Demand & Inventory Planning

Planning is a critical process in every company. It drives many of the processes that are the foundation of the supply chain. Without effective demand and inventory planning, companies would need to react to constantly changing market trends leading to operational uncertainty, poor customer service, and, ultimately, weakened financial performance.

This program provides you with the tools and methods you need to define, develop, and manage efficient and effective planning processes that balance demand forecasts with existing supply and inventory, leading to significantly reduced costs.

Philip Coles, M.B.A., M.S., Professor of Practice in Management, at Lehigh University. In addition to his formal education, Professor Coles studied lean and continuous improvement at The Kaizen Institute, the Manufacturer’s Resource Center, and the Toyota Supplier Support Center. He has over 30 years of industry experience, including as Vice President of Strategic Management, Project Manager, and Kaizen Facilitator in charge of the continuous improvement program at a multi-million dollar produce company. In this role, he visited world-class manufacturing companies such as Dell and Toyota to learn about their supply chains.

• Link strategic planning goals with competing perspectives from suppliers to final customers
• Manage customer demand relative to capacity, and manage and reduce client order gaming
• Reduce risk associated with inventory shortages and other service-level threats
• Reduce excess inventory to capture costs savings and match required, cost-efficient service goals
• Maximize returns on inventory held and understand costs associated with inventory at various service levels
• Identify alternative service strategies in addition to retaining inventory