UNIT IV HR & SUPPLY CHAIN ANALYTICS

Human Resources – Planning and Recruitment – Training and

Development - Supply chain network - Planning Demand,
Inventory and Supply – Logistics – Analytics applications in HR &
Supply Chain - Applying HR Analytics to make a prediction of the
demand for hourly employees for a year.

Human Resources
Human resources meaning
Within a company, human resources (HR) are responsible for screening,
recruiting, and training employees, as well as implementing employee
processes. In effect, HR departments are specifically responsible for
managing a company's entire employee experience, from the moment an
individual applies to a position to when they begin working there, and,
finally, when they leave it.
In some companies, HR also administers compensation benefits. HR
departments exist to add value to an organization by providing objective
guidance to managers and employees on people-related matters. This work
is done through a combination of day-to-day support for employees, project
work, and long-term strategic planning. A well-managed HR department finds
the right people for the job and does what it takes to keep them content and
productive.

HR responsibilities
HR's primary activities include recruitment, administration, compensation
and benefits, training and development, and employee relations and
performance management. However, they often do much more. The
following includes some of the different responsibilities of an HR department.
Recruitment
Recruitment includes all aspects of hiring, from sourcing candidates to on
boarding. You may work with hiring managers to determine the needs of a
particular role and then find candidates that meet those requirements. You
will typically use job boards, career websites, social media, employee
referrals, and more to find potential candidates. You may interview HR
candidates or alongside department managers to assess whether the
applicants are a good fit for the position.
After choosing a candidate, you’ll work with them through the on boarding
process. This includes collecting payroll and benefits administration
paperwork, such as W-4s, I-9s, direct deposit forms, and any other
documents your company needs. In addition, you may prepare new hire
materials, such as orientation packets or company handbooks outlining
company policies.
Administration
Perhaps the most known role of HR is keeping track of documents, including
employee records related to attendance, vacations, medical leave, and other
employee data. This helps demonstrate that the company complies with
labor regulations about working hours and conditions. It also helps ensure
that employees receive the correct salary and benefits based on their
employment status, hours worked, and pay rates.
Compensation and benefits
Compensation and benefits work involves making sure your company takes
care of your employees by offering competitive salaries and a satisfactory
benefits package. Your job as an HR professional may include ensuring
employees receives the correct salary and accesses the benefits they want.
You may process payroll or work with an accounting department or third-
party company that distributes paychecks.
If you have a management position with human resources, you may analyze
the benefits offered by competing companies in your geographical area and
industry. Your work can help managers make compensation decisions for
current and future employees. When you make changes, you may administer
new company policies on benefits, such as health insurance or retirement
plans.
Training and development
Training and development ensure that employees are updated on their skills
and improve their job performance. Whether you develop the training in-
house or contract with another group, it’s essential to establish an inventory
of what training and development opportunities are available within your
company. This also can include outside sources that can provide the
information and skills employees need.
When developing a training program, you’ll consider mandatory and
voluntary opportunities. The law may require some training, such as sexual
harassment education. Other training may be geared toward individual
career goals or the company’s needs. Your ultimate goal is to ensure that all
employees have access to the tools they need to succeed and become more
valuable to the company.
Employee relations and performance management
Employee relations include everything a company does to create a positive
working environment and facilitate positive employee relationships. This can
consist of participating in conversations about employee policies like
compensation, working conditions, and dispute resolution.
In HR roles, you must be a company culture ambassador. You may work with
management to develop an organizational structure and culture that
supports the company's strategic goals. You’ll also act as a liaison between
employees and managers to ensure that appropriate communications exist
between all parties.

How does HR support employees?

As a human resources professional, you support employees by providing
continuing education, training, and support for health and wellbeing.
Adequate human resources are key to maintaining employee satisfaction
and morale. The way HR supports employees may vary from one company to
another. Here are some ways your HR department can provide support to
employees.
Provide a career path within the organization
As a human resources professional, you support employees by offering a
career path within the company. Your department should offer clearly
defined avenues for advancement, promotions, and transfers to other
departments or divisions. This helps to ensure that employees stay with the
company rather than seeking outside opportunities when they're ready for
new challenges.
Offer continuing education opportunities
HR may oversee continuing education programs that benefit both the
employer and employee. This may be professional development, tuition
reimbursement for courses, or certifications. Giving employees opportunities
to enhance their skill sets and industry knowledge can boost morale and
incentivize workers to continue working for the company. Education
assistance programs often work well as recruitment and retention tools.
Train and support managers
You may work with department heads and managers as a human resource
professional to improve their knowledge and skills. By training leaders in the
company, you’ll help employees throughout the organization. Your training
may focus on staff motivation, effective feedback, disciplinary issues,
diversity, technical skills, and compliance with the law.
Support health and wellness
Your HR department will likely support employees by managing health plans,
employee assistance programs, retirement planning, and disability benefits.
These programs can help employees resolve conflicts and manage stress
 outside of the workplace that could otherwise interfere with their work. In
some companies, these program benefits extend to the immediate family.
You also may assist managers with creating employee wellness programs
that include fitness challenges, healthy eating guidelines, and stress
reduction practices. Healthy employees tend to use fewer sick days, which
affects the company's productivity. Some employers offer these on-site,
while others collaborate with outside vendors to provide services.

HR jobs
Types of jobs in human resources range from administrative support roles
and HR generalist positions to management and specialist jobs like benefits
coordinator and labor relations specialist. Here are some typical jobs you can
find in HR:
● Benefits administrator: Assist new employees as they select benefits and
current employees when they update their selection
● Employee relations manager: Help leaders build relationships with
employees, address employee concerns, and resolve disputes between
employees and company leadership
● Human resources assistant: Support HR management with administrative
tasks like recording information, processing documents, and communicating
with applicants
● Human resources director: Supervise the HR department, oversee
orientation and training programs, and monitor compliance with labor laws
● Human resources generalist: Manage or oversee HR operations in small
companies, including hiring and on boarding new employees, overseeing
compensation and benefits, and maintaining compliance
● Human resources information system (HRIS) analyst: Manage and
monitor technology used in the HR department
● Labor relations specialist: Assist with the collective bargaining process,
review data related to employee contracts, and oversee the grievance
process
● Recruiter: Find qualified candidates to fill open positions
● Training and development specialist: Develop and conduct training
programs for employees
The size of your company can dictate how many people will be involved in
each HR specialism. In large companies, entire teams may focus on one
aspect of human resources, with each team member having specific skills
and knowledge in their field. If you work in a smaller company, you’ll find
more general roles and HR professionals do a little bit of everything.
 What skills do you need to work in human
resources?
To work in human resources, you need a combination of workplace and
technical skills, such as communication and talent management systems.
The specific skills you need may vary depending on the job you want, but the
following list gives you an idea of the types of skills valued in HR jobs.
● Active listening: You will likely find it helpful to practice active listening
skills, as it can help you pay attention to important details and shows
employees that you value their time and perspective.
● Analysis: HR professionals often use data to evaluate recruiting methods
and employee performance. Being able to interpret this data can be helpful.
● Administrative: Good organization, data entry and analysis skills, and
capacity to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously can be helpful in HR jobs.
● Communication: In an HR role, you spend a considerable amount of time
talking to people in interviews, training sessions, and conversations. You also
will likely write many emails, handbooks, and other documents.
● Training: You may need to develop and deliver training sessions for adults,
including new and existing employees.
● Technical skills: The specific technical skills you need depend on the
company you work for, but being able to use a computer and operate word
processing documents, spreadsheets, and databases tend to be helpful in
most companies.

Planning and Recruitment

What Is Human Resource Planning (HRP)?
Human resource planning (HRP) is the continuous process of systematic planning to
achieve optimum use of an organization's most valuable asset - quality
employees. Human resources planning ensures the best fit between employees and
jobs while avoiding manpower shortages or surpluses.
There are four key steps to the HRP process. They include analyzing present labor
supply, forecasting labor demand, balancing projected labor demand with supply,
and supporting organizational goals. HRP is an important investment for any
business as it allows companies to remain both productive and profitable.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
● Human resource planning (HRP) is a strategy used by a company to maintain
a steady stream of skilled employees while avoiding employee shortages or
surpluses.
● Having a good HRP strategy in place can mean productivity and profitability
for a company.
 ● There are four general steps in the HRP process: identifying the current
supply of employees, determining the future of the workforce, balancing
between labor supply and demand, and developing plans that support the
company's goals.
What Is Human Resource Planning (HRP) Used For?
Human resource planning allows companies to plan ahead so they can maintain a
steady supply of skilled employees. The process is used to help companies evaluate
their needs and to plan ahead to meet those needs.
Human resource planning needs to be flexible enough to meet short-term staffing
challenges while adapting to changing conditions in the business environment over
the longer term. HRP starts by assessing and auditing the current capacity of
human resources.
Here, identifying a company's skill set and targeting the skills a company needs
enables it to strategically reach business goals and be equipped for future
challenges. To remain competitive, businesses may need advanced skills or to up
skill their employees as the market environment evolve and changes.
To retain employees and remain competitive, HRP often looks at organizational
design, employee motivation, succession planning, and increasing return on
investment overall.
Challenges of Human Resource Planning (HRP)
The challenges to HRP include forces that are always changing. These include
employees getting sick, getting promoted, going on vacation, or leaving for another
job. HRP ensures there is the best fit between workers and jobs, avoiding shortages
and surpluses in the employee pool.
To help prevent future roadblocks and satisfy their objectives, HR managers have to
make plans to do the following:
● Find and attract skilled employees.
● Select, train, and reward the best candidates.
● Cope with absences and deal with conflicts.
● Promote employees or let some of them go.
Investing in HRP is one of the most important decisions a company can make. After
all, a company is only as good as its employees, and a high level of employee
engagement can be essential for a company's success. If a company has the best
employees and the best practices in place, it can mean the difference between
sluggishness and productivity, helping to lead a company to profitability.
What Are the Four Steps to Human Resource
Planning (HRP)?
There are four general, broad steps involved in the human resource planning
process. Each step needs to be taken in sequence in order to arrive at the end goal,
which is to develop a strategy that enables the company to successfully find and
retain enough qualified employees to meet the company's needs.
Analyzing labor supply
The first step of human resource planning is to identify the company's current
human resources supply. In this step, the HR department studies the strength of the
organization based on the number of employees, their skills, qualifications,
positions, benefits, and performance levels.
Forecasting labor demand
The second step requires the company to outline the future of its workforce. Here,
the HR department can consider certain issues like promotions, retirements, layoffs,
and transfers—anything that factors into the future needs of a company. The HR
department can also look at external conditions impacting labor demand, such as
new technology that might increase or decrease the need for workers.
Balancing labor demand with supply
The third step in the HRP process is forecasting the employment demand. HR
creates a gap analysis that lays out specific needs to narrow the supply of the
company's labor versus future demand. This analysis will often generate a series of
questions, such as:
● Should employees learn new skills?
● Does the company need more managers?
● Do all employees play to their strengths in their current roles?
Developing and implementing a plan
The answers to questions from the gap analysis help HR determine how to proceed,
which is the final phase of the HRP process. HR must now take practical steps to
integrate its plan with the rest of the company. The department needs a budget,
the ability to implement the plan, and a collaborative effort with all departments to
execute that plan.
What Is the Goal of Human Resource Planning
(HRP)?
The goal of HR planning is to have the optimal number of staff to make the most
money for the company. Because the goals and strategies of a company change
over time, human resource planning must adapt accordingly. Additionally,
as globalization increases, HR departments will face the need to implement new
practices to accommodate government labor regulations that vary from country to
country.
The increased use of remote workers by many corporations will also impact human
resource planning and will require HR departments to use new methods and tools to
recruit, train, and retain workers.
Why Is Human Resource Planning Important?
Human resource planning (HRP) allows a business to better maintain and target the
right kind of talent to employ—having the right technical and soft skills to optimize
their function within the company. It also allows managers to better train the
workforce and help them develop the required skills.
What Is "Hard" vs. "Soft" Human Resource
Planning?
Hard HRP evaluates various quantitative metrics to ensure that the right number of
the right sort of people are available when needed by the company. Soft HRP
focuses more on finding employees with the right corporate culture, motivation, and
attitude.
Steps to a human resource planning process:
There are seven steps to a good human resource planning process:
● Understand business goals
● Assess the current workforce
● Forecast demand
● Estimate gaps
● Formulate a plan
● Implement the plan
● Monitor the plan
Step 1: Understand business goals
The first step in HRP involves analyzing the organizational strategy, goals, and
objectives.
It’s important to understand where the organization wants to go and how it wants to
get there so that HR practices can be aligned with the company’s strategic
objectives.
Step 2: Assess the current workforce
The next step is to take stock of the current employees in the organization to see if
they fit the organizational needs.
The inventory of current employees should capture data concerning ages, locations,
capabilities, and skills. This will determine what jobs are required and if you can use
internal candidates or if you need to look elsewhere.
Step 3: Forecast demand
The third step in the process is to forecast future staffing needs based on the
company goals.
This process will establish if the company needs to grow its workforce, or if it can
improve its current staff through training.
Step 4: Estimate gaps
Once the future resource needs and the current capability of the workforce have
been identified, step four requires you to highlight the gaps between the two.
These questions will help you find out where the gaps are:
● Do you foresee a skill shortage in a specific occupational group?
● Will changes in program delivery require the acquisition of new skills?
● Do you have succession plans for critical positions?
● Have you conducted a risk analysis of the elements of the scan critical to the
success of your organization?
Step 5: Formulate a plan
Step 5 is all about formulating a plan to close the gaps you found in step 4.
The plan should identify the skill shortages and surpluses within the company. It
should determine HR priorities and list actions to be taken around recruitment,
training, internal role transitions, retirements, and lay-offs.
Step 6: Implement the plan
This step involves integrating the HR plan into the company. It will require support
from different departments and teams.
Step 7: Monitor the plan
This step often gets missed, but is a fundamental part of the HR planning process.
Ongoing measurement, reporting, and continuous improvement will keep the
company moving toward its strategic goals. If everything is running smoothly,
continue with the plan. If there are roadblocks, change the plan to suit your
company’s needs.

What is Recruitment?
Recruitment can be considered the principal function of the Human resource
department. It is a process that includes sourcing, screening, and short listing. It
refers to the process of identifying the staffing need and then filling it. The whole
process includes identifying, attracting, interviewing, selecting, and on boarding the
right candidates for the organization.
What is Recruitment Process?
A recruitment process involves activities like identifying different sources of
labour supply from which applications of prospective employees may be obtained;
evaluating the validity of different sources; choosing the most suitable source; and
attracting and motivating prospective candidates to apply for the vacant jobs.
Every organization follows its own recruitment process, but there are some basic
steps that are followed by most the organization, which are listed here:
Step 1: Preparing
Once the job opening is approved internally, the recruiter contacts the hiring
manager. This step is about gathering details about the open position. During the
discussion, the recruiter has to gather information, like the required skills, roles,
responsibilities, etc., and use this information to write a clear and inclusive Job
description. Based on the job description, they can write the job posting.
Step 2: Sourcing
Once the job description is ready, the next step is to start the sourcing. It refers to
identifying and contacting qualified candidates rather than waiting for the candidate
to apply for the position. The primary goal is to pull qualified candidates. A recruiter
uses a variety of job portals to pull the resumes, but it is not essential that for
every position, sourcing is required. In some cases, if there are a large number of
applications, there may not be any need to source more candidates.
Step 3: Screening
The Screening of a candidate can take place in many ways. Generally, the first step
is Resume screening. If the resume meets the criteria required for the job opening,
then the next step is the phone screening, in which, the recruiter can cover topics,
like the candidate’s availability, current role, and responsibilities, current salary,
salary expectations, Notice period, etc., and if he seems to be the right candidate,
an organization can process further with his profile.
Step 4: Selecting
This process is about sending the assignments, psychometric tests and
scheduling interviews, participating in the interview process, and also keeping the
hiring manager in the loop for the whole process. It is about maintaining a good
relationship with the candidate and keeping the candidate updated about the
interview feedback.
Step 5: Hiring
This step includes the final discussion with the candidate about salary, joining date,
etc. Once the joining date is confirmed, the offer letter is released. In some cases,
this step also includes background checks.
Step 6: Onboarding
Once the candidate has accepted the offer letter, the process is not over yet. This is
where the pre-boarding period starts. This is the time between the joining date and
when the offer letter was accepted. And it’s very important to be in touch with your
candidate during this period to keep them engaged. If not done so, it can result in
them joining another company. It also includes sharing the new hire’s email and
other details with the team. Once the candidate starts the first day, it’s time to
begin the onboarding process.
Recruitment Techniques
Here are some recruitment techniques that can help you attract candidates:
● Internal recruitment: You can post the opening on your internal company site
so that current employees can apply if they want to switch their roles. This
technique can save a lot of time.
● Retained recruitment: You can reach third-party consultancies to fill the open
positions, but you have to pay a fee for the recruitment work and even some
additional pay once the position is closed by them.
● Contingency recruitment: In this option, you can reach third parties but have
to pay only when the employee is hired.
● Career fairs: Going into this event provides an opportunity to hire the best
candidate for your organization and also helps to market your company.
● Campus Recruiting: If you are looking for freshers and there is a good amount
of vacancies in your organization, then going to campus and conducting the
hiring drive can be a good option.
● Social Media: You can post the openings on Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter to
attract more and more candidates.

Training and Development

What is Training and Development?
Training and development refers to educational activities within a company
created to enhance the knowledge and skills of employees while providing
information and instruction on how to better perform specific tasks.
Training is a short-term reactive process meant for operatives and process
while development is designed continuous pro-active process meant for executives.
In training employees' aim is to develop additional skills and in development, it is to
develop a total personality.
In training, the initiative is taken by the management with the objective of
meeting the present need o fan employee. In development, initiative is taken by the
individual with the objective to meet the future need o fan employee.
Training and Development Process
Training and development is a continuous process as the skills, knowledge and
quality of work needs constant improvement. Since businesses are changing
rapidly, it is critical that companies focus on training their employees after
constantly monitoring them & developing their overall personality.
Steps for training and development processes are:
1. Determine the need of training and development for individuals or
teams
First of all the need has to be seen for training and development.
it has to align with the company's goals and objectives. If a company is trying to
start a new department or strengthen existing sales team in new products, then an
appropriate training is needed.
2. Establish specific objectives & goals which need to be achieved
The goals and objectives of the training and development have to be established.
Whether the goal is awareness about new products or even installation is required
to be learnt.
3. Select the methods of training
Next, methods have to be defined. The training can be done as a :
1. Classroom Training
2. Online Self paced courses
3. Course with certification
4. Instructor led online training
4. Conduct and implement the programs for employees
After the plan and methods are finalized, the training and development programs
have to be executed where courses, instructions are taught to the employees,
partners or vendors.
5. Evaluate the output and performance post the training and
development sessions
Training and Development is incomplete without proper monitoring. Monitoring can
be done through evaluation of the instructor as well as attendees. Instructor
evaluation can be done through feedback or ratings but attendees can be evaluated
through internal or external certifications or scores.
6. Keep monitoring and evaluating the performances and again see if
more training is required
Based on the evaluation results in the previous step, management needs to
ascertain that if the training and development program was sufficient for now or
more training and enablement would be required. Also, if future trainings are to be
planned.
Importance of Training and Development
For companies to keep improving, it is important for organizations to have
continuous training and development programs for their employees. Competition
and the business environment keeps changing, and hence it is critical to keep
learning and pick up new skills. The importance of training and development is as
follows:
1. Optimum utilization of resources
2. Development of skills like time management, leadership, team management etc.
3. To increase the performance, productivity and motivation
4. To imbibe the team spirit
5. For improvement of organization culture
6. To improve quality
7. To increase profitability and bottom line by acquiring new skills
8. Improving brand image by having well trained employees
Relation and Difference between Training and
Development
There is a relation between training and development, and there is clear difference
between the two based on goals to be achieved. Development is made to answer
the training problems:
TRAINING DEVELOPMENT
Training is meant for operatives Development is meant for executives
It is reactive process It is pro- active process
AIM: To develop additional skills AIM: To develop the total personality
It is short term process It is continuous process
OBJECTIVE: To meet the present need of OBJECTIVE: To meet the future need of
an employee an employee
Initiative is taken by the management Initiative is taken by an individual.
Need for Training and Development
Training and development of employees is a costly activity as it requires a lot
quality inputs from trainers as well as employees. But it is essential that the
company revises its goals and efficiencies with the changing environment. Here are
a few critical reasons why the company endorses training and development
sessions.
1. Improvement
When management thinks that there is a need to improve the performances of
employees
2. Benchmarking
To set up the benchmark of improvement so far in the performance improvement
effort
3. Specific Role Requirement
To train about the specific job responsibility and skills like communication
management, team management etc.
4. Testing
To test the new methodology for increasing the productivity
Advantages of training and development
Training and development has a cost attached to it. However, since it is beneficial
for companies in the long run, they ensure employees are trained regularly. Some
advantages are:
1. Helps employees develop new skills and increases their knowledge.
2. Improves efficiency and productivity of the individuals as well as the teams.
3. Proper training and development can remove bottle-necks in operations.
4. New & improved job positions can be created to make the organization leaner.
5. Keeps employees motivated and refreshes their goals, ambitions and contribution
levels.

Disadvantages of training and development

Even though there are several advantages, some drawbacks of training and
development are mentioned below:
1. It is an expensive process which includes arranging the correct trainers and
engaging employees for non-revenue activities.
2. There is a risk that after the training and development session, the employee can
quit the job.

Supply Chain Network

What Is a Supply Chain?
A supply chain is a network of individuals and companies who are involved in
creating a product and delivering it to the consumer. Links on the chain begin with
the producers of the raw materials and end when the van delivers the finished
product to the end user.
Supply chain management is a crucial process because an optimized supply chain
results in lower costs and a more efficient production cycle. Companies seek to
improve their supply chains so they can reduce their costs and remain competitive.
Key Takeaways
● A supply chain is a network of companies and people that are involved in the
production and delivery of a product or service.
● The components of a supply chain include producers, vendors, warehouses,
transportation companies, distribution centers, and retailers.
● The functions of a supply chain include product development, marketing,
operations, distribution, finance, and customer service.
● Today, many supply chains are global in scale.
● Effective supply chain management results in lower costs and a faster
production cycle.
Understanding a Supply Chain
A supply chain includes every step that is involved in getting a finished product or
service to the customer. The steps may include sourcing raw materials, moving
them to production, then transporting the finished products to a distribution center
or retail store where they may be delivered to the consumer.
The entities involved in the supply chain include producers, vendors, warehouses,
transportation companies, distribution centers, and retailers.
The supply chain begins operating when a business receives an order from a
customer. Thus, its essential functions include product development, marketing,
operations, distribution networks, finance, and customer service.
When supply chain management is effective, it can lower a company's overall costs
and boost its profitability. If one link breaks, it can affect the rest of the chain and
can be costly.
What Are the Main Supply Chain Models?
Many types of supply chain models are available. The model a company selects will
depend on how the company is structured and what its specific needs are. Here are
a few examples:
● Continuous Flow Model: This traditional supply chain model works well for
companies that produce the same products with little variation. The products
should be in high demand and require little to no redesign. This lack of
fluctuation means managers can streamline production times and keep tight
control over inventory. In a continuous flow model, managers will need to
regularly replenish raw materials in order to prevent production bottlenecks.
● Fast Chain Model: This model works best for companies that sell products
based on the latest trends. Businesses that use this model need to get their
products to market quickly to take advantage of the prevailing trend. They
 need to rapidly move from idea to prototype to production to consumer. Fast
fashion is an example of an industry that uses this supply chain model.
● Flexible Model: Companies that manufacture seasonal or holiday
merchandise often use the flexible model. These companies experience
surges in demand for their products followed by long periods of little to no
demand. The flexible model ensures they are able to gear up quickly to begin
production and shut down efficiently as soon as demand tapers off. In order
to be profitable, they must be accurate in forecasting their need for raw
materials, inventory, and labor.
What Are Supply Chain Management Best
Practices?
Here are some of the best practices that are seen in successful supply chain
management systems:
● They support continuous improvement.
● They aim for increased velocity.
● They encourage collaboration among the individual businesses in the supply
chain.
● They seek new technologies that improve their processes.
● They have metrics in place that allow employees to measure the success or
failure of each step in the supply chain
What Are the Steps in a Supply Chain?
The key steps in a supply chain include:
1. Planning the inventory and manufacturing processes to ensure supply and
demand are adequately balanced.
2. Manufacturing or sourcing materials needed to create the final product.
3. Assembling parts and testing the product.
4. Packaging the product for shipment or holding in inventory until a later date.
5. Transporting and delivering the finished product to the distributor, retailer, or
consumer.
6. Providing customer service support for returned items.

Planning Demand, Inventory and Supply

What is Supply Chain Planning?
Supply chain planning is the process of anticipating demand and planning materials
and components to meet that demand, along with production, marketing,
distribution and sales.
The first part of this definition talks about anticipating the demand for products.
This means that if you have a system that can accurately project demand, half of
your job is done and supply chain planning becomes easy.
The objective of planning is to balance supply and demand and ensure that sales
revenue opportunities are fully exploited in a timely manner.
Gartner defines supply chain planning as the forward-looking process of
coordinating assets to optimize the delivery of goods, services and information from
supplier to customer. In addition to synchronizing supply and demand, this process
provides what-if scenario analysis capabilities. Plus, it helps a business fulfil real-
time demand commitments.
A logical approach in supply chain processes is to first look at the result and then go
backwards. This is also true for supply chain planning, which often begins
with demand planning.
Members of different teams, such as sales, marketing, and production, meet and
estimate demand based on historical data and other parameters.
Demand projection is then passed onto production, logistics and other teams. The
purpose of anticipating demand is to maintain optimum inventory and avoid costs
associated with maintaining surplus inventory.
Key Elements of Supply Chain Planning Process
For supply chain planning to be implemented successfully, there must be seamless
coordination between different teams and processes.
Here are the key elements of supply chain planning.
Demand Planning
As discussed in the earlier part of the blog, demand planning lays the foundation of
subsequent supply chain processes.
This involves an assessment of varied data to accurately forecast demand, which
can then be used to maintain and store optimum inventory and avoid costs
associated with surpluses. Demand planning is done by looking at historical data,
projected sales, market conditions and other factors.
Today, demand planning is done with the help of advanced technology.
Powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities,
advanced supply chain management software can predict demand with precision. It
can ‘sense’ demand by looking at real-time data, market conditions and events and
point-of-sale data.
The use of predictive analytics for demand forecasting has also increased. This
helps to better understand consumer behavior, buying patterns and other factors
that influence demand.
Supply Planning
The next step is to come up with a supply plan that can synchronize with the
demand plan and meet the overall requirements of the business.
The supply plan involves sourcing of raw materials, components and other goods
needed for production. The goal is planning supply that can meet the demand for
the product in the best possible way.
Production Planning
This involves resource allocation of employees, material and production capacity.
The broad objectives of a production plan are reducing waste and only producing
what is required to ensure the availability of optimum inventory. The latter of these
is realized with a supply chain plan that increases cross-functional visibility
through efficient inventory management.
Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP)
Often conducted once a month, sales and operations planning essentially brings
diverse business teams working with different objectives on the same page. It helps
sales and marketing leaders assess and merge their plans with operations.
The all-party meet of different teams aids in the coordination of supply assets and
capabilities to meet demand requirements for the short and long term.
In some companies, S&OP is performed as part of a broader process called
integrated business planning that incorporates plans of other departments, such as
finance and HR, in a single, company-wide plan.

Logistics
What Are Logistics?
Logistics refers to the overall process of managing how resources are acquired,
stored, and transported to their final destination. Logistics management involves
identifying prospective distributors and suppliers and determining their
effectiveness and accessibility. Logistics managers are referred to as logisticians.
"Logistics" was initially a military-based term used in reference to how military
personnel obtained, stored, and moved equipment and supplies.1 The term is now
used widely in the business sector, particularly by companies in the manufacturing
sectors, to refer to how resources are handled and moved along the supply chain.
Key Takeaways
● Logistics is the overall process of managing how resources are acquired,
stored, and transported to their final destination.
● Poor logistics in a business can impact its bottom line.
● Logistics is now used widely in the business sector, particularly by companies
in the manufacturing sectors, to refer to how resources are handled and
moved along the supply chain.
Understanding Logistics in Management and
Business
In simple terms, the goal of logistics management is to have the right amount of a
resource or input at the right time, getting it to the appropriate location in proper
condition, and delivering it to the correct internal or external customer.
For example, in the natural gas industry, logistics involves managing the pipelines,
trucks, storage facilities, and distribution centers that handle oil as it is transformed
along the supply chain. An efficient supply chain and effective logistical procedures
are essential to reduce costs and to maintain and increase efficiency. Poor logistics
lead to untimely deliveries, failure to meet the needs of clientele, and ultimately
cause the business to suffer.
The concept of business logistics has been transformed since the 1960s. The
increasing intricacy of supplying companies with the materials and resources they
need, along with the global expansion of supply chains, has led to a need for
specialists known as supply chain logisticians.
In the modern era, the technology boom and the complexity of logistics processes
have spawned logistics management software and specialized logistics-focused
firms that expedite the movement of resources along the supply chain.
What Is Logistics in Business?
In business, logistics is the process of transporting and storing raw materials,
finished goods, inventory, and other resources. Logistics in a business is typically
made up of many components, including customer service, demand forecasting,
warehousing, material handling, inventory control, order processing, and
transportation.
Why Is Logistics Important?
Logistics is critical to a company's bottom line. It enables the movement of
materials or goods, the satisfaction of contracts, and the fulfillment of services.
Effective logistics management ensures smooth movement along the supply chain
and can provide a competitive advantage.

Analytics Applications in HR & Supply Chain

More than ever, HR departments are generating more data, but at the same time
they lack the capability to turn their data into valuable insights. Organizations which
have invested in HR information software should strive to be in the position to
generate reliable data and share them in a well-structured form to be used for
data analytics.
Creating and maintaining a high performance business is challenging, but
organizations that build capabilities in HR analytics out-perform their peers in
quality of hire, retention and skills development. It goes without saying that people
are vital to the success of any company. HR analytics can help to provide
businesses with the insights to attract the right competencies, recruit people with
the right skills, manage talent effectively, as well as pinpoint any issues that
adversely impact staff morale which can then be quickly addressed.
Below are eight powerful ways on how HR analytics can help your organization.
1. Improving Employee Engagement
HR experts strive to improve employee engagement. Improving employees’ sense
of belonging within the company can boost morale and productivity. However, the
challenges remain in discovering the drivers that most affect their work
engagement and how best to impact them. HR analytics can provide insights on
how staffs are better engaged by measureable factors such as recruitment,
performance, pay and benefits, enabling the HR department to look into changes to
improve employee productivity. Feedback during appraisal can also provide
relevant insights to improve company culture and create a better working
environment.
Read More : Employee Engagement Software, Performance Appraisal Software
2. Skills Development Analytics
The success of your business depends on the level of expertise and skill of your
workforce. Since technology and job requirements are constantly evolving,
identifying and communicating capabilities or core competencies needed is
essential. Employees must be able to maintain and learn new skill sets to keep up
with the business needs. This challenge can be addressed with a learning module
that helps define individual learning plan based on competency of employee, career
matrix identifications, or organization goals.
Once you know what those capabilities you need for your organization, you can
compare them to the capabilities you have in place at the moment to see if you
have any gaps.
3. Use HR Analytics to Plan
Benchmarking can improve performance. To be able to leverage on the result of
data analysis to feed back into business strategy will be invaluable to your
business. HR department can leverage on various KPIs to find the keys to retention
or boosting workforce performance. Ensure the HR team has the right talent to drill
and analyze into the pools of HR related data. HR analytics is more than just
analyzing; it should help you to plan ahead.
4. Easily accessible HR information to management
Management needs to be equipped with data and insights on what the workforce
requires to improve efficiency and to achieve their best. HR analytics will allow
managers to easily gain valuable view into the workforce attitudes and
performance. By studying the KPIs to determine what the productivity output per
employee should be, they can easily identify the people who are struggling, the top
performers, or the staff who are more likely to be happier when assigned to
different tasks, thus identifying the areas of opportunity to optimize
within workforce.
5. Employee turnover analytics
It costs companies a lot of money and time to hire the right people and train them.
Studying into the staff turnover rates will help predict the future and also make
better decisions to improve your staff retention. The relevant data could be coming
from your HRMS system and information collected from employee engagement
level, employee satisfaction index, exit interviews are also useful information.
6. Improve your hiring process
HR people needs to gain a good understanding of the metrics that make a
successful hire and use that knowledge back in to the recruitment
strategy. HR analytics helps to improve the quality of your hires, ensuring they have
the right skill set for the job, and even monitoring the turnover for new hires to
ensure the right people are supported with the right on boarding processes.
7. Workforce performance analytics Integrating
To win in your business, you need capable high-performing employees to thrive.
Workforce performance analytics provide the assessment of individual employee
performance and the insights to identify the good and the bad performers; and who
may need some additional training or support to excel. HR system is sometime
treated in silos, unavailable to other business decision makers. But it needs not
be so.
8. HR analytics with the entire organization
HR analytics has applications that could help the entire organization. This data
should not be viewed in isolation. For instance, the finance teams are increasingly
involved in HR today, but in many cases they don’t have the data they need.
Combining HR data with finance data can offer useful information to make better
decisions and work more efficiently.

Applying HR Analytics to make a prediction of

the demand for hourly employees for a year
Predictive HR analytics is used to analyze historical data to make predictions about
the future. It shouldn’t be confused with standard HR analytics.
With the latter, data is collected and analyzed to see what’s working and what isn’t,
and where you can improve. With the former, data is collected with the goal of
making predictions about employees or HR trends.
What type of predictions can be made? Some examples include:
● Which employees are more likely to quit within a certain timeframe?
● Which candidates will be the most successful?
● Which new employees will be top performers?
Do you want to learn how to use predictive HR analytics? Then this article is for you.
We’ll talk about the benefits this type of analytics has, how it can be applied,
examples, and more.

Why should HR leaders care about predictive HR analytics?

Predictive HR analytics has many benefits. It can help you:
1. Improve recruitment practices
2. Reduce voluntary turnover rates
3. Achieve optimal performance
4. Reduce costs that come from resignations and new hires, or human errors
5. Create an employee profile that will show you who will thrive in your
company and who won’t
With standard analytics, you’re looking at past problems. You’re analyzing them in
an attempt to fix them and avoid them in the future.
With predictive analytics, you’re taking a more proactive approach. You’re analyzing
data to understand where problems may appear in the future. You’re attempting to
correct things before these problems materialize.

How can I apply predictive HR analytics?

Predictive HR analytics has many benefits, but how does it work in practice? Each
company has a lot of HR data. The bigger the company, the more data there is. But
research shows only about 17% of organizations worldwide use HR data to optimize
their processes. That sounds like a pretty big waste, wouldn’t you agree?
With predictive analysis, you use this data in an effective way. HR can create
predictive models that can be then used to make data-driven decisions. It will no
longer operate on instinct, soft science, or lessons learned from past mistakes.
Along with people analytics or HR metrics, predictive analytics allows HR to take the
best decisions that reduce turnover, improve employee engagement, and more.
Despite the myths, predictive analysis does not replace human intervention, and it’s
not all about predicting the future. It is also about how people interact with the
company, or how ready they are to promote versus the time they wait for a
promotion.
Let’s look at a few examples.

4 examples of predictive analytics

As mentioned, predictive HR analytics comes in a variety of forms. Four common
use cases include:
1. Predicting voluntary employee turnover
2. Improving the recruitment process by predicting hiring success
3. Predicting revenue with engagement data
4. Improving performance
Let’s dig into each example now.
1. Predicting voluntary employee turnover
Turnover is any manager’s nightmare. It can stall projects and cause a loss of
revenue.
Did you know that the cost of replacing someone new is about 150% of their annual
salary? And that’s for mid-level employees. For the high-level ones, costs can go up
to 400%. It makes sense you’d want to prevent all that.
With predictive HR analytics, you can create models that will help you forecast
when an employee is most likely to quit.
You may also see which employees are at the highest risk of attrition. Are people in
one department more at risk than others? Do demographics play a role in it?
Predictive analytics can help you understand, predict, and prevent all this.
2. Improving the recruitment process by predicting hiring success
Hiring is another area that can generate huge costs. The main culprits include an
inefficient recruitment process and bad hires. Often, these issues depend on one
another.
Predictive HR analytics can come to the rescue. With the right algorithms in place,
you can optimize the hiring process and predict hiring success.
Which candidates are more likely to succeed in the long-term? Who is more likely to
become a top performer? Predictive analytics can help you answer these questions.
3. Predicting revenue with engagement data
Engagement is a magic word for business success. Engaged employees perform
better, have lower absenteeism and turnover rates, and are happier at their jobs.
With that in mind, you can use engagement data to predict your revenue. Look at
how employee engagement is impacting your sales. From there, you can use this
data to estimate your future revenue.
Depending on the type of company, it may be easier to use engagement data to
predict performance and productivity. Regardless of what you are tracking, the
result is more or less the same. Predictive analytics will allow you to forecast how
well your business will do within a specific timeframe.
4. Improving performance
Data about past performance can show you where and why problems appeared.
Through predictive HR analytics, you can take it one step further. You can see what
initiatives could help improve performance and how to apply them.
4 ways predictive analytics can improve your HR
strategy
Predictive analytics can help improve your HR strategy in a variety of ways,
including:
1. Creating a more effective payroll system
2. Enabling better risk management
3. Improving retention strategies
4. Reducing post-turnover problems
Here’s how.
1. Create a more effective payroll system
Payroll systems can sometimes get unnecessarily complicated. Ineffective bonus
strategies or issues with employees can create problems.
A simple, yet effective predictive analysis can help prevent these issues. It can
make the payroll system more effective, thus saving resources and revenue.
2. Better risk management
Any business faces certain risks. How you manage them can make the difference
between success and failure. Whether we’re talking about security risks, external,
or internal threats, you need to be one step ahead.
Predictive HR analytics may not address all the risks you face. It might not tell you
when and where a hacker will strike. But it can help address many other risks.
For instance, you can forecast when and which employees will need training. By
predicting a critical situation so that you can avoid it altogether.
3. Improved retention strategies
We already mentioned how important it is to reduce voluntary turnover rates.
Retention strategies are how you achieve that. But they aren’t always the easiest to
craft.
People are different. What one person likes, another one might dislike. And you
might want both of them to stay in your company. So how can you design a
retention strategy that is inclusive and appealing to all? Through predictive HR
analytics.
With the correct data at hand, the HR team can revise its retention strategies. They
can choose those methods that will keep all employees happy and will minimize
turnover.
4. Reduce post-turnover problems
No matter how good your retention strategies are, you will sometimes have
employees who resign.
Maybe it’s for reasons that have nothing to do with your company, like moving to a
different city or country. Or maybe they simply want something different.
Whatever the reason, turnover will not make you happy. Plus, replacing the lost
employees will cost you money.
Since you can’t always prevent turnover, the best you can do is to mitigate the
problems it comes with. A data-driven approach through predictive analytics can
help. With a predictive model, you can filter data like employee engagement,
commute time, performance, and more.
This can help human resources better understand which employees are more likely
to quit and when, and what variables (preventable or unpreventable) cause that
attrition. By knowing that, you can avoid situations when you need to hire fast and
in a panic.

Key Takeaways
Predictive HR analytics is an effective way to use HR data. Unlike standard
analytics, predictive analysis allows you to make forecasts about various situations.
You’re not looking at data only to see mistakes that were made and understand
how to correct them. You’re trying to see what can happen and how to take
advantage of it.
A few areas where predictive HR analytics can help include:
● Reducing voluntary turnover
● Improving performance
● Improving recruitment strategy
● Managing risks