performing against competitors. In such cases supply chain benchmarking can unearth opportunities that could save a company millions or tens of millions of dollars.

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Upcoming Research Projects

Analyzing Benchmarks in Supply Chain
This project includes an in-depth dive in benchmarks in supply chain management. It includes key benchmarks in various process groups, as well as tune-up diagnostics and guidance for improving performance on selected KPIs.

Building and Maintaing Sustainable Supply Chains
APQC has been hearing about the need more insights into “sustainability” across the supply chain. This is a broad umbrella that includes environmental factors, social issues, and corporate governance (ESG) commitments and goals. There is increasing conversation about seeking lower carbon emissions, ethical sourcing, and improved human rights throughout the end-to-end supply chain. We are seeking to synthesize the latest insights from secondary research as well as conduct a survey to gather fresh data on the current state of corporate practices.

Interested in Sponsoring APQC Research? Contact Us! View the Full Research Agenda