Roadrunner Rx FAQ videos

Frequently asked questions:

• How do I decide if something should be kept in stock?
• How do I know which items to buy/make today?
• Which Work Orders / Purchase Orders should I push out or cancel?
• Which work orders/purchase orders should I expedite?
• Which items need target inventory level adjustment?
• How to identify slow and non-moving items?
• How do I identify fast moving items?
• How can I easily generate a material shortage and stockouts list?
• How can I easily evaluate my supplier’s performance?
• Is there a scorecard to easily evaluate my supply chain management process?

How do I decide if something should be kept in stock? # to top

This is the most fundamental question asked by many operations management professionals.

Some business people believe that make to order mode of operation is the most efficient way of doing business. In most cases however, there is nothing further from the truth. Small inventory levels provide stability for your manufacturing floor and your overall supply chain.

Roadrunner Rx provides visibility of any item transaction frequency, its related lead times, consumption level fluctuations and much more when deciding what to stock and what not to stock.

In addition, Roadrunner generates suggestions based on these factors. However, new product introductions and end of life items require additional attention from your team. Roadrunner Rx Inventory Management Service guarantees up to date decisions on which items should be stocked or handled to order.

How do I know which items to buy/make today? # to top

Roadrunner Rx generates What to Make and What to Buy requirements. We have the ability to look at all Purchase to Stock & Purchase To Order as well as Manufactured to Stock & Manufactured To Order items. Roadrunner’s suggestions are highly accurate, because unlike typical forecast driven MRP, they are mainly based on actual consumption and confirmed demand. In addition, Roadrunner Rx automatically identifies current stock shortages to ensure your product availability.

This quantity to be purchased or manufactured will be shown in the Buy This or Make this column on the What to Buy or What to Make Screen.

Once the suggested quantity is greater than the Minimum Order Quantity or an MOQ, the suggestion to make or buy gets created. The best news with our Roadrunner Rx Inventory Management Service is you don’t have to worry about the complexity of this screen and underlying supply and demand algorithm because the output of the make and buy requirements will be sent directly to your ERP system for you to act on.

Which Work Orders / Purchase Orders should I push out or cancel? # to top

Roadrunner Rx provides real time visibility of both Work order & Purchase order requirements. The column “Over Ordered Quantity” identifies the overages within a supply lead time on an item by item basis.

Roadrunner Rx Inventory Management Service provides a monetary value in which a given item is over ordered based on current supply vs. current demand. Our service will automatically generate a report that identifies value and duration of each item overage for your team to act on.

Which work orders/purchase orders should I expedite? # to top

We haven’t come across a business yet that didn’t need some level of expediting.

Our Roadrunner Rx Inventory Management Service will automatically generate an “Expedite PO List” report for your team to act on. We can do that because our Roadrunner Rx provides real time visibility of upcoming shortages. It also clearly shows where Work order & Purchase order expedite actions are required.

The column “Shortage Begins Date” provides an accurate date in which the shortage will occur based on current supply and demand. This information will also be included in the “Expedite PO List” report. You no longer have to waste time & check multiple sources to determine what to expedite.

Which items need target inventory level adjustment? # to top

Every business needs to adapt to seasonality, growth or other business cycle changes.

Roadrunner Rx provides real time visibility of inventory level requirements and the adjustments needed on an item by item basis, using an algorithm that draws on the well-established principles of Demand-Driven Replenishment (DDR). The DDR Buffer Sizing screen offers a simple way to see which inventory buffer targets should be adjusted on an ongoing basis.

A comparison of current buffer consumption to its recent history as well as the upcoming forecast, if available, provides a suggested resizing action which can be found in the “Resize Action column”. The best part of our Roadrunner Rx Inventory Management Service is that these changes are done behind the scenes with input from your team if needed.

How to identify slow and non-moving items? # to top

Roadrunner Rx provides a real time comparison of expected vs underperforming stock items based on inventory turns. By comparing the columns “Expected Vs Current Turns” we identify items that are falling below expectations.

Items with the lowest turns may have to be removed from stock and converted to Make or Purchase to Order. Our Roadrunner Rx Inventory Management Service allows for ease of visibility that will help in deciding next steps on dealing with excess inventory. Our service will deliver these reports to you on an ongoing basis.

How do I identify fast moving items? # to top

Roadrunner Rx uses real-time inventory turns measurement to identify expected vs overperforming stock items. By comparing the columns “Expected Vs Current Turns” we identify items that are performing better than expected.

Items with significantly higher turns may need buffer adjustments to ensure that stock doesn’t get too low or run out. Our Roadrunner Rx Inventory Management Service allows for ease of visibility to give you confidence that your fast moving items will continue to be available when needed. Our service will deliver these reports to you on an ongoing basis.

How can I easily generate a material shortage and stockouts list? # to top

Roadrunner Rx provides real time visibility of upcoming shortages and stockouts. Shortages can be created by two different types of issues: not having enough supply or long supply lead times.

Our Roadrunner Rx algorithm calculates upcoming shortages and stockouts, displays them in the “PO Expedite List” grouped into two unique lists – “Expedite for Shortages” & “Expedite for Lead Time”. Our Roadrunner Rx Inventory Management Service will deliver these reports to you on an ongoing basis.

How can I easily evaluate my supplier’s performance? # to top

Understanding supplier performance is essential to improving your supply chain.

Roadrunner Rx continuously monitors your supplier performance based on promised lead times & on time delivery. The Roadrunner Rx algorithm compares agreed upon lead time vs. demonstrated lead time & displays its results in the DDR Buffer Sizing screen.

The SLT vs Act SLT columns lets us see the difference between these characteristics.

Our Roadrunner Rx Inventory Management Service will deliver these reports to you on an ongoing basis to easily allow you to evaluate supplier performance.

Is there a scorecard to easily evaluate my supply chain management process? # to top

Having a real time scorecard is critical to understanding supply chain management process.

Our Roadrunner Bx dashboard was specifically created for that reason. Not only does Roadrunner Bx monitor your supply chain performance but also the effectiveness of Roadrunner Rx Inventory Management Service support.

Using Roadrunner Rx Inventory Management Service we offer many different reports. The first one being a managed inventory scorecard. With selected Key Performance Indicators (inventory levels, turnover, shortages, etc.) inventory scorecard provides real-time visibility of inventory performance.

We also offer Inventory Imbalance reporting. Evaluating inventory level in “days” or “months” of inventory is often insufficient. Understanding “Inventory Imbalance” (too much or not enough) against the target for each stocking item is necessary to appreciate Revenue Loss (stockouts) and Cash Flow (excess). We also offer visibility using the Stock Buffer Zone Profile. The Stock Buffer Zone Profile allows for an on-going trend evaluation of inventory position vs. buffer targets impacting Working Capital and Revenue. Our Roadrunner Rx Inventory Management Service will provide you with constant online access to your Managed Inventory Scorecard for all key members of your team.

Learn more about the inventory imbalance problem.