Consumer Goods & Retail Consulting

Individual customers pivot much faster than corporations in response to political, economic, trend-setting, and technology changes. That customer volatility, however warranted by events, turns demand forecasting and last mile delivery into major challenges.

On the demand end, conventional wisdom dictates just enough inventory to meet demand. But in the last few years, CPG and retail companies have dealt first with scarcity and then, when supply chains re-opened all at once, overabundance. On the delivery end, Amazon is one of many companies rethinking last mile delivery by robots which turned out to be slow and were unable to navigate past unexpected obstacles without help. Most of those obstacles, such as litter or abandoned toys, were generated by the very humans the robots were meant to service.

Yet, the frustration with both of these situations can be mitigated with the right technology. Supply chain simulation and digital twinning provide accurate predictive insights that speed up the ability of a CPG or retail company to anticipate and react to change.

A supply chain simulation differs from digital twinning primarily in scale and whether it links to real-time data. Both are models of the supply chain but a digital twin is more comprehensive and inputs data directly from sensors, such as those on warehouse robots, or from POS and similar systems. Both technologies depend on initiatives that are firmly in control of CPG and retail companies.

SGS Maine Pointe works with your team to achieve greater visibility into the end-to-end supply chain by:

Determining how every link in the plan-buy-make-move supply chain affects every other link.
Clarifying the company’s goals and priorities.
Establishing standard metrics and SIOP processes to gather reliable, timely data in line with those goals and priorities.
Breaking down silos.
Deepening supplier relationships.
Ensuring the right people are asking the right questions and delivering clear and complete answers.
Creating an accurate simulation and real-time digital twin.

What struck me on Maine Pointe's Total Value Optimization was the high degree of interconnectivity that it created.

-Harry Overly, CEO of Sun-Maid

There's a never-ending stream of opportunities. You just need to look at it differently.

-Richard McEvoy, CEO of Voyant Beauty

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“Data is only as good as the strategic thinking of the people behind it, their commitment to collaboration, and the metrics used to gather and measure it…. The combination of reliable data, process optimization, and visibility of the supply chain across planning, buying, making, and moving functions ensures that automation delivers the best possible return on investment.”
HEAD OF CGR, SGS MAINE POINTE

Institute for Supply Management

"The volatility in the market, rapid change in customer buying habits, and uncertainty of supply are making traditional supply chains obsolete…. By combining data from both humans and machines with advanced analytics and predictive insights, we can optimize decision-making in a near real-time manner.”
MANAGING DIRECTOR, DATA ANALYTICS, SGS MAINE POINTE