In this article, we describe how to use the Look Forward Days parameter to help you with ordering enough stock during those periods where a supplier is shut down. This could be useful for supplier annual shutdown or Chinese New Year, where you need to make sure you have a sufficient amount of stock ordered so that you do not stock out while your supplier is away and unable to deliver more stock during this time. The steps below will guide you through this process.
Step 1
Set the applicable Lead Time for the order. This will be the total calendar days between the order date and the expected delivery date.
Step 2
Reduce the Replenishment Cycle to a maximum of 30 days and cap the Maximum Safety Stock to an acceptable level.
Step 1 and 2 can be done via temporary Policy Overrides in the App. You can set start and end dates for the rule which will allow it to be turned off automatically after the supplier has reopened. Or you can also simply disable the rule when it is no longer needed.
Step 3
On the System menu on the left pane of the screen, select “Data refresh” and reprocess the data in the App to recalculate your order recommendations, if this is possible, or wait for the overnight batch reprocess.
Step 4
On the Orders screen, navigate to the applicable supplier row. Here, increase the look forward days equal to the number of days until you can next place an order. For example, if you are only able to place the next order with your supplier in 30 days, change your look forward days to 30.
Step 5
Create your order schedule, review and convert to a Purchase Order in your ERP.
Step 6
Leave the Lead Time and Replenishment Cycle settings in place until just prior to the next time you can place an order with this supplier.
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