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Logistics - Material Management

The MM module supports the procurement and inventory functions occurring in day-to-day business operations.
Procurement:

NSD's Procurement system refers to the process of requisitioning, vendor sourcing, purchasing, receiving, and paying for materials and services to be used throughout the organization.



Inventory Management:

NSD's Inventory Management system allows you to manage your stocks on a quantity and value basis, plan, enter, and check any goods movements carry out physical inventory.

The Material Management application is completely integrated with the other applications, Financial, Logistics, Purchasing...

The Supply Chain & Materials Management

1.The Supply chain
The planning, organizing and controlling of materials from demand through acquisition to utilization is fundamental to the success of any operational unit. The strategy that has evolved across the spectrum of business is the concept of Supply Chain Management (SCM). This approaches the supply chain process using a demand, supply, storage and distribution model and covers each stage in the process, from determining the need for materials and services to their eventual consumption. SCM is not just the responsibility of the procurement or stores departments, as it requires an effective working relationship between those who require the materials, those who obtain and administer the procurement, those who manage stock facilities and those who supply the goods and services.

SCM impacts the profitability of any materials dependent company. The metrics and numbers should be readily available as timely decisions are highly dependent on the quality of information and ready access to knowledge. This is as important to the supply chain process as to other corporate processes.An efficient organisation needs to be outward looking in terms of what others are doing, best practice, commercial awareness and sector knowledge. This is important in supply chain management where suppliers operate in a competitive marketplace and where the business needs are common across a wide range of the business spectrum.

2.Materials management
An underlying principle is that those who need the materials should concentrate on specification, standards, quality, fitness for purpose, dates for consumption, funding and approvals. Those who supply and store them should concentrate on the rest. This requires different skills from a different profession. In this way value can be added on all fronts.
The planning of materials requirements, the agreement of specifications, the sourcing of the materials, the procurement, warehousing and movement of materials are all interrelated and the organisational structure must reflect this. This does not necessarily imply a move towards centralization but does mean a much greater integration of process and responsibility.

Materials Management is the key set of processes and accountabilities that link the demand side with the supply side of the materials supply chain. If all demand is known and predictable and all supply is 100% reliable and as specified, materials management processes can be streamlined and automated within control mechanisms. This is the direction in which manufacturing and retail businesses have been able to take their supply chain management with approaches that challenge traditional materials management practices.
The nature of Utilities business means that there is variability in the demand for materials and supply cannot always be within known and agreed parameters. This in turn means that materials management is key in managing this variability within the economic drivers and constraints of a modern Utility. It is an important consideration in the management of risk for the business. Processes can be efficient and automated but there is still the need for informed decision making and ancillary processes to ensure that the supply chain works and delivers in an efficient and optimum way.

Material Management & Warehouse Management:

NSD MM allows you to perform business related warehouse management processes. These processes include stores, materials issue, Materials transfers, inventory, procurement...

The NSD Material Management (MM) system provides the flexible, efficient, automated support that allows you to do:

  • Manage highly complex warehouse structures and several different types of warehousing facilities including automatic warehouses, custom-designed storage areas, high rack storage, block storage, fixed bin storage and all other commonly used storage areas.
  • Define and adapt a variety of storage bins for use in your specific warehousing complex.
  • Process all relevant warehousing activities and movement tasks, such as good receipts, goods issues, internal and external stock transfers, automatic replenishment of fixed bins, material staging to production areas and stock difference handling.
  • Utilize random slotting for multiple owners of goods display summary evaluations of all goods movements in the warehouse implement a variety of readily available put-away and picking strategies including self-designed strategies.
  • Support the storage and retrieval of hazardous materials and all other goods that require special handling maintain up-to-the-minute inventory records at the storage bin level using real-time continuous inventory techniques.
  • Support the use of automated barcode scanners for all stock Movements interface to external non-NSD warehousing systems.
  • In addition to supporting the design of all typical storage areas, the MM system provides an automated support for several advanced warehousing techniques, such as the analysis of requirements and automatic assignment of goods to optimum locations in the warehouse using put away strategies that can be easily defined to match the characteristics of each storage area the configuration of areas for backorder staging and cross-docking of received goods.
  • The MM system supports the processing of all relevant movements, including goods receipts and goods issues initiated by the Inventory Management (IM) system, deliveries.

Key Benefits of the Logistics module include:

  • Define vendors and agreements, then automate your entire purchasing cycle from purchase order to settlement.
  • Take central control of all vendors and item master information with an application that tightly integrates vendors into your organization.
  • Real-time access to inventory levels, expected deliveries, and projected demand, all of which significantly impact your buying decisions.
  • Develop purchasing specifications, prepare lists of bidders, issue inquiries, tabulate and evaluate bids, and track orders to vendors and sub-vendors - keeping projects on schedule and within budget.
  • Manage orders, review and approve requisitions, manage inbound inventory, and track supplier performance.