Vendor Capacity Planning

Boeing has decided to its capacity to produce the super successful Boeing 737 from the current 34 planes a month to 35 planes a month in early 2012. Read the article here:
http://www.dailymarkets.com/stocks/2010/06/16/boeing-boosts-737-production/

It may seem surprising that a 3% hike in capacity (from 34 to 35 planes per month) should take more and 18 months. Unfortunately this scenario exists in many industries. Even though significant opportunities exist, firms are unable to ramp up capacity fast enough to take advantage. In some cases, the demand piles on in the form of backlog. However, in many cases customers gravitate towards less deserving competitors and the demand is lost.

The issue in most cases is that firms ignore to plan the capacities of their vendors. Making a product will need all the items as per the Bill of Materials (BOM). A constraint in even one single BOM component will limit the expansions. The problem here could be as small as water availability at a key vendor or in some cases the disposition of the vendor to expand the business.

A key component in supply chain planning would be to monitor and keep track of the capacity on the supply side. It is necessary for firms to ensure that all the necessary vendors build enough capacity and are able to ensure the necessary supply. The OEM needs to take the lead time to build capacity at its vendors in consideration. Only then can the real increase in output happen.