[NEXT LEVEL BLOG]

Since March of this year, it was nearly impossible to avoid news concerning Apple’s iWatch. The buzz surrounding the benefits of wearable technology (WT) was suffocating. Gartner describes the current stage of WT maturity as the “Peak of Inflated Expectations”. 

With China emerging as a manufacturing superpower at the same time as the European Union began to flex its collective strength, the past several decades has seen supply chains become increasingly more sophisticated and complex. 

Little has changed in supply chain management theory since Forrester’s groundbreaking study over 50 years ago showing the correlation between a company’s success and the interrelationships between company functions and its network of suppliers and customers. Forrester identified a system consisting of five key dynamic “flows.”  Information, materials, money, manpower, and capital equipment determine the basic tendencies towards growth or decline of a company.

This is part 2 of a 2-part series looking at how a custom VMI program can and should result in significant reductions in working capital. The first post looked at Supply Technologies’ proprietary approach to assessing each customer’s current situation, what we do with that assessment, and the roles that forecasting and production planning play as a custom program is implemented.

Part 2 looks at inventory management, inventory ownership & distribution, and technology & systems as areas that can contribute to working capital reduction with an implemented program.