Tactical Supply Chain Management

Tactical supply chain management decisions are made at a national or regional level to produce efficiencies and cost reductions. These articles examine the variety tactical decisions companies make and the effects of those decisions on the supply chain.
Operating A Procurement Card Program
The procurement card, or P-card, is a form of company credit card that is issued to employees who can then purchase goods and services without having to process the purchase through a traditional purchasing procedure, such as using purchasing requisitions and purchase orders.

This article looks at benefits and risks of the procurement card program.There are a number of different procurement card programs, some involve only the use of company approved vendors, while others allow any vendor to be used. The purchases made by an employee using a procurement cards are generally small and low value. A lot of negative reactions about procurement card programs are specifically targeted towards the abuse of the card by employees. However, the benefits of procurement programs are far greater than the risks and costs involved in operating the program.
Sales and Operations Planning
Sales and operations planning (S&OP), sometimes known as aggregate planning, is a process where executive level management regularly meets and reviews projections for demand, supply and the resulting financial impact. S&OP is a decision making process that makes certain that tactical plans in every business area are in line with the overall view of the company’s business plan.

The overall result of the S&OP process is that a single operating plan is created that identifies the allocation of company resources, including time, money and employees. Whereas strategic planning looks at the company’s plan years into the future, tactical plans look at the company’s business plan over the coming year. Tactical plans take into account overall strategies of the company, which are found in the strategic plan. Sales and operations planning are aimed to helping to provide companies develop and align the tactical plans developed by the various business areas. There are two approaches that are used in sales and operations planning; top-down planning and bottom-up planning.

Source: About.com Guide

URL: http://logistics.about.com/od/tacticalsupplychain/Tactical_Supply_Chain_Management.htm