Del Monte was able to pull off a collaborative feat that is rarely seen in the consumer goods industry. Source: Consumer Goods Technology

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The Value of Execution

However, even the best S&OP process suffers from blind spots. Often times, marketplace dynamics change too rapidly for a monthly process to keep pace. According to Allen, 90 percent of your supply chain value comes from efficient execution.

"The plan is always going to change," he says. "We needed capabilities that would enable us to respond to any deviation from our demand plans at the point of sale."

Del Monte wanted to use point-of-sale (POS) data as a demand signal that directly drives execution. Del Monte calls this its Demand-Driven Operating Model, which is enabled by software as a service (SaaS) from One Network Enterprises.

One Network generates demand signals from daily POS data and combines them with the EVF forecast from JDA to drive inventory replenishment transactions. Del Monte uses One Network to plan transportation orders and schedule carrier appointments. Plus, customer teams use the tool to monitor and anticipate out of stock events and collaborate with customer replenishment teams.

Allen notes that flexibility was critical when selecting a solution as each retailer varies when it comes to sharing POS data.

"The retailers who have the best performance are ready to collaborate and provide POS data," adds Brown. "Others may not be able to provide the same level of visibility or may not be culturally ready to collaborate, so we do what we can with each retailer and try to find the benefits on a case by case basis."

"One Network understands the various challenges that retailers face and part of their business strategy is to solve those challenges along with us," says Lim. 

Worth Every Penny

The supply chain improvements enabled by JDA and One Network combined have sped up the heartbeat of Del Monte’s supply chain.

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Read more at Del Monte Puts the Customer First (Consumer Goods Technology)