Ultriva, the leader in collaborative supply chain solutions, is advocating that global multi-national manufacturers use supplier replenishment as the ultimate tool in lean manufacturing best-practices. Designed to help manufacturers digitally manage all forms of material replenishment with suppliers, leading Electronic kanban capabilities must allow both manufacturers and suppliers a single internet portal where they can view forecasts and kanban signals, release purchase orders, track orders, and manage receipts.
Narayan Laksham, Ultriva founder and CEO commented, “Supplier replenishment is designed to eliminate stock-outs and resulting expedited deliveries while reducing inventory levels by up to 75 percent all while streamlining processes and dramatically increasing buyer and planner productivity.”
Lean manufacturing principles require a variety of inventory replenishment methods, including: schedule-based replenishment, discrete POs, min/max, consignment and VMI (vendor-managed inventory) replenishment methods. Laksham insists with supplier replenishment, manufacturers can drive replenishment from production schedules, publish forecasts to suppliers, and automate purchase order releases and receipts through a collaborative Internet portal.
Supplier Replenishment is lean because it…
…Improves supplier on-time delivery performance by enabling better collaboration and data sharing between buyers and suppliers.
…Improves buyer and planner productivity by automatically flagging and communicating new and changed orders to suppliers, eliminating unreliable communication modalities.
…Eliminates stock-outs by tracking order status and proactively alerting buyers to high risk situations.
…Reduces inventory levels by providing better inventory on-hand data and continuous improvement analytics.
