GRA is Australia’s premier specialist supply chain consulting firm. We offer expert consulting, professional services and advanced planning systems. We are results focussed and have proven methodologies for quickly delivering quantifiable and sustainable improvements in inventory, cost and service level performance. Importantly, our approach is practical, and we work side-by-side with our clients to ensure results are delivered.
We aim for a minimum 3:1 ROI for work undertaken, with the typical returns ranging from 10:1 to 30:1.
Our professional services include:
Supply Chain Strategic Review & Network Modelling
This service determines the optimal supply chain and distribution network structure to support the business’ service proposition, whilst minimising costs and capital. Growth plans and future business strategies are taken into account, and several options are presented with a business case including expected benefits, transformation costs, timing and feasibility. In addition to GRA’s proprietary tools and methodologies for the analysis, we also use the industry accepted Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model to document the supply chain so that it is easier to add to in the future and integrate with trading partner’s supply chains should collaboration be of interest.
Working Capital Quick Hits & Cash Generation
Working Capital Quick Hits is a targeted hands-on project to rapidly reduce inventory and free up cash. We work side-by-side with your team to deliver improvements in working capital and service levels whilst minimising operating costs. Working Capital Quick Hits delivers fast and sustainable improvements to planning policies, processes and systems.
Demand, Inventory & Supply Chain (DISC) Policy Development
This service develops a suite of policies to govern supply chain activities and provides a basis for performance measurement. Consistent with our service suite, policies are optimised based on cost, service, capital and capacity considerations. Policies can be developed across the supply chain, and include areas such as:
• service level
• replenishment
• procurement/sourcing
• purchasing
• distribution
• inventory
• production
• transportation
• warehousing
Planning Process Development
The assessment, enhancement and development of best practice demand, inventory and supply planning processes is one of our core offerings. GRA’s process expertise and experience includes:
• demand planning
• promotions planning
• new item introduction
• item phase out
• new store introduction
• opportunity buys
• open to buy (OTB) budget management
• production planning and scheduling
• rotable / repairable / consumable planning
• capacity planning
• peak seasonal planning (i.e. Christmas pre-build)
• import supplier replenishment
• local supplier replenishment
• vendor management
• DC balancing
• store replenishment
• data quality management
Production Policy Optimisation
The Production Policy Optimisation analysis determines optimal run cycle policies based on cost, inventory, service performance and capacity trade-offs. This exercise provides a fact-based picture of the opportunity inherent in enhanced run policies, and can model multiple scenarios and/or policies. Changes to manufacturing processes, constraints and/or capability can also be modelled to determine the expected benefit versus the expected investment required to implement the change.
Structure & Change Management
This is an advisory service focussing on team structures, performance measures, roles and responsibilities, and skills required. GRA also creates implementation plans cognisant of feasibility, requirements, opportunities and risks in moving to a new structure(s).
4C Analysis
GRA’s 4C Analysis is a sophisticated, fact-based analysis that identifies easily implemented improvement opportunities. It optimises the 4Cs - Capital, Costs, Customer service levels and Capacity, and focusses on policies, planning practices and systems.
The 4C Analysis uses bottom-up, fact-based modelling to determine what products should be stocked in what locations and how much inventory should be held by product, by location. The analysis considers service level targets, costs throughout the supply chain, demand volumes, logistics capacities and supplier constraints (order minimums, etc). It determines the minimum amount of inventory required to meet service levels at the lowest cost, which then highlights where the opportunities are to improve inventory balance. Once the model is established, it can be used to simulate other options.
The output creates a clear and audible picture of the business case (quantifiable financial, efficiency and performance improvements) and what is required to realise and sustain the benefits. A recommended stocking policy is also provided in order to optimise inventories and costs against customer service level targets. KPIs/benchmarks are supplied for demand, inventory and supply chain functions.
Data Quality Enhancement
The Data Quality Enhancement is a stand alone service that:
• identifies the data required to support planning process effectively
• assesses it in terms of quality, availability, accuracy and timeliness
• identifies gaps and assesses impact
• creates remedial plans for improving data elements based on their business impact
• delivers a standard data policy document identifying data owners, data definitions, responsibilities and maintenance processes
• creates a data map identifying the location of the data elements
GRA has helped numerous organisations improve the quality of their data by ‘plugging gaps’, standardising data policies, establishing data ownership and maintenance processes, and inputting and verifying information that resides in the business but not in the systems.
Bureau Service
The Inventory Optimisation Bureau Service is an outsourced forecasting and planning function. It is a complete packaged solution that provides:
• proven supply chain experts with the right knowledge and practical, hands-on experience
• demand, inventory and supply planning information from our proven ‘best-of-breed’ forecasting and planning tools
• best practice methodologies and processes
• guaranteed, consistent results
With the Inventory Optimisation Bureau Service, our proven resources become part of your planning team, and we work with you on an on-going basis to deliver desired business outcomes.
Supplier Performance Review
This is a review of the supplier base to identify supply variability, performance, cost and constraints with a view to identifying performance improvements.
S & OP Implementation
Sales and Operations Planning is a powerful on-going management and performance measurement process that integrates business plans, financial budgets, operational planning and execution. The aim is to integrate ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ planning using a single set of numbers, perform gap analyses to identify where operational plans do not reach targets and to enable fact-based trade-off decisions to be made. Our S&OP implementation process:
• defines the strategic & tactical aims of these businesses
• defines the appropriate performance measures, policies and processes
• structures S&OP processes (with S&OP manuals, meeting agendas and action checklists) that are aligned with the business’ requirements and goals
• configures systems, as appropriate, to better support the S&OP process
• improves data quality, as appropriate, to better support the systems and performance measures
• conducts a ‘pilot’ S&OP to test the efficacy of the process
• provides training & education for the organisation in the S&OP
• to ensure sustainability, provides coaching and mentoring for the organisation once the S&OP process becomes operational
Cost-to-Serve, Time-to-Serve & Profitability Analysis
This analysis identifies the cost-to-serve and time-to-serve for different product, inventory, supplier and customer segments/channels. It determines true product profitability by factoring in supply chain costs (which are typically overlooked). It identifies which products or channels increase or decrease returns to the business and segments them accordingly.
Systems Configuration & Implementation (Turbo Charger)
GRA has worked with a wide range of systems including Manugistics, i2, SAP, Movex, QAD and Oracle, and as such provides a wealth of knowledge regarding systems configuration and implementation issues. In addition, GRA provides Australian support for GAINS. The aim is to ensure that planning systems are optimally configured to support the business goals, operating environment and planning processes. Planning systems enablement and enhancement provides for:
• identification of the business’ planning requirements – ie what capabilities need to be in place to support the business requirements
• review of current system capabilities
• review of current system configuration
• gap analysis of current systems’ capabilities in respect of requirements
• gap analysis of current systems’ configuration in respect of requirements
• data quality assessment
• modelling analysis to determine optimal configuration and system settings
• recommendations regarding system configuration and settings
• development of system parameter update and refresh policy document
• development of a data maintenance policy document
• identification and documentation of KPIs and benchmarks
The aim is deliver the maximum possible benefit for your investment in planning systems and to transfer the knowledge for planning system configuration and maintenance to your team. The analytical piece will create a fact based business case for the recommended configuration(s).
Training & Education
GRA offers a range of training and education services covering (amongst others) demand management, inventory planning, replenishment planning, and performance management. In addition to providing regular training and education programs to our clients, GRA also authors and delivers the ‘Managing Supply Chain Inventory’ course within Monash University’s Supply Chain & Logistics Masters Program in the School of Business & Economics. GRA also sponsors and participates in Monash University’s Supply Chain Management Executive Development Program, guest lectures in other Monash supply chain courses, runs a Forecasting & Inventory Management Course in Singapore and Thailand as part of the Asia Business Forum, and is a frequent presenter at industry events.
Coaching & Mentoring
GRA has a team of Coach Mentors whose primary role is to work side-by-side with clients at the planning and execution levels to ensure processes are embedded, new skills are learned, knowledge is transferred and that any new disciplines become regular behaviour. Our Coach Mentors are experienced industry practitioners and have spent between 15 and 20 years in planning roles themselves. Coaching & Mentoring is different to Training & Education because it provides valuable support and guidance to the planning team whilst they are doing the job. It is hands-on, and usually one-on-one to address any specific characteristics of a practitioner’s work. We have found that Coaching & Mentoring is what makes processes and systems deliver sustainable results, specifically because it addresses the ‘people issues’. Coaching & Mentoring up-skills our clients’ teams, embeds the new disciplines and lays the foundations for sustainability. This is a unique, proven service that GRA has developed and refined over many years, and it consistently delivers superior results.
