Context: Having the right product at the right place and time at the right cost and quality is one of the biggest challenges an operations and supply chain manager encounters. To successfully meet customer
needs, supply chain professionals must accurately forecast and support operational needs. This requires robust forecasting, inventory, and information management capability.
Discussion:
Based on a related Internet search, identify a a fulfillment failure. A fulfillment failure is when the item does not make it through its supply chain. Assess why it happened (this will most likely require research).
Note: You may use a personal experience if you have access to the information to identify the supply
chain of the item and have knowledge of how the break in the item’s supply chain was identified and
corrected.
Be sure to choose an example that allows you to showcase the analysis and application. The fulfillment failure must be solved through the supply chain analysis.
As you dissect the fulfillment failure, you must address how each of the following may have or may not
have contributed to the problem. Give the explanation why.
Forecasting—that is, did managers underestimate demand? If so, what went wrong?–You may have to look at all parties in the supply chain (raw material, manufacturer, distributor,
retailer etc)
Inventory— that is, did decision makers run too lean, leading to a stock out or shortage? If so, what went wrong? (again, all parties)
Information— that is, did managers have all the information they needed to make good
decisions? If not, why not? What information is accurate and readily available?
What else might have contributed to the fulfillment? (other parts of the supply chain that
should be analyzed)
If the experience you are sharing comes from your work experience, please share how you and your
company resolved the issue. What did you do to fix the underlying causes in order to make sure your
company did not suffer a similar fulfillment failure again? If you did not find the fix, how would you advise
the company to fix their issue so it could not happen again (note: this will be based on what you found in your research).
Organize your post with the following headers:
Brief description of the failure
Dissection to root cause: (Walk through Forecasting, Inventory, Information, Other considerations)
The Fix so it never happens again
References
