All planning really is based on assumptions, like safety stock levels. In organizations you typically have someone who decides "hey, this is the right level of inventory to keep, based on our demand right now." That's not a bad approach, but the problem is a lot of supply chain planning is top-down and dictates "we only want to keep $x tied up in inventory" and as you can imagine that number is driven by management as low as possible. When COVID happened last year, levels were slashed so low and now the supply chains can't recover.
Basically my view is that it's this over reactiveness and obsession with free cash flow has swung so far so as to create a too-painful jam.
I would agree that over consumption is a problem, albeit a separate one to the conversation at hand.
LurkingPenguin|4 years ago
The amount of crap that we consume is astounding. And in many cases, each specific type of crap requires a bunch of smaller crap (components).
There is literally no way for a consumption-driven society as broad and deep as ours to stockpile years' worth of everything.
archildress|4 years ago
Basically my view is that it's this over reactiveness and obsession with free cash flow has swung so far so as to create a too-painful jam.
I would agree that over consumption is a problem, albeit a separate one to the conversation at hand.
Cheers.