BMGI India works as consumer goods consultants in India, helping brands connect strategy with day-to-day execution so OTIF improves without adding cost.
Start With One Truth: Measure What Matters
Chasing every fire hides the real issue. Start by agreeing on a small set of metrics and definitions. At a minimum:
- OTIF, split into On Time and In Full so you can see which side fails
- Cost to serve by customer, channel, and SKU
- Fill rate and service level at item location
- Inventory health by age and coverage
- Forecast accuracy and bias at the planning level you actually use
Put these on one view that commercial, supply chain, finance, and manufacturing can read the same way. Our team provides consumer goods consulting that maps planning, production, and distribution on one page, so waste and delay show up clearly.
Diagnose the Value Stream Before Fixing It
Walk the end-to-end path from demand signal to shelf. Map the steps. Count handoffs. Time the queues. You will usually find the same patterns:
- SKUs that add complexity but not revenue
- Promotions without supply alignment
- Long changeovers that cut effective capacity
- MRP settings that create overproduction or stockouts
- Transport plans built around habit, not lanes and drops
Fixing these is not guesswork. Use value stream mapping to see delays and waste. Use root cause analysis to target specific blockers. Small, precise changes beat broad policy shifts. With consumer products consulting in India, plants standardize fixes and sustain them across sites.
Plan Demand Where Decisions Live
Good S&OP connects the forecast to the actions that follow it. Aim for planning tiers that match how you make decisions.
- Set a stable, portfolio-level view for medium term capacity and sourcing
- Run a weekly or biweekly demand control process at item family level
- Align promotions and NPD with supply early, not after plans freeze
Tie incentives to bias and error, not to volume alone. When planning accuracy rises at the level you schedule against, OTIF follows. As an FMCG consulting firm in India, BMGI India ties S&OP, promotions, and new product plans to the supply settings that actually drive service.
Right-Size Inventory With Clear Rules
Inventory is not a single knob. Treat safety stock, cycle stock, and presentation stock separately.
- Use service-driven safety stock policies for A and B items
- Set min max by item location based on variability and lead time
- Retire or bundle long tail SKUs that block flow without adding margin
- Protect high runners during promotions with short, fixed production wheels
This is where consumer goods operations consultants in India help teams shift from opinion to rule based decisions that stick.
Reduce Changeovers and Increase Usable Capacity
In many plants, the capacity gap is not machines. It is changeovers, minor stops, and variation.
- Apply SMED to standardize and shorten changeovers
- Create small, repeatable production wheels for core SKUs
- Use copyright to hold processes in control and stop quality drift
- Attack the top three chronic downtime reasons with DMAIC
When lines run predictably, planners can promise accurately. OTIF improves without adding shifts.
Build a Smarter Route to Market
Transport and distribution often carry hidden cost. Review the network with data, not habit.
- Rebuild shipment rules around full truck triggers, drop density, and time windows
- Use milk runs where small orders cluster
- Consolidate low volume SKUs at hub DCs to prevent store level stockouts
- Set clear delivery calendars with customers so teams can plan the week, not the day
These moves lower cost to serve and raise on shelf availability at the same time. Our consumer goods strategy consultants in India rework shipment rules around lane data and drop density to cut cost while keeping service steady.
Make the Shelf the Final Checkpoint
Perfect production still fails if execution at the outlet is weak. Create simple checks that keep product buyable.
- Confirm planogram essentials on high velocity SKUs
- Link promo compliance to replenishment plans
- Turn returns and damages into a weekly RCA, not a complaint log
Field feedback should close the loop with planning and manufacturing within a week.
Build Capability So Gains Last
Tools matter, but habits hold the gains. This is where BMGI India focuses on practical capability building.
- Train teams in Lean and Six Sigma where they apply the tools daily
- Coach planners, schedulers, and warehouse teams on decision rules
- Use simple visual controls at lines and docks so shifts self correct
- Review improvements monthly and retire what does not pay back
As a consumer goods consulting firm in India, BMGI India coaches teams to use simple rules that stick.
A Simple Sequence to Get Started
- Pick two categories and one region for a pilot
- Publish a shared metric view for those SKUs and outlets
- Run a three week value stream and planning review
- Launch three fixes: one in planning, one in production, one in logistics
- Measure OTIF, stockouts, and cost to serve for six weeks
- Lock the wins. Then scale to the next category
This is practical work. No silver bullets. Just sharper choices, fewer surprises, and clearer rules.
Takeout
If your goal is fewer stockouts, lower cost to serve, and higher OTIF, start with alignment. Measure only what matters. Fix the flow where it breaks. Build the skills so results do not fade. That is the playbook BMGI India uses with brands that ask for consumer goods consultants in India who move OTIF and cost to serve together.
Source: https://sites.google.com/view/cut-stockouts-cost-bmgi-india/home