Supply Chain Reports that will Transform Your Business

Performance measurement and management is vital for businesses to thrive. One must be able to think ahead and apply the most effective solutions to rectify errors and make improvements. Supply chain management is no exception when it comes to continuous performance evaluation.

With the help of supply chain reports, supply chain personnel obtain a deep insight into the current performance of their supply system. All of the analysis and information obtained will be condensed into multiple reports, with which executives can look into the data trends for informed decision-making.

7 Types of Supply Chain Reports

The following supply chain reports will help managers thoroughly analyze the current performance of their supply chain system:

1. Plant Performance Dashboard:

This report will provide a detailed information for each plant’s operation in a visual form. This is beneficial for executives aiming to look into the performance of an individual plant. All you have to do is choose the location and make a note of the key metrics or elements present in the report, such as the customer demand, material management, production and safety. These data will give you a gist of a particular plant’s performance.

2. Plant Performance Maps:

One of the commonly used supply chain reports is the Plant Performance Map. This will give you a graphical representation of every production facility of yours. Just click on the location of a specific production facility and the supply chain executive will be able to monitor its performance in a given time. They can identify prevailing performance issues and look into every metric of the facility.

One of the most important metric that must be considered to improve supply chain management is cycle time. Cycle time refers to the amount of time taken to produce finished goods. It consists of the following elements:

• Process time, which is the time taken in the making of the product.
• Move time, which is the time taken to transfer the product from one station to another.
• Inspection time, which is the time taken to examine the product and ensure that it is free from defects.
• Queue time, which is the amount of time a product waits in queue before it is moved, inspected, and shipped.

The entire manufacturing cycle time is the sum total of all the aforementioned components.

3. Production Scheduling Report:

The production scheduling report will provide details on all the upcoming jobs in a production process. Production scheduling aims to take the capability of a manufacturing facility to the next level. It is intended to strike a balance between the customer demands and the available resources, while also aiming to operate the facility in a cost-effective way. Production scheduling involves the following:

• Planning: Production scheduling is planned by establishing a budget and making a visual representation about the steps required in the entire production process.
• Routing: Routing refers to the path that a product should follow. The aim is to execute the most economic and efficient series of operations in production.
• Scheduling: Scheduling refers to the date and time within which the entire operation must be completed.
• Dispatching: This is the process of setting the order of jobs involved in the process of production.
• Execution: This is the implementation of the planned production schedule. The entire staff should coordinate together to make sure the products are made in the exact order, and that they are delivered right on time.

4. Material Management Report:

This is one of the important supply chain reports that help the staff to analyze the usage of the inventory. With this information, you get to reduce unnecessary carrying costs and inventory write-downs. Material management also includes the analysis of the material quality to ensure it meets the customer demands. You can plan on the replenishment of the stocks, make inventory levels for each type of item, and more.

5. Supplier Relationship Scorecard:

Having the support of effective or reliable suppliers is quintessential for a successful supply chain management. Supplier relationship scorecard, also known as the vendor scorecard, is a report that is used to measure the effectiveness of a supplier.

The following indicators will be used to determine the performance of the supplier:

• On time delivery
• Reliability
• Quality performance
• Average lead time

6. Event Notification:

As the name suggests, any staff or personnel will be notified about the important events impacting the supply chain. This may include:

• Rejection of product quantity or quality
• Shortage in materials or parts
• Issues with customer shipments, and more.

Proactive notifications will help you to take the right action to resolve the problem early on.

7. Downtime Analysis:

Discrepancies in the material usage, labor and overhead can be promptly identified to optimize productivity. This report will let you find out the underlying cause of downtime, after which the productivity can be brought back on track across all areas of the organization.

These seven supply chain reports are key to an efficient supply chain management. By gaining visibility into the supply chain processes, you’d improve the performance and reduce costs in the long run.