Christophe Vidonne and Dr. Ralph Billo about Novartis' Buffer Management Concept

"From an end-to-end perspective, what really counts is what remains visible and measurable for our customers. It is not only about key performance indicators and delivery service but also the ability to properly communicate accurate and meaningful supply chain information in a multi-cultural and cross-functional environment across geographies."

Christophe Vidonne, Head Supply Chain Management and Dr. Ralph Billo, Head Global Supply Chain Management, Novartis

Novartis Animal Health (NAH) is a leading global provider of solutions for the prevention and treatment of various widespread animal diseases and parasite infestations. To maintain and even strengthen their market position, NAH are eager to continuously improve their supply chain performance as one of the key drivers of the company's success. Therefore, a few years ago NAH triggered a state-of-the-art supply chain planning initiative with a special focus on redesigning their replenishment framework. The main change concerned a transformation from push to pull replenishment for selected products within their portfolio. The successful realization of the benefits of pull replenishment was enabled by the implementation of buffer management as a Lean replenishment mode. This enabled NAH not only to reduce supply chain inventories but also to increase planning accuracy while reducing required planning efforts. These positive impacts underline the benefits of the supply chain initiative and prove that NAH has come a long way towards a truly integrated supply chain.

Learn more about Lean Supply Chain Planning, just visit www.leansupplychainplanning.com.