Complexity Management with the K-Method: Price Structures, IT and Controlling for Procurement of Packaging Materials

112 Pages·2016·2.498 MB·English

by  Daniel Kossmann, Donald Kossmann (auth.)

Daniel Kossmann · Donald Kossmann
Complexity
Management with
the K-Method
Price Structures, IT and Controlling for
Procurement of Packaging Materials
Complexity Management with
the K-Method
ThiSisaFMBlankPage
Daniel Kossmann (cid:129) Donald Kossmann
Complexity Management
with the K-Method
Price Structures, IT and Controlling for
Procurement of Packaging Materials
DanielKossmann DonaldKossmann
i-TV-TAG Research
K€oln,Germany Microsoft
Kirkland,Washington
USA
Translated from the German by the authors. Title of the original German Edition:
Komplexitätsmanagement mitderK-Methode.(c) Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg2015
ISBN978-3-662-48243-8 ISBN978-3-662-48244-5 (eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-662-48244-5
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2015952310
SpringerHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
#Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2016
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Startwhereyouare.
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Dowhatyoucan.
ArthurAshe
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Preface
Packaging materials are increasingly causing problems, especially in the Fast
MovingConsumerGoodsindustry(FMCG).Thisisbecausethevarietyofversions
(complexity) caused by country and flavour versions has increased as well as the
number of versions required for promotions and specific packaging for trade
partners.Thiscomplexityisanincreasingproblemforthesupplychain,especially
forstrategicprocurementandmaterialplanning.
Measuressuchastheintroductionofmultilinguallabelsortheharmonisationof
brands across countries have limited the explosion of variants but have not
addressed the root cause. With the K-Method which we describe in this book, we
wanttointroduceanentirelynewwaytomanagethesituationinsuchawaythatthe
complexity is no longer perceived as such a problem. The K-Method does not
challenge the number of variants of a purchasing category but shows an efficient
method to handle the complexity of so many different materials. The benefits are
evidentwhenitcomestonegotiatingpriceswiththesupplier,makingcall-offsby
materialplanners,invoicecontrolandreporting.
TheK-Methodisbasedontechnologythathasalreadybeenaroundforawhile.
However,itisrarelyappliedinpracticetothedegreeexplainedinthisbook.You
may find approaches you will not only be familiar with but perhaps are already
usingonadailybasis.WiththeK-Method,weprovidetheincentivetowalkthefull
distance.OnlythenwillyoubeabletotakefulladvantageoftheK-Methodwhen
handlingyourpackagingmaterialsportfolio.
The K-Method was developed in the end of the 1990s by the authors at
Unilever and was tested with corrugated outers as a pilot project. Later, the
K-Methodwas rolled outas apart ofaconsultingproject at LR Health&Beauty
SystemsinAalen,Germany.There,thecategorieslabelsandtubesweremigrated
totheK-Method.
The authors know that parallel to their own research, other people are also
working on similar approaches, e.g., for printed foils. However, this book is the
firsttocoverthecompleteapproach.
We know that your time budget is tight, so we have tried to be as brief as
possible. We are assuming you have a working knowledge of packaging procure-
mentandwillnotrepeatinthisbookitsstandardtermsandprocedures.
vii
viii Preface
We understand that introducing the K-Method is not a simple task. But we
also know, once the K-Method is introduced and established, there will be no
desire by the buyer or the supplier to return to traditional procurement methods.
Theinvestmentisdefinitelyworthwhile.
We want to further develop the theory of the K-Method and its
implementation in practice. We welcome any kind of feedback: corrections,
suggestionsonhowthingscouldbebetterexplainedideasforfurtherdevelopment,
problems or even rejections in practice. We will also appreciate any kind of
feedback on projects where you have successfully introduced the K-Method or
even failed to do so. You can contact us under [email protected] and
[email protected].
Wehopethisbookwillleadyoutogreatersuccess!
K€oln,Germany DanielKossmann
Zu¨rich,Switzerland DonaldKossmann
Autumn2014
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the following persons who have contributed
tothebook:
Roland Balzer, Michel Eichwald, Thomas Kircher, Beatrix Kossmann, Horst
Kossmann, Iwona Kossmann, Judith Kossmann, Alexander Kreutz, Stefan Pr€ols,
Marieke Reinders, Uwe G. Schulte, Henk Sijbring, Peter W. Smith, Hans-Peter
Schmitz,Hans-DieterWolfandAsmusWolff.
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