Supplier Capacity Planning in the face of Market Uncertainty-The impact of forecast communication on capacity planning

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the internal and external processes at Company X, focusing on forecast creation and how the forecast process impact supplier capacity planning. In order to do so, two research questions have been created. How is the forecast developed internally and how is communicated to internal and external suppliers? How is internal and external supplier capacity planning connected to forecast communication? The topic for the study has been developed together with Company X and focuses on an area in which the results can be of value to the company. The study has been performed using a combination of observations and interviews with internal and external actors. Finding from these interviews have been used to develop a discussion on areas identified as especially important. What can be found is that Company X has well developed internal processes, that have been used over a long period of time. No need can be identified to radically change the internal process. Instead, more focus should be put on developing supplier relationships to improve communication and cooperation.