Two kilos short of the emulsifier
The compounder starts weighing for a large batch of body lotion and finds there is not enough emulsifier. The drum looked fairly full last week. Since then two batches of face cream used it too, which nobody connected. The supplier's lead time is a couple of weeks, and the next batch of a brand client's product also needs it.
The batch is postponed, filling is rearranged and the brand client is told their date has moved.
Stock is watched, the plan is not
Most small manufacturers reorder by looking. That works for materials used by one product. It fails for materials shared across many formulas, where usage depends on what is about to be made.
- Nobody adds up how much of each ingredient the planned batches will use.
- Stock levels are checked by eye or from a spreadsheet that lags reality.
- Supplier lead times and minimum orders vary widely and are remembered, not recorded.
- Some materials come in large drums and are only bought occasionally, so they are easily forgotten.
- Brand client orders arrive at short notice and use materials nobody planned for.
What running short costs
Postponed batches disrupt the schedule, the filling line and staff, and the delays reach customers and brand clients. Emergency orders cost more, and sometimes only a different grade or supplier is available quickly, which may need approvals you would rather not rush. The opposite also happens: buying too much of a material that then passes its date in the store.
Shared materials are the trap. A common emollient or preservative might go into most of the range, and its usage swings with whatever the plan holds that month. Nobody can watch that by eye, and a busy month for one product quietly empties the drum another product was counting on.
Material planning driven by the production plan
- Each formula's ingredients and percentages come from your approved formula records.
- Planned batches, from your production schedule or orders, are exploded into the quantity of each raw material required, by week.
- Current stock, from batch-level stock records or your stock system, and open purchase orders are compared with those requirements.
- Each raw material has its supplier, lead time, minimum order and pack size recorded, and the tool works out when an order needs placing to arrive in time.
- A reorder list shows what to order, how much and by when, with draft purchase orders ready for a person to check and send.
- When a new order or brand client job is added, its effect on materials is shown straight away, so you can see if it creates a shortage.
| Question | By looking | With material planning |
|---|---|---|
| Will we have enough emulsifier? | The drum looks fine | Plan usage against stock |
| When do we need to order? | When it looks low | Lead time worked back from need |
| What does this new job do to stock? | Found out at weighing | Shown when the job is added |
| How much to order? | Habit | Need, minimum order and pack size |
If your stock or MRP software, such as Katana, already handles material planning, we will say so, and may only help set it up properly or connect it to your formulas.
Weighing without surprises
The buyer orders from a list driven by the plan, not by walking the store. Shortages show up weeks ahead, when there is still time to order normally. New jobs are accepted knowing what they need. And overbuying of slow-moving materials drops, because orders match what will be used.
Is this happening to you?
- Batches have been postponed for lack of a raw material.
- Reordering depends on someone noticing low stock.
- Materials used across several products run out unexpectedly.
- Lead times and minimum orders are not recorded.
- You have emergency orders every month.