Logistics planning for the synchronization of key functional areas of a latin american bottling company

Abstract

Currently, organizations of all kinds are forced to compete providing value to their customers effectively. Within any organization, the supply chain plays a strategic role that determines the efficiency and competitiveness of the same through the optimization of its processes in order to maximize the profitability of the organization and meet the requirements of its customers. Generally, companies base their operations on a sales forecast whose level of variation directly impacts the performance of production planning, material planning, and the management of their inventories. Faced with a state of uncertainty in demand, the control of inventory of their products becomes complex when it comes to materials with a limited lifetime for the food industry. Therefore, the objective of this case study focuses on defining the most appropriate forecasting method for a finished product from a beverage bottling company settled in Mexico that smooths the variability of the demand. The company experiences a forecast variability of minimum 135% with respect to its actual sales based on naive systems. In addition, it is also considered convenient to synchronize the demand of the finished product with the optimal inventory level of its raw materials through the analysis of different stochastic inventory models like a periodic and continuous review in order to avoid MXN 14'805,188.00 in spills due to the expiration date. As a result of this proposal, we obtained better forecasting reducing the variability up to 95%, and the developer of new inventory policies can ensure the availability of materials for production lines at 98%.