Subject Area: Software demos Traps to Avoid: Lesson 6 Some companies make it very hard for you to get a software demo because they are afraid of wasting time with “tire kickers”. They want you to demonstrate to them that you are worth their time! However, if a company is
Developing Your Own Optimization Software
Subject Area: Developing Your Own Optimization Software Traps to Avoid: Lesson 5 Avoid the temptation of developing your own optimization software. Sometimes when companies can’t find the ‘perfect fit’ from a vendor they think that they should spend their time developing your own optimization software using MS Excel or something
Appropriate Inventory Settings
Subject Area: Appropriate inventory settings Traps to Avoid: Lesson 4 Be wary of using any form of weighted sorting. This is where each feature is given a weighting in terms of the contribution to the overall performance and each solution is scored. An overall score is then determined by multiplying
Spare Parts Inventory Optimization Trap 3
Subject Area: Spare parts inventory optimization trap 3 Traps to Avoid: Lesson 3 Don’t judge a solution by its position on Google! At the top of search engine results there are ads – top placement for companies that have paid for that position. Then there is a list of companies
Spare Parts Inventory Optimization Trap 2
Subject Area: Spare parts inventory optimization trap Traps to Avoid: Lesson 2 Spare parts inventories are typically made up of tens of thousands of items, but do they all need to be optimized? It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that because the ‘software does the work’
Optimization Problems – Not All Solutions are the Same
Subject Area: Optimization Problems Don’t believe the hype that all optimization software will solve all optimization problems. It is easy to think that all optimization software solutions are the same – they are not. Techniques vary. Some companies keep their techniques secret. They don’t want to share the specifics of
Optimization Software Problem Definition Template
Subject Area: Optimization Software Problem Definition Template This is our optimization software problem definition template. A problem definition should look something like this four point template: Our spare parts inventory routinely fails to deliver on our goals of minimal stock with target availability because… (insert issues of concern) This is
Step 3: Be Clear About Your Optimization Software Selection Goal
Subject Area: Optimization Software Selection Goals Before taking your software selection process any further you must be clear about your optimization software selection goals. Failure to frame the goals and issues from the stakeholder perspective and from that develop the problem definition will derail any attempt to gain support for
Step 2: Engage with End Users
Subject Area: Optimization Software Selection Team The best software in the world is of no use, if the results are over-ridden. Therefore, before getting too far into a selection process you need to identify an optimization software selection team that includes a representative of each of the stakeholder groups: maintenance,
Step 1: Understand the Underlying Software Technology
Subject Area: Understand the Underlying Software Technology What do we mean by underlying software technology? This term refers to understanding the software system’s process and its applicability to spare parts inventory. The key question is: Is the software suitable for this type of inventory? This is different understanding the theoretical