The Planning Lab

Insights, analysis, and thought leadership on supply chain innovation, digital twins, and the future of operations research.

Planning11 min read

Rough Cut Capacity Planning in Supply Chain Planning

In many companies, and even more in consulting slideware, we still see RCCP treated as if it were a separate function from master planning.

February 25, 2026

Planning

Multi-Echelon Inventory Simulation: Understanding Rolling MRP in Action

Interactive Supply Chain Planning Explore a live, interactive simulation of multi-echelon inventory management across Factory, CDC, and LDC levels. See how rolling MRP recalculates receipts dynamically while respecting planning time fences.

January 7, 2026

Planning12 min read

The Death of Top-Down Planning: Why Aggregation is a One-Way Street

The Uncomfortable Truth Discover why top-down planning fails at execution. Explore the mathematical proof that aggregation is a one-way street and why the disaggregation wall breaks every supply chain plan.

December 19, 2025

Planning8 min read

Why Planning Transformations So Often Break Down

A Planning Lab Analysis Four structural reasons planning initiatives fail before benefits materialize.

November 25, 2025

Technology & Innovation8 min read

AI in Supply Chain: Fact and Fiction

An executive perspective on established practice, incremental advances, and emerging capabilities Artificial intelligence has become a central theme in supply chain management. Executives are presented with a wide range of claims about its potential impact. This note distinguishes between areas where AI extends capability in meaningful ways and areas where its role is overstated.

October 18, 2025

Consulting6 min read

Consulting at a Crossroads: Why the Industry is Reshaping, Not Crashing

Every few years, someone declares that consulting as we know it is about to collapse. Every few years, someone declares that consulting as we know it is about to collapse. The latest wave of commentary points to high fees, bloated teams, and the rapid advance of AI as reasons why big consulting firms are on shaky ground.

September 10, 2025

Planning6 min read

Demand Planners Are Not Data Scientists — And That's Okay

The sustainable model is a partnership between two distinct but complementary skill sets. There's a growing chorus suggesting that demand planners should evolve into data scientists. It's a seductive idea: planners armed with algorithms, seamlessly blending business sense with statistical modeling. But the reality inside most organizations looks very different.

August 14, 2025

Planning5 min read

EOQ Is Not a Planning Tool — It's a Dangerous Academic Relic

Let's say it clearly: EOQ should never be used in real-world supply chains. It was never designed for it. It is not fit for it. And yet it still lingers in planning processes, software systems, and consulting slide decks. As a mathematician, former production plant director, and supply chain architect, I've spent nearly 20 years in operations. I have never seen a case where EOQ logic produced valid or resilient results. Not one.

June 12, 2025

Technology & Innovation4 min read

The Great APS Rush & the S/4HANA Trigger

Why Everyone Suddenly Cares About Advanced Planning (and Why S/4HANA Is the Real Trigger) In recent months, the demand for Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) solutions has skyrocketed. APS consultants are booked solid, RFPs are flying, and companies are frantically comparing tools like SAP IBP, OMP, Kinaxis, and homegrown platforms.

April 30, 2025

Consulting7 min read

Why Reliable Supply Chain Digital Twins Don't Exist — And How We're Building One

The Digital Twin Delusion "Digital twin" has become one of the most abused buzzwords in the enterprise software space. ERP vendors promise it. APS systems market it. Consulting firms sell PowerPoints about it. But scratch beneath the surface, and the truth becomes painfully clear

April 9, 2025