Average vs Anticipated Lead Times

Maintaining a high level of customer service is primarily dependent on when you reorder a product.  For example, let’s say you sell two pieces of a product per day, and the item has a seven-day lead time.  That is, it takes seven days to receive a product once it has...

What Your Buyers Should be Doing – Part V

Determine the Best Forecast Formula Last month, we discussed the fact that a single forecast formula will not accurately predict future usage for all your stocked products.  But how do you determine the best forecast formula to use for each item? We have found that...

What Your Buyers Should be Doing – Part IV

Understanding the Elements of a Forecast A demand forecast is a prediction of the quantity of a specific product that will be sold or used in an upcoming time period (usually a month).  The accuracy of your forecast is a determining factor in whether or not you will...