How can you avoid stockouts in your food distribution plan?

trabalhando na indústria e nos estudos aprendemos sobre os Estoques de Segurança, toda empresa deve ter um programa ou planilha, onde alguém faça essa Gestão. Seja no Financeiro ou no Compras. Importante saber seu histórico de vendas, sazonalidade, consumo médio, dentre outros. Assim a empresa saberá quanto comprar, o momento certo de comprar e até onde o seu pode suportar até a próxima remessa de compras.

One of the most important thing that I have wittnessed in my career is inventory tracking which play a crucial role in the success of any business, regardless of it's size or industry, its involve in the efficiently controlling and tracking company's stock, ensuring that the right products are available in the right quantities at the write time. Inventory tracking helps bussinesses streamline operations, minimize costs, maximizes customer satisfaction, and Improve cash Flow. For example, monitoring stories of retails stock levels, analyzing sales data, forecasting demands, and implementing efficient re- ordering processes.

To accurately forecast the demand for your products, you will need to consider seasonal patterns, market trends and historical sales data. This can be done manually by members of your team, but more often than not, businesses utilize forecasting software to make the most accurate predictions.

To avoid stockouts in your food distribution plan, consider these strategies: Demand Forecasting: Utilize historical data, market trends, and seasonality patterns to forecast demand accurately. This helps in maintaining optimal inventory levels. Inventory Management: Implement an efficient inventory management system to track stock levels, monitor expiration dates, and reorder items when inventory reaches predetermined thresholds. Supplier Relationships: Build strong relationships with suppliers to ensure timely deliveries and access to emergency supplies if needed. Negotiate favorable terms such as flexible ordering and delivery schedules. Safety Stock: Maintain a safety stock buffer to account for unexpected spikes in demand

Desde mi punto de vista, coordinar efectivamente la cadena de suministros, es fundamental para evitar el desabastecimiento. Engranar a cada stakeholders en la cadena es la clave, el flujo de información debe ser claro y preciso, por ejemplo los tiempos de vencimientos de los productos deben ser un dato fundamental dentro del corrido de la cadena, esto ayudará que la gestion interna de cada uno contribuya de manera positiva en el resultado de la operación. Claro está hay herramientas que facilitan esta gestion como lo son el MRP, ERP o CRM.

Supplier Management: Establish relationships with reliable suppliers. Negotiate contracts and ensure timely delivery of quality materials. Inventory Management: Optimize inventory levels to meet demand without overstocking. Utilize tools like EOQ (Economic Order Quantity) and JIT (Just-In-Time) to minimize storage costs and maximize efficiency. Logistics and Transportation: Arrange transportation methods (road, rail, sea, air) to move goods from suppliers to manufacturing facilities and then to distribution centers or directly to customers. Warehousing: Efficiently manage storage facilities to ensure smooth flow of goods. Implement technologies like RFID or WMS (Warehouse Management Systems) for better tracking and organization.

One of the things that helped me during my work is the practises of tracking the work of employees including the quality, quantity, and efficiency of work, when you do that you can paint picture of how the business is going, and highlights the area need to be improved, focusing in employee performance helps business and helps employee to unleach thier full potential, KPIs has positive impact on morale and quality of work ptoduced, tracking performance is a win-win for both employee and the organization. And be measured by: quality of work, speed and efficiency, trust and Consistency.

The thing is that you need to plan well in advance. I have worked in business's that we developed a 24 month forecast based on historical sales + a percentage increase and forecasted raw materials based upon this forecast then contracted suppliers on a yearly basis to ensure we could meet forecast demand but revised this on a month by month basis. Prepare as much as possible for the unexpected.