Optimize your critical operations and implement the best possible operating model and supply chain strategy,

including network and inventory optimization.

Overview
Business leaders understand the importance of high performing, highly efficient and responsive supply chains in meeting market demands, creating efficiency and profit margins, and driving sustainable competitive advantage. From managing suppliers and procurement processes through the planning, manufacturing and inventory functions, business leaders are acutely focused on making their operations more responsive and efficient. This includes improving responsiveness to customers, reducing energy and other resource use, optimizing core processes, applying technology to automate processes, reducing cycle time/complexity, increasing return on capital employed and integrating functional business processes. In addition, new imperatives, including emerging markets, sustainability, and heightened risks, require that leaders and companies are prepared to drive change smartly, act decisively and remain flexible enough to adjust course as necessary. Operations and Supply Chain services focus on identifying and quantifying supply chain improvements and assisting clients in transforming their operations, from suppliers to the customer, to drive competitive advantage. IBM has one of the broadest portfolios of alliances with leading and emerging supply chain vendors, making our practice the single source for leading and comprehensive operations and supply chain management solutions. IBM offers distinctive advisory and process design services for critical supply chain operations, including both supply and demand side processes. Our services include: Target operating model: Provides current operational maturity assessment and roadmap to defining and/or improving a client's Operations Strategy. Key deliverables include business review, current operating model assessment, desired future state and change management plan roadmap.

Supply chain strategy: Develops and implements supply chain strategy and implementation roadmap based on capability gap assessment and visioning to achieve supply chain objectives including network and inventory optimization, integrated business planning, sales & operations planning, and supply chain visibility. Gap assessment component examples include inventory positioning and deployment, inventory policy development, safety stock and inventory levels, and network strategy (design, facility type and location), make versus buy decisions, all leveraging internal and third party analytical tools. Process excellence (Lean, Lean Sigma): Drives process transformation, utilizing combinations of Lean, Lean Sigma, rapid process change (RPC), business process management (BPM), and IBM's operational transformation method Logistics strategy & operations (WMS, TMS): Improves logistics functions through enhanced business processes, organization structure and capabilities to optimize warehouse and transportation management. Procurement transformation: Develops and improves procurement strategy and capabilities using the procurement maturity assessment to identify gaps and implement transformational changes. Transforms procurement capabilities to drive competitive advantage through improvements in procurement policies, processes (i.e. strategic sourcing, supplier relationship management, contract management), metrics and technology enablers. Strategic Profit Improvement: Improves profit by focusing on cost reduction, asset optimization and revenue growth. Identify non-value added costs and establish a long-term framework for cost reduction including information and process standardization, application rationalization, organization structure and working capital improvements. Also measures for revenue enhancement. Global location strategies: Helps clients locate, relocate assets (plants, warehouses, x-docks, contract manufacturers, co-packers) to optimize manufacturing and ops strategy. Related to our target operating model and network strategy offerings. Supply Chain sustainability management: Enables simultaneously optimizing environmental and operational performance goals, including improving inventory levels, inventory policies, pricing, distribution network structuring, transportation planning and supply planning.

Sustainability strategy: Helps clients better understand sustainability opportunities and challenges in order to optimize costs, enhance revenues, and manage risk in a fast changing global environment. Defines an overarching sustainability strategy, aligned with corporate strategy, to capture value from sustainability initiatives and enable change required to implement specific sustainability actions. Provides the high level business case for potential initiatives (e.g., procurement, green sigma, green IT, etc) to help clients prioritize sustainability investments. Product development and PLM strategy: Transforms innovation processes and build new PLM/innovation capabilities to save cost, accelerate product introduction, and design and build better products. Service lifecycle management: Manages a service offering from ideation though creation through delivery and end-of-life, and enable new capabilities, such as methodology enablement, learning systems, knowledge management, career stage management and other activities. Includes optimizing business operations via asset lifecycle management.

Business challenges
Business leaders today are addressing many challenges and opportunities in today's growingly complex supply chain environments, including: Developing operations and supply chain strategies that improve effectiveness and efficiency of processes, and support innovation across the value chain Leveraging process diagnostics and benchmarking, scenario-based strategies and lean principles to improve operational efficiency Generating savings and improving operational productivity through new strategies and technologies Optimizing all aspects of planning, sourcing, fulfillment and logistics to drive out cost and improve performance Creating an operational foundation for future growth, capacity and flexibility Building a sustainable supply chain while improving efficiency and profitability Optimizing manufacturing performance and improving asset management Deploying and optimizing globally integrated capabilities and operations

Driving highly flexible and responsive operational environments

Why IBM
Our operations and supply chain management consultants help clients achieve new and sustainable business value by formulating supply chain strategies, managing change and setting direction for new transformations and operational models. Working collaboratively with clients, we provide solutions to many of the most difficult operation and supply chain challenges. We provide expert analysis, business planning, vision development, project planning, business case creation, and ultimately link strategy to execution in ways that build continuous improvement and success. The IBM operations and supply chain consulting practice is part of IBM Global Business Services, one of the world's leading management consulting practices. With experienced operations and supply chain professionals deployed worldwide and working across all major sectors, IBM has business expertise across more than a dozen industries. Our consultants have built a long track record of client engagement success. Together with our proven assets, methodology, partnerships and research capabilities, we act as trusted business and strategy advisors to our clients worldwide.