No Chain Technologies

Questions about the solution or No Chain Planning® concepts?

Check out our FAQ or contact us!

Concept

What does No Chain Planning® offer in concrete terms, compared with what the MRP already does?

MRP and the signal it propagates have 5 main limitations that No Chain Planning® addresses in their entirety:

MRP is on/off
MRP has only one signal (and therefore does not always transmit the true customer demand to the lower level)
MRP is sequential
MRP couples the signal from upstream to downstream
MRP logic is imperfectly applied to all functions in the flow

Click here to find out more about the limits of MRP

Since No Chain Planning® is based on the MRP, the demand signal must still generate a lot of variation??

Eliminating variation is not a goal in itself: No Chain Planning® helps you to adapt with agility to changing customer demand. Nevertheless, several levers can be used to bring the root causes of residual variation under control:

Good use of SAP planning strategies (consumption of forecasts) for finished product demand
An appropriate batch size policy for semi-finished demand
Appropriate scrap rate settings to absorb the impact of non-quality

How does the customer's demand translate at all levels of the bill of materials?

The “Must Do” signal is calculated on all BOM levels without any planning constraints. Technically, it's the result of an MRP with all fixed orders unfixed and allowing orders to be scheduled out in the past. With the help of this signal, all departments know what actions to take to satisfy customer demand.

Does the use of No Chain Planning® require a demand that is assumed to be feasible in relation to the capacity constraints of the global chain?

No. The “Must Do” signal is independent of any constraints, while the “Can Do” signal provides visibility at all times on what, to date, everyone is actually capable of doing, taking into account all constraints (supply and capacity).
By comparing the two signals, we can identify any decisions that need to be taken to remove constraints and meet demand.

How can I manage smoothing? If the only signal I follow is customer demand, I won't be able to anticipate my capacity smoothing?

Anticipation and smoothing are primarily managed using the “Ideal Must-Do” signal. This signal makes it possible to respond to customer demand and to reconstitute all safeties (stocks / lead times) from Finished Products to Components.
In the event of upstream smoothing that goes beyond the ERP safety policy, the solution enables “anticipation flags” to be set up and managed, diverting the “Ideal Must-Do” signal to upstream levels, while maintaining visibility of the end-customer shortage date.

What are the prerequisites in terms of maturity, processes, tools, etc. for implementing No Chain Planning®?

No Chain Planning® concepts do not require any particular prerequisites. The implementation methodology can be adapted to take account of your specific needs.

Does the solution also cover downstream supply chains (distribution, DRP, deployment, etc.)?

The No Chain Planning® concept covers all Supply Chain processes: upstream and downstream.

Solution

Can the solution be deployed progressively (site by site, function by function, etc.) or necessarily in a big bang?

The solution can be implemented gradually. We recommend this approach to deliver value quickly.
Click here to find out more about solution implementation

Do you offer a Saas / On Premise solution?

We offer 3 options for hosting the solution:

Full SaaS
Hosted on your cloud platform
On premise

Click here to find out more about hosting options

How long does a typical deployment project take?

After 1 month: operational staff are trained and concepts are tested on initial functionalities.
After 3 to 4 months: Managers have visibility of the “health of the Supply Chain”, Supply Leaders are connected to customer demand
After 6 to 12 months: Must Do andCan Do feed all processes

Click here to find out more about how to implement the solution

How is the solution interfaced with SAP?

Our solution is fully integrated into the SAP ecosystem. In the case of SaaS hosting, the front end of the solution is directly integrated with Fiori, natively interfaced with the “No Chain” calculation engine in SAP BTP, itself natively interfaced with SAP databases (ECC6 or S4HANA).
Click here to find out more about the solution architecture

Is the solution compatible with ERP systems other than SAP (M3, Oracle, etc.)? With which SAP versions (ECC, S4, ...)?

The solution is natively compatible with all SAP versions (ECC6, S4). Its algorithm has already been implemented with other ERPs, but this is a customization to be studied on a case-by-case basis.

Can I benefit from functional upgrades to the solution after deployment?

No Chain Technologies licenses naturally include ongoing maintenance of the solution (access to new releases and associated documentation).

Are there any limits on the number of users? The volume of my data (x sites, parts, etc.)?

No, the limitations of this type are those of the SAP solution itself.

What are the prerequisites for deploying the solution: ERP connectivity, interfaces, etc.?

The only prerequisite for deploying the off-the-shelf solution is that you use SAP ERP (all versions) to run your planning processes.

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