SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT through its partnership with Ascentt, has quadrupled its production forecast visibility, moving from a 13-week view to a full 52-week look ahead.
This is spend management at its most strategic. By sharing a year’ s worth of production plans with its partners, Toyota enables its Tier 1 suppliers to optimise their own materials procurement, workforce planning and capacity investments. This extended visibility is a powerful tool to combat the bullwhip effect, a phenomenon where small fluctuations in consumer demand cause increasingly large swings in inventory requirements as orders move up the supply chain.
When a supplier knows what is required 12 months in advance, the need for emergency material sourcing and expedited shipping, two of the most
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