The Replenishment Planner is a multi-echelon planning solution that ensures that the right quantity and mix of products are shipped to the right location, at the right time. The Replenishment Planner uses a proprietary, sequential rule-based algorithm to plan supply across a multi-echelon supply chain network.

Replenishment Planner Key Capabilities:

• Business configurable rules and priorities to minimize late orders
• Built-in scenario capability to allow what-ifs based on different demand, manufacturing and supply assumptions
• Enables telescoping time-periods: daily for first X weeks, then weekly or monthly
• Facilitates inventory balancing across a multi-echelon network of locations through various replenishment policies
• Highlights unfilled demand instances, and indicates the cause for late orders for each instance
• Provides a network view of projected inventory for each SKU for each time period, through easy drill-down reports
• Can take component availability into account; does Material Requirement Planning (MRP) alongside Distribution Requirements Planning (DRP)

Replenishment Planner User Benefits:

• Rapidly plan downstream supply across the network
• Override by exception if necessary
• Automatically considers open sales orders, fixed production, transfer, and purchase orders
• Reporting across scenarios enables users to quickly compare trade-offs between scenarios, to make a more informed decision
• Fair distribution of inventory across the network if supply is constrained

Arkieva Replenishment Planner uses a sequential rule-based algorithm to plan supply across a multi-echelon supply chain network. The built-in heuristic fills all orders before rebuilding safety stock and allows the replenishment planner software to evaluate alternate ways of fulfilling demand and selecting the most cost effective option. It uses business plan specific prioritization to fulfill demand for high priority customer/products over low priority ones. Integrated MRP capability allows supply chain planners to determine raw material procurement and sourcing requirements in conjunction with product distribution. Built-in scenario capability allows supply chain planners to perform what-if analyses based on different demand and supply assumptions.

The replenishment planner has the unique capability of planning in multiple time dimensions within the same model – daily buckets in the near term and weekly or monthly buckets further out. It is typically suited for near term supply planning (4-13 week time frame) that should be processed sequentially to recommend a stable and predictable solution (as opposed to an optimal one).

The algorithm provides a detailed trace report with every decision made by the model. This makes the plan easily discernible to the supply chain planners. When shortages arise, intuitive drill-down reports outline the reasons for missed orders; reasons include “lead time constraint”, “capacity constraint” or “component shortages”, to name a few.