ORDER PROMISING & BROKERING

Synchronizing demand and supply in real time.

Only Nextjet synchronizes the front-office with the back-office by integrating the order management system with a powerful sourcing execution engine. This optimization engine models the supply chain network to provide a real-time view of inventory along multiple tiers with the corresponding consumption rules. The result is a proactive approach to order management which aligns and synchronizes a company’s CRM and SCM strategies.

Gaining visibility to profitable decisions

There is a world of difference between the phrase "May I take your order?" vs. "Should I take your order?" Today, few companies really know whether an order will be profitable at the time they accept it. Most often, this is only known well after the order has been fulfilled and settled as shown in the following graphic. This is largely due to the fact that (a) a great deal of variability (from unplanned events) can occur during the fulfillment phase that can make or break profitability, and (b) until now, tools to provide a real-time view of supply chain capabilities were not available.

Setting realistic expectations and meeting customer commitments

The value proposition for Nextjet Sourcing Execution is to help companies make promises they can keep by respecting predefined rules and constraints AND keep the promises they make by enforcing those rules and constraints during fulfillment. Key sourcing rules supported by the optimization engine include:

• Promising rules - Depending upon the required sophistication of the order promising capability, a number of computations ranging from simple ATP to Capable-To-Promise (CTP) that considers current inventory levels, production plans, and transportation constraints are supported.
• Profitability rules - Multiple pricing policies (margins, discounts) based on customer segments can be implemented to support yield management strategies.
• Substitution rules - Cross-selling and upselling opportunities can be leveraged to meet customer service/profitability constraints.
• Allocation rules - Companies can enforce inventory allocation rules to ensure inventory availability for high-priority customers.
• Replenishment rules - Lot sizing and VMI policies are supported.
• Transportation rules - Compliance to 3PL contracts and rates can be enforced through mode and carrier selection rules.
• Location rules - Both multiple ship-from & ship-to locations are supported.

Brokering and tracking the order across the distributed supply chain

Once the sourcing decision is made, the fulfillment phase begins. Typical challenges that are addressed by Nextjet’s Order Management system include:

• When dealing with multiple order management systems, manual efforts to coordinate orders often cause communication and order routing delays to fulfillment functions. The result is inventory consumed by another order and/or expediting to make up for lost time. Nextjet ensures that the inventory picture remains synchronized to eliminate such scenarios.
• A typical multi-line-item order may be parsed out to multiple warehouse locations to be picked & packed. Inventory could be short, damaged, delayed, etc., which requires the Warehouse Management System to come up with feasible alternatives that meet the due date, and these must be communicated back to the Order Management system to update the order status.
• Once the order is ready to ship, the appropriate mode/carrier decision must be made. Whether this activity is managed in-house or via a 3PL partner, poor routing/carrier decisions can disrupt order execution. Throughout the delivery phase, all in-transit activities must be continuously monitored to ensure the customer receives their order on-time while still keeping transportation costs down.