Supply Chain Management is not just about moving goods from A to B; it’s about optimising the entire end to end supply chain for maximum potential benefit for all involved. Typically, today’s wine and spirits supply chains are characterized as fragmented, with each link in the supply chain playing a unique role and acting on their own information. This delivers sub-optimisation and prevents a regular flow of goods across the entire end to end supply chain: from producer to retailer.
JF Hillebrand takes Supply Chain Management a major step further. We have state-of-the-art technology that enables us to meet our customers high demands, coupled with a vast international network of essential local expertise - delivering significant benefits to all those within the chain. Our solutions, customized to each client’s requirement, deliver maximised availability of the right product at minimum inventory holding cost.
To deliver these goals people, processes, business intelligence and optimisation of the required infrastructure are a must. This collaboration network is the ability to structure, implement and manage common objectives with all the parties in that supply chain, which allows “visibility and/or integration” of information throughout that supply chain (from store to production), with data (on which a decision depends), with an agreed process (which actually makes that decision happen), and an evaluation process (what was the result of that decision) across multiple companies, cultures and international boundaries.Through adoption of such principles and practice, we experience the following headline results;
- Improved availability and therefore improved customer satisfaction and increased sales and profit.
- Reduced inventory levels at bonds and warehouses.
- Reductions in lead-times from export country to import country.
- Improved reliability in lead-times from export country to import country.
- Increased stock turns.
- Working capital improvements.
- Improved load planning through consolidation options delivering optimised container fills.
- Global visibility of total end to end supply chain.
- Greater collaboration and improved relationships.
Collaboration
Sharing information is the key success factor to optimize the end to end supply chain, delivering benefits for each link involved. JF Hillebrand’s web based system, AXIS can provide visibility on demand, replenishment views, productions advises, inventory and in-transit goods. Being able to provide a multi retailer multi supplier web based collaboration platform, negating huge systems investment per relation, is just one of the benefits that JF Hillebrand offer.
Availability
In the battle for shelf space and the preference of the consumer, availability is of utmost importance. The major objective for each company is to maximise availability at the lowest total costs. Often, the cost of excessive inventory is not recognized at all times and results from attempts to minimize transport costs per case.
Managing uncertainties
Supply chain management is about managing uncertainties in order to decide on how much to move and when within the supply chain. Uncertainties in demand and supply each require their own solution. Fluctuation in demand can be dealt with using a single forecast to control the entire supply chain. Variations in lead times can be managed through stock buffers in either the export or import country.
Results and benefits
- Improved availability & reliability of the total supply chain
- Global visibility of demand, stock and forecast
- Reduced and fixed lead times between order and delivery
- Savings in capital tied up in excessive stock
- Planned & controlled reaction to demand
- Improved production planning
- Avoidance of obsolescence and redundant stocks
- Improved range management – new product introductions and deletions
- Improved vintage and lot management