What is the Assessment?
The assessment is the activity of understanding each company's processes. Before starting any Supply Chain Planning project, it is essential to map how the operation works today, identify gaps, and uncover improvement opportunities.
This activity can be performed remotely and objectively — ideal for a quick initial diagnosis — or in a more in-depth on-site format, including factory visits and detailed analysis of systems and spreadsheets.
Remote vs On Site
Remote
Duration: 90 minutes
- •Interview
- •Virtual factory visit
- •Spreadsheet and systems analysis
On Site
Duration: 4 to 8 hours
- •Interview
- •Factory visit
- •Spreadsheet and systems analysis
The Canvas as an Assessment Tool
The Supply Chain Planning Canvas is a visual framework developed by nPLAN that serves as a structured checklist for conducting the assessment. It organizes the critical planning dimensions into visual blocks, ensuring all relevant aspects are covered during the understanding process.
The canvas is divided into two main areas: Business Rules — covering processes, data, systems, indicators, demand, inventory, planning, and capacity — and Information Technology — addressing volumetrics, security, architecture, operations, interfaces, and API integration.
Business Rules
The first area of the canvas maps the fundamental pillars of planning from a business perspective. Click each block to explore the key questions:
- •S&OP: business area, systems, cycle/horizon, maturity, S&OE?
- •Purchasing: supplier follow-up?
- •Maintenance: preventive, predictive, systems?
- •Production: order posting balance and completion? Controls OEE?
- •Financial: inventory policy, price table?
- •Commercial: unconstrained forecast?
- •PLM: phase in/out?
- •Engineering: routing and structure with version?
- •Delivery Date Promise?
Information Technology
The second area covers the technological infrastructure needed to support supply chain planning: