Almost all companies have an ERP in order to manage all of their flows linked to their activity. All of these ERPs are designed, organized and structured according to the MRP (manufacturing resources planning) model. Its purpose: to manage all of the company's data. Hence the emergence of new dedicated professions. How is data forecasting a key business enabler? To what extent does business performance depend on the level of MRP performance? Explanations with Stéphane Chambard, trainer in supply chain and industrial performance.
Before the 1990s, companies had computer systems (computer-assisted production management software, sales management, logistics, etc.) aimed at the performance of a particular sector of the company. Result: a multiplicity of information systems within the same company, and therefore problems in communicating this information between the different sectors.
Hence the advent of enterprise resource planning (ERP) computer systems in the 1990s to centralize all of the company's daily activities such as accounting, human resources, production operations and even logistic.
ERP, the brain of the company
“Companies have integrated ERP to facilitate information management.” This ERP tool, adopted quickly since then, has proven essential for the management of a business. It therefore allows it to have a single source of reliable information. Since the whole point of this system is to predict what we are going to sell. “The heart of the matter is forecasting.”
All of these IT systems are structured according to the MRP model. A component requirements planning model based on sales forecasts which has also undergone developments, leading to MRP as we currently know it.
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MRP developments The MRP2 system, developed in the early 1980s, is the modernized version of MRP. Quantity to produce and when… MRP2 goes further: it also defines the appropriate resources, quantity and timing to achieve production. In other words, it is an adaptation of the MRP which takes into account human resources and material needs. Main advantage? Carry out planning taking into account the load/capacity adequacy of the factory, propose finite capacity scheduling and carry out cost calculations and precise monitoring of production. |
Meet customer requirements
Businesses need flexibility and responsiveness. We must, in fact, be able to meet customer requirements and thus have a competitive advantage. And the customer requirements regarding prices and services are progressing more and more quickly. “The company adapts to the demands of its customers in an increasingly less stable world. »
ERP is then designed to provide answers for supplying, storing, producing and distributing. The purpose of this tool is to manage all of the company's data, it is the brain.
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Service rates We measure customer satisfaction in terms of service rates. This is, for example, the conformity of a delivery in terms of date, quality, quantity, location, etc. If these four criteria are respected, the measure reaches 100%. The operational performance of a company is based on this service rate. For industry, the level of requirements is very high, in general it is 95%, hence the importance of the reliability of the forecast. For other sectors such as automobiles and aeronautics, we are around 99%. |
What about customer requirements in terms of price? The challenge for companies is to control the costs inherent to products, to obtain optimal results, with the lowest possible cost. This is the objective of lean manufacturing.
Tools integrated into the ERP to improve performance
Among the best-known integrated management software packages (ERP), we find in particular SAP and Oracle. One in two companies uses them. ERP can be coupled with other computer software, all the more so when a company activity becomes strategic, whether it is purchasing, planning, logistics or even transport.
These tools feed into and supply the entire planning system up to the operational level, in other words the entire production chain. The objective: to make the link with the data extracted from the internal database and the collection of information from all internal and external services within the company. The result is a guaranteed performance gain for the company. Among the tools, we find:
- SRM (supplier relationship management): this is software for managing relationships with suppliers. “It is interesting to develop this tool”
- SCM (supply chain management): this is supply chain management software
- WMS (warehouse management system): this is software that aims to optimize inventory management in warehouses and stores
- APS (advanced planning and scheduling): this is advanced planning software
“If the activity is strategic, it is necessary to implement the software(s) that respond to it”
“This results in a more efficient and more economical activity.” These savings made, the company can therefore (re)invest them in this type of software.
To meet responsiveness requirements, these tools continue to evolve. This is particularly the case for advanced planning software (APS). Companies then rely on new analysis tools from new technologies that are easier to use. “The digitalization of tools has opened up the field of possibilities and also contributes to the performance of the company. » In a large majority of ERPs, more efficient touchscreen tablets are used. Enough to facilitate the work of new actors in the supply chain identified as such, the forecasters.
Production management, professions that evolve
“No one discovers the structure of the MRP. There is no major development. These are the professions around MRP that are evolving.”
The company must equip itself with effective forecasting tools that allow stakeholders to be reactive. These tools help make the data more reliable. This involves being able to analyze a mass of data from the entire company ecosystem and quickly adapt forecasts in a constantly changing environment.
Hence the approach initiated by large companies to recruit externally people solely dedicated to processing data reliability… or internally. These people, identified as such within their company, have migrated to these functions. Before, these were additional missions entrusted according to the organization of the company.
Thus, for five years emerging in companies of demand planner or forecasters. “Good news, even if it remains very surprising that a certain number of companies did not ask themselves the question of the reliability of the data sooner.”
At the heart of the supply chain
In terms of training, forecasters come from a business school, engineers or graduates of a Master 2 specialized in logistics, supply chain, industrial management or even international trade. Two to five years of experience in supply chain is generally required. Such as mastery of management software packages, office tools (advanced Excel), database management software (Access, SAS, etc.), and MRP2 methods.
Reporting to the supply chain department, forecasters are responsible forsupply the computer system with the most reliable forecasts possible. The objective: to optimize production, procurement and inventory management processes, in order to reduce supply chain costs and guarantee product availability. Forecasters work closely with sales, marketing, production and finance departments.
At the origin of the forecasting process and the implementation of logistics optimization, forecasters therefore occupy an increasingly strategic central place within companies. Hence the need for training organizations to design training courses dedicated to this profession of the future.
