Today in Episode 10 we are sitting with two former inventory analysts who have now evidently turned into offensive coordinators! Welcome, Sven Aunapu and Dan Craddock.
Sven is Director of LifeLine Services and Analytics, joined by Dan, our resident inventory planning evangelist. They are here today to share 7 steps to move your inventory team from playing defense throughout the day to playing offense when forecasting demand and reporting on their success.
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Episode 10 Show Notes
Todd: Guys… You have to explain this to me and to our audience out there.
You both claim that, in your inventory days and in your travels, most inventory teams find themselves playing defense way more than they would like. I need to hear more about this phenomenon.
In addition to both of you being education specialists and consultants in the area of inventory optimization, you were both inventory analysts, correct?
Dan & Sven: That’s right, Todd.
Todd: And both of you say it has become the norm for inventory teams to always be on the defensive?
Dan & Sven: Indeed. Absolutely.
Todd: Okay, Dan, let’s start with you. What does that mean and what does it do to the team?
Dan: Todd, when you look at this from 30,000 feet or from this podcast studio, it sounds amusing. But I will tell you that when you live in it, being on the defensive 24/7 does not feel amusing!
You see, we have chosen a profession that mainly gets feedback when things go wrong. When I started as a replenishment analyst years ago, I was told the following: “Hey kid, know this… When you are out of stock, it is your fault. When you are overstocked, it is your fault. When things go well, it is thanks to the sales team or the store teams!”
I learned pretty quickly that my goal was to minimize the noise! Minimize the noise from sales and customers when out of stock and from our CFO when overstocked.
The goal of the inventory planning profession for many became…
‘Stay. Out. Of. Trouble.’
Because of this, you are always playing defense and explaining yourself. Even traditional reports that would hit everyone’s desk in the morning started with the Out-of-Stock Report, which basically highlighted, “Here is how Dan hurt the company yesterday.”
Sven, you lived this same world as a replenishment buyer in both wholesale and retail didn’t you?
Sven: Yes, the same world, the same people, same approach — just different names.[Sven elaborates on his experience].
Todd: So if that is the case, let’s make this really worthwhile for our audience. If your inventory teams are facing this dilemma, we need to break down why it is happening and give them hope and a plan to make it better.
Before we talk about that plan, is there hope? Have inventory teams successfully made the move from playing defense to playing offense?
Dan: Todd, there is most definitely hope. And many inventory teams have flipped the script and can share incredible stories of what a difference it makes in the confidence of the team.
There are inventory leaders out there who will tell the story of their team growing from the LEAST respected department in the company to the MOST respected department in the company. Henry Schein, Inc. is a great example; one of our most popular podcasts covered their story from SVP Supply Chain Paul Rose, including strategies for forward buying.
