During the past few years many companies have focused on using tools for modelling their network issues. What all projects have in common is the object of determining the optimal location and number of sites as well as the distribution of inventory within the network in order to meet market service expectations at minimum costs.

In how far can software tools support the selection of the ideal location? What are tools capable of? These questions will be answered in the Miebach whitepaper "Selecting the ideal location for a logistics center - much more than simply using tools!" written by Dr. Klaus-Peter Jung.

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The term 4th Party Logistics Service Providers - or 4PL for short - repeatedly comes up in public discussion. Already during the 90's many postulated the success of the concept but this was far away from reality. Comparing the publications, talks and other PR related activities at that time to the number of projects actually implemented it seems that the 4PL euphoria has been more marketing hype than an actual trend.

Long forgotten, the concept is now being revived - 4PL is back in the public debate. But what is this all about, why is this issue being taken up, which players are important and for which kind of industrial and retail customers could this approach be interesting? The following pages give answers to these questions.

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The strength of a businesses internal Supply Chain capability is a result of the need to adapt to ever changing market expectations. To cope with today’s exponential rate of change an increasing number of businesses are relying on external expertise to innovate and exploit supply chain opportunities. Miebach Consulting believes that collaboration is becoming an indispensable component of leading edge supply chains and the factors that need to be addressed to ensure success.

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The strategic development of a company is a challenge for many logistics services providers, and previous methods only lead to insufficient solutions. While during the 90s and 2000s the focus was to successfully establish new businesses, it has now changed to attracting new business opportunities. This change is challenging the whole industry.

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Miebach’s participation at the 2016 LLamasoft Summercon Conference included a session on Ideal Supply Chain Design presented by Nick Banich.  The response from the presentation was very positive, and in consequence we have collaborated with LLamasoft to create an E-Book on the topic to be made available to those who were not in attendance.

“The idea of the ’10 Pillars of Supply Chain Design’ was to share the very high-level strategy that we ourselves employ when beginning a project of this nature for a client,” explained Nick, Miebach partner in the US. “By sharing this information with other supply chain professionals, Miebach and LLamasoft can show the value of our respective roles within a design project for our clients.  Between our expertise and the comprehensive Supply Chain Guru software, network designs are able to achieve a greater positive impact for the client’s overall business plan.”

Miebach’s LLamasoft Center of Excellence supports both owners and non-owners of the software across the full spectrum of supply chain design and transformation. 

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The study brochure about the new Miebach pharma survey 2016 with 256 participants is now available. The results show: The pharmaceutical industry is giving its supply chain and logistics a much greater importance than in the past. The top subjects in the pharmaceutical logistics are end-to-end supply chain visibility and optimizing the distribution networks. The increasing volume of refrigerated and frozen products and serialization of product codes are further challenges supply chain managers are facing.

"Our European study clearly shows that most pharmaceutical companies see the European market as a whole region, while national borders are becoming less important, except for specific legislation or distribution channels" - says Martin Eckert, Global Pharma Expert & Director, Miebach Consulting. Optimization of the distribution network has grown very much in importance (from 76 % to 86 %). The initiatives are aiming to transform many national networks into one more efficient and transparent European network, alongside with other many issues.

Topics like improving supplier management (86 %), end-to-end supply chain visibility (93 %), improving forecasting accuracy (84 %) and track & trace (82 %) are some of the most significant issues for the management, very much in line with the previous Miebach pharma study from 2012. Optimization through automation (64 %), outsourcing (62 %) and constructing new warehouses compliant with GxP guidelines (54 %) are also important topics.

The full study report including derived recommendations for action (available in English, German and Spanish language) can be obtained by Ralf Hoffmann (please fill out the inquiry form next to this text).

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Published in the Logistics Magazine f+h 01/2016

Case Study about Supply Chain Transformation (pdf see download area).

Link to the English version: https://keosk.3dz.com/apps/#/html5/mag/Hlo1K5ArYgLkC/page/18

Link to the Turkish version: https://keosk.3dz.com/apps/#/html5/mag/2OXmhhGD3rREt/page/22

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The heterogeneous Asian-Pacific area increasingly gains importance as a market, with China being the top-performer. The results of the current Miebach Study - Distribution to Asia-Pacific, with more than 126 participants, indicates that 20 % of the surveyed companies already earn more than 15 % of their total turnover in this area.

“All signs point to expansion in Asia-Pacific, although companies will have to adjust their delivery time and service level to European standards”, said Bernd Müller-Dauppert, member of the executive board of Miebach Consulting GmbH.

More than 75 % of participants expect an increase in delivery time requirements. As of right now, more than half of the exporting companies have to supply customers within 14 days; almost a quarter within three days. Two thirds of the participants additionally expect an increase in competition, which will result in an even higher service demand. To fulfill delivery time requirements, three quarters of companies pursue a supply chain strategy precisely for Asia-Pacific. Especially the strategic importance of agility and flexibility in the region is assessed highly, followed by the CPFR-concept (Continuous Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment) as well as supply chain transparency. Further important topics for Asian-pacific companies are supply chain differentiation by customer demands as well as the use of current IT-systems.

A majority of companies (41 %) distribute their products in all five Asia- Pacific regions and almost a quarter within four regions. Exporting companies with local production have on average eleven  mainly self-owned warehouses in Asia-Pacific. Only a small number of companies consider developed countries like Australia/ New Zealand and Japan/ South-Korea as attractive production locations. That indicates that companies are following consumer markets: Higher saturated markets have higher customer demands – therefore, a customer proximity is required.

Background of the Study: 

Miebach Consulting conducted a survey in June and July 2015 about distribution to Asia-Pacific. An online survey was used as research method, which was sent to companies from different industries. The survey was analyzed completely anonymously.

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The article summarizes the key aspects of the Miebach Consulting study about integrated production  and logistics. The potentials of a closer connection between production and logistics considering the conflicting objectives between production, logistics and distribution are discussed in the article. 

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