Supply Chain Management (SCM) Overview and SCM Development in Pune

by Amit Paranjape

Have you ever wondered how much planning and co-ordination it takes to roll out Indicas smoothly off the Tata Motors assembly line? Consider this – A typical automobile consists of thousands of parts sourced from hundreds of suppliers, and a manufacturing and assembly process that consists of dozens of steps. All these different pieces need to tie-in in an extremely well synchronized manner to realize the end product.

How is this achieved? Well, like most complex business challenges, this too is addressed by a combination of efficient business processes and Information Technology. The specific discipline of software that addresses these types of problems is known as “Supply Chain Management” (SCM).

Pune has a strong manufacturing base and leads the nation in automotive and industrial sectors. Companies such as Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Kirloskar Oil Engines, Cummins, and Bharat Forge are headquartered in Pune. The manufacturing industry has complex production and materials management processes. This has resulted in a need for effective systems to help in decision making in these domains. The discipline that addresses these decision making processes is referred to as ‘Advanced Planning & Scheduling’ (acronym: APS). APS is an important part of SCM. This article briefly discusses some of the basic concepts of SCM/APS, their high-level technology requirements, and mentions some Pune based companies active in this area. Note, given Pune’s manufacturing background, it is no accident that it is also a leader in SCM related software development activities in India.

Introduction to SCM

Supply chain management (SCM) is the process of planning, implementing and controlling the operations of the supply chain as efficiently as possible. Supply Chain Management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point-of-origin to point-of-consumption. SCM Software focuses on supporting the above decision making business processes that cover demand management, distribution, logistics, manufacturing and procurement. APS specifically deals with the manufacturing processes. Note, SCM needs to be distinguished from ‘ERP’ that deals with automating business process workflows and transactions across the entire enterprise.

Decision Making’ is vital in SCM and leads to a core set of requirements for SCM software. Various decision making and optimization strategies are widely used. These include Linear Programming, Non-Linear Programming, Heuristics, Genetic Algorithms, Simulated Annealing, etc. These decision making algorithms are often implemented in C or C++. (In some cases, FORTRAN still continues to be leveraged for specific mathematical programming scenarios.) Some solutions use standard off-the-shelf optimization packages/solvers such as ILOG Linear Programming Solver as a component of the overall solution.

Consider a typical process/paint manufacturer such as Asian Paints. They make thousands of different end products that are supplied to hardware stores from hundreds of depots and warehouses, to meet the end consumer demand. The products are manufactured in various plants and then shipped to the warehouses in trucks and rail-cars. Each plant has various manufacturing constraints such as 1) a given batch mixer can only make certain types of paints, 2) to reduce mixer cleaning requirements, different color paints need to be produced in the order of lighter to darker shades. Now, to make it more interesting, there are many raw material constraints! Certain raw materials can only be procured with a long lead time. An alternative raw material might be available earlier, but it is very expensive! How do we decide? How many decisions are we talking about? And remember, these decisions have to be synchronized, since optimizing any one particular area in isolation can lead to extremely bad results for the other, and an overall sub-optimal solution. In optimization language, you can literally end up dealing with millions of variables in solving such a problem.

SCM software also has a fairly specific set of GUI requirements. A typical factory planner will deal with thousands of customer orders, machines, raw material parts and processing routings. Analyzing and acting on this information is often challenging. A rich role based user workflow for the planner is a critical. GUIs are usually browser-based with custom applets wherever functionality richness is needed. In very specific cases, ‘thick’ desk-top based clients (typically developed in Java) are also required for some complex workflows. Alerts and problem based navigation are commonly used to present large amounts of information in a prioritized, actionable format. Rich analytical OLAP type capabilities are also required in many cases.

Integration is an important part of SCM software architecture. SCM software typically interacts with various Enterprise IT systems such as ERP, CRM, Data-Warehouses, and other legacy systems. Many inter-enterprise collaboration workflows also require secure integration with customer/partner IT systems via the internet. Both batch and real-time integration workflows are required. Real-time integration can be synchronous or asynchronous. Batch data can sometimes (e.g. in Retail SCM) run into terabytes and lead to batch uploads of millions of lines. Loading performance and error checking becomes very important.
Consider a computer manufacturer such as Dell. They are renowned for pioneering the rapid turnaround configure-to-order business. Dell assembly plants sources material from different suppliers. In order to get maximum supply chain efficiencies, they actively manage raw material inventory levels. Any excess inventory results in locked-in capital and a reduction in Return on Investment (ROI). In order to achieve effective raw material inventory management, Dell needs to share its production and material requirements data with its suppliers so that they can supply parts at the right time. To achieve this, there needs to be a seamless real-time collaboration between the Dell procurement planner and the suppliers. Data is shared in a secured fashion via the internet and rapid decisions such as changes to quantity, selecting alternate parts, selecting alternate suppliers are made in real-time.

SCM in Pune

Most of the large manufacturing companies in Pune leverage some kind of SCM software solutions. These are typically sourced from SCM software industry leaders such SAP, i2 and Oracle. In some cases, home grown solutions are also seen.

Many small and med-sized software product companies in Pune are focused on the SCM domain. Some offer comprehensive end-to-end solutions, while others focus on specific industry niche areas. Note that by its very nature, SCM processes are fairly complex and specifically tailored to individual companies. As a result many SCM products are highly customizable and require varying degrees of onsite development. This leads to software services as an integral part of most of these SCM product companies.

Pune based FDS Infotech has been developing SCM and ERP software suite for over a decade. They have a wide customer base in India. A representative example of their solution can be seen at Bharat Forge. Here their SCM/APS solution is being used to maximize the efficiency of the die shop. This is achieved through better schedule generation that considers all the requisite manpower, machine and raw-material constraints.

Entercoms, also based in Pune, is primarily focused on the Service Parts Management problem in SCM. Their customers include Forbes Marshall and Alfa-Laval.

SAS, a global leader in business intelligence and data-analytics software also develops various SCM solutions, with specific focus on the Retail segment. Their Retail solution focuses on a wide variety of problems such as deciding the right merchandizing strategies, planning the right assortments for the stores, forecasting the correct demand, etc. They boast a wide global customer base. Their Pune R&D center is involved in multiple products, including their Retail solution.

In addition to these three, many other small SCM software companies in Pune work on specific industry niches.

About the Author

Amit Paranjape is one of the driving forces behind PuneTech. He has been in the supply chain management area for over 12 years, most of it with i2 in Dallas, USA. He has extensive leadership experience across Product Management/Marketing, Strategy, Business Development, Solutions Development, Consulting and Outsourcing. He now lives in Pune and is an independent consultant providing consulting and advisory services for early stage software ventures. Amit’s interest in other fields is varied and vast, including General Knowledge Trivia, Medical Sciences, History & Geo-Politics, Economics & Financial Markets, Cricket.

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22 thoughts on “Supply Chain Management (SCM) Overview and SCM Development in Pune

  1. Hi Amit,

    The write-up was very useful and informative. I have recently started taking interest in the supply chain domain and this article made a good read. Would be grateful if you could suggest any other books/online links etc. related to the supply chain domain.

    Best Regards,
    Hari

  2. Thanks Hariharan for the feedback. There are many books on SCM that are out there, but frankly, I haven’t found most of them not that useful. Either there is way too much theoretical stuff or unnecessary marketing buzzwords.

    To get a good real-world perspective, I would recommend that you visit the websites of established SCM vendors (i2, SAP, Oracle, Manhattan) and take a look at their customer case-studies.

    An excellent book that articulates the core concepts of SCM/APS in an interesting ‘novel like’ format is ‘The Goal’ by Eliyahu M. Goldratt.

  3. Dear Amit,

    Nice summary of SCM/APS and its scope in Pune city. Your articulation of Asian Paints example is very good and helps in understanding the real world implementation of SCM and it’s latest trends in Industries.

    Your recommended book “The Goal” is also one of my favorite book.

    About myself: I am currently doing my MBA at SP Jain Institute of Management, Mumbai with Operations and Supply chain management as my Major. I am BE (Mech) and have worked with Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai for almost 4 years and later on decided to pursue my masters here at SP Jain Mumbai.

    Keep us posted with any good articles or case studies in SCM.

    Thanks
    Swapnil

  4. Sumit – Thanks for the feedback. I am planning other follow-up articles on these topics. Do stay tuned to PuneTech. Also, any suggestions are welcome!

    Thanks
    Amit

  5. Hi Amit,
    Very good article. One generic question for anyone reading the aricle coming to my mind is how is the Supply Chain Segment going to be affected by the current financial crisis, and any suggestions on how companies would come out efficiently in this tough time.

    Thanks & Regards,
    Neelam

  6. Neelam, Thanks for the feedback. Good point – the current financial crisis will definitely impact the SCM priorities as far as companies world-wide are concerned. Clearly, there will be an even greater focus on deriving efficiencies out of the system. I am planning to write something about this in the near future.

    Note – I am assuming that your question pertains to the SCM function in companies, as opposed to how the present crisis would affect SCM Software & Business Consulting Companies.

    Thanks
    Amit

  7. Hi Amit,
    This is a very good article. my question is similar to Neelam’s question like what will be the impact of current financial crisis on SCM s/w and business consulting companies. And second Question is what is the difference between SCM and Retail Management.

  8. Nikhil,

    Thanks for the feedback.

    Usually when there is a economic slowdown, SCM becomes even more critical for a company, from the point of view of cutting operational costs.

    However in many cases the budget for SCM software comes out of IT or other capital investment budgets at large companies. These budgets are invariable cut during a downturn (happened during 2001-2002 as well). This can be negative for SCM Software Companies. This can also affect SCM Consulting companies, but in a less severe manner. In many cases, consulting budgets don’t come from capital expenditure budgets, instead from Run & Maintain budgets – hence they are less likely to be affected.

    Your second question is quite broad. Retail Management is a term that can encompass many things. Can you elaborate? SCM deals with certain operational and strategic planning aspects of the forecasting, movement & storage of material in the retail network – from the suppliers through the DCs/Warehouses to the end store.

    Hope this helps. If you have a more specific question, please contact me at: amit@punetech.com.

    Amit

  9. Hi Amit,

    Nice article !

    We are Startup Company in the field of providing 3PL services and need WMS software. As we are startup, we have large investment constraints. Can you pls suggest some good WMS software product which can take care of most of our WMS needs

    Thanks & Regards,
    Sachin

  10. Sachin,

    If you have investment constraints you might want to consider Saas options i.e. software that is hosted on the web reducing Capex expenditure and installation times. The downside is the lack of customizability and the relative complexity of integration with existing IT systems. Saas systems could be a viable option for a small company like yours.

    One such example is Snapfulfil:
    http://www.snapondemand.com/whatcanwedo.cfm

    Amit

  11. Hi Amit,

    Thanks for this great insight on SCM. I also appreciate your presentation skills. I work in the SC domain and your article is very helpful.

  12. Hi Sachin,
    This is for you. I work for a company which is an IT solutions & sevices provider to the Suply Chain & Logistics operations. We have solutions like WMS, TMS, Reverse Logistics,3PL Billing etc., and are proven in the industry by a potential client list. We would be intersted to offer you a WMS solution. We have apt solutions to suit the start up 3PL companies, accommodating their budgets and operations.

  13. Dear Amit,

    Could you please guide me for doing a master course in SCM, what books are avl on this topic.

    Please reply

    Thanks

    Shant

  14. Shant,

    There are many books that are out there today. I won’t recommend any one in particular.

    I think a better way is to look at actual real world SCM Case-Studies that you can find on websites of various SCM/ERP vendors (i2, SAP, Oracle, Manhattan Associates, etc.). Even though these are primarily marketing oriented, nevertheless you can still get a good real world feel for the problems.

    Amit

  15. Hi Amit Sir,

    Thanks for your wonderful article. It was just what I was hunting for. Valuable information indeed.
    I am an Instrumentation Graduate passed out in 2008. I am currently working for a company as an Application Engineer, job profile being Techno-Commercial.
    I am seriously looking to change my field and get into SCM. I am confused as to what should be my starting point. How should I go about it? Should I go for Seimens Certification in SAP SCM Module? Or Should I undergo SAP MM Training Module offered in Reliance global Solutions Hyderabad? I dont see a way. Please guide me. Awaiting a clear cut reply. Thank You.

  16. Dear Amitsir,

    Could you please guide me for doing a Reaserch work PhD in SCM:product variety perspective in automobile industry,
    Please reply

    Thanks

    Vijay

  17. Dear Amit sir,
    I am not having deep knowledge of SCM. Please give me information about its course & institutes in oune which are offering this course

  18. Dear Amit,

    I am working for a point of sales company for the last 2 years. I have sound knowledge of retail process. I also want to study more. I am confused whether to do some advance courses on supply chain or courses on retail. can you throw some light on me??

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